Page 28 of The Billionaire's Wife

“What?” I stutter. How did she …? I panic. “Of course we’re married,” I press. “We got married last summer.”

She turns to meet my gaze, but instead of an accusatory stare like I’d anticipated, there’s nothing but warmth. “Sweetheart, I know when people are married, when people are comfortable around each other—and you two most certainly aren’t.”

I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. Shit. I thought we’d been doing so well. The trip is practically over, and I thought we’d accomplished our mission. I shake my head. “I … how could you tell?” I finally whisper.

She smiles. “You’re an unlikely match, for starters. And you’re much too excited and blown away by the niceties that a wife of Alec King would be used to. But the real thing that gave it away is that you don’t have that comfortable, loving cadence that a husband and wife had.”

I frown. Seriously? I thought we’d acted the part. Especially considering that the last few days Alec and I have been definitely acting like a husband and a wife behind closed doors.

“You have the cadence of two people who are in love but are afraid to tell each other,” she finishes.

I feel the color drain from my face. “What?” The word floats out of my mouth on a whisper, barely spoken.

Julia leans toward me, resting her hand on mine. “Sweetheart, whatever is going on between you and Alec King, you need to speak your truth.”

“But I … there isn’t anything to say,” I reply with a shake of my head.

Julia smiles in amusement. “From my vantage point, there’s a whole lot that needs to be said. From both of you.”

I stare out at the ocean, every nerve in my body on fire. If Julia could so easily see through us, can everyone else? Does Marcus know this was a sham too? Do Alec’s brothers know there’s more going on than just pretend? “Will this interfere with the merger?” I ask quietly.

At this, Julia chuckles. “Oh, Marcus is completely oblivious to all this. And I’m certainly not going to tell him. This is between you and Alec, and the merger is between the King boys and my husband—two completely sperate things, in my book.”

Relief settles over me.

“I just thought you’d benefit from some motherly advice.”

At this, I turn to her, taking in the warmth of her smile, and I smile back.

“And that advice is to tell Alec how you feel. Too much is left unsaid in this world. Don’t add your feelings to that list.” She glances down at her mug of coffee. “Time for a refill,” she says, standing and sauntering back into the cabin, leaving me alone to process the feelings I’ve been too afraid to face until now.

Chapter 17

Ella

I end up spending the majority of the day with Olivia and Lilly, lounging by the pool and soaking up the sun. The guys join us in the afternoon, and while part of me wants to reveal my conversation with Julia to Alec, I feel like I can’t in front of everyone. Besides, it was pretty private, and if I told him part of it, I’d have to tell him all of it. And all of it includes my feelings. And I’m not even sure what those are yet. So maybe it’s best to keep it to myself. And Julia promised not to tell Marcus and that it wouldn’t affect the merger, so there’s no harm done.

“Damn, I’m feeling the drinks from last night,” Aiden moans, hiding his eyes from the sun with his forearm.

Lilly laughs.

“How are you not hungover?” he asks her.

“I chug water when I drink. You should try it,” she replies.

“Aren’t we a bit old to be getting drunk?” Alec asks.

“Maybe you are,” Aiden shoots back, to which Alec flashes him a middle finger. “Olivia, have you been drunk at least once this trip?” He turns his attention to her. “Have you been drinking at all?”

She rolls her eyes.

“Come on, this is what vacations are for,” he says. “And you too, Asher. What the hell? Normally you’re the life of the party.”

Asher smirks, then shoots a sidelong glance at Olivia. She smirks back but says nothing.

Alec straightens on the lounger he’s sitting on. “What was that look?” he says with a cocked brow.

Asher and Olivia exchange another look, and at this point, all of us are fully engaged. Olivia laughs, shrugging. “Well, we weren’t going to say anything for another week or so, but …” She smiles at Asher. “That ‘party’ you spoke of is about to get a bit bigger.”

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