Page 64 of Veiled

“Yes, really.” He’s annoyed, but does he really think a gift will erase everything? The dead pig for goddess sake!

“For the weekend, for the mission, we pretend we’re the perfect married couple. No snapping at each other. No passive-aggressive comments. Just teamwork.”

I want to scream at his audacity, but a tiny part of me—call it survival instinct—realizes that agreeing is probably the smarter choice. Ghost Walking is not the class to make mistakes in, especially when one wrong move could have you forgetting you were ever in it.

“If this is a dead animal, I’ll murder you.” I take the package hesitantly.

He fucking laughs, “Not a dead animal, I promise.”

Slowly pulling the tissue paper out, I peek inside. A sleek pair of sunglasses and a wide-brimmed beach hat stare back at me. I stumble on each word as it comes out, “These are actually really nice, thank you.”

“My wife can’t go on a beach vacation without the basics.” He’s smiling, clearly proud of himself, and I equally want to hit him and kiss him for how considerate of a gift it is. “Now, do we have a deal?"

I huff out a laugh despite myself. “Fine. Truce. But don’t think this means I’m going to start enjoying your company.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

I tuck the hat back into the bag and put the beautiful sunglasses on. “Alright, Mr. Carter. Let’s survive this weekend in one piece.”

“Deal, Mrs. Carter,” he replies, sliding his own sunglasses on, the picture of infuriating ease. “I have the perfect plan, but for it to work, we’re going to need to relax a bit and embrace the newlywed stereotype.”

“If you say your plan is for us to have sex in the ocean, I’m jumping out of the car right now.”

“Not where I was going with that, but you might be able to convince me,” he winks at me, “for the mission's sake, of course.”

I groan, “This is going to be a nightmare.”

“Speak for yourself,” Aiden says, turning on Fade Away by Rebelution. “I plan on enjoying the sun, sand, and your charming company.”

I bite back a retort, settling into the seat and silently plotting how to survive the next forty-eight hours without stabbing him—or falling for his stupid smile again.

We’re almost to Seabrim, the cozy town we’ll be staying in, when Aiden turns down the music.

“What kind of food do you like?” he asks. “I doubt they stocked the house for us, so I’m thinking we eat out tonight and then grocery shop tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” I say, before realizing how domestic that all just sounded. “I’ll eat pretty much anything. Is there something you’re craving?”

For half a second, I catch a flicker of a smile before he hides it. “There’s a really popular taco stand on the way to the house. Or, if we want to order in, there’s a place a few miles away with award-winning pasta. You pick.”

I narrow my eyes. “Wait, have you been here before?”

“No, but I did do some research on the area last night.”

Of course, that would have been the smart thing to do. But instead, I was too busy trying to figure out how to pack for a fake marriage vacation without losing my mind.

“Uhm—I don’t know! You pick! I wasn’t craving anything, but now they both sound so good!”

Aiden glances at me, one eyebrow raised. “You realize that’s not an answer, right?”

I groan. “You can’t spring two amazing options on me like that! Pasta or tacos? That’s emotional sabotage.”

He chuckles, the sound low and warm. “Fine. You’re indecisive, I’ll handle it.”

“Handle it how?” I ask.

Instead of answering, he flips on his turn signal and takes the next exit. “We’ll get both.”

I blink at him. “Both? You’re seriously going to order tacos and pasta?”