Page 4 of Their Sweetest Obsession

She was new, had only been working for me for a few weeks, and was more than a little annoying. Most of the time, she just stood around, seeming to daydream. My previous assistant had been inherited from William, but Winnie had been amazing. My work life had run smooth as silk. Plus, Marina adored her. Winnie retired right before Christmas, and I’d been struggling to find a good fit ever since.

Shifting on her high heels, she bent to retrieve the stack of documents. I didn’t even recall her name the majority of the time. “Your two o’clock appointment will be here shortly.”

“Cancel it.” I shoved my phone into the breast pocket of my suit. “Inform Wilder’s assistant that we will both be out of the office.”

“For the rest of the week,” Wilder tacked on.

She straightened with a frown. “Where are you going?”

“It’s none of your damn business,” Wilder said with a grunt, a hint of possessiveness in his voice that had my lips twitching for a moment. “Let’s go, Reeve. Car is being pulled up right now. If we hurry, we can get there in time to take Marina to dinner.”

CHAPTER TWO

marina

Tipping my cup back, I chugged down my drink. Kara had made a huge pitcher of some kind of fruity cocktail for us after we’d gotten home from our final earlier. She’d looked like a mad scientist as she’d added the alcohol to the concoction, giggling about how it was her secret recipe for getting over a broken heart.

All I could taste was the sugary fruit juice she’d added, but I was on my third serving and didn’t feel any different. My heart still throbbed painfully in my chest. Or maybe that was just the hollow spot that was left after having it ripped from my body when I’d opened that stupid wedding invitation.

I wasn’t sure how I’d made it through the exam, especially since I’d cried myself to sleep the night before and had woken up that morning with gritty, swollen eyes. But somehow, I’d found the strength to power through.

“This. This is why,” I told her, pointing my empty cup in her direction. She was sitting on the other end of the sofa, sipping from her own cup.

Her head was tipped back, her eyes glassy as she looked at me. “Why what?”

“Why I don’t like presents,” I explained. “Nothing eber…emer…ev-ber?”

She snickered, but I was determined to pronounce the word right.

“Ever!” I did a fist pump in the air when I finally got it right. “Surprises neb-ver end well for me.”

“I think you’re drunk.” She took another drink.

“’Course I’m not,” I denied, tipping my cup to my lips again. “Hey! Where did my juice go?”

Leaning forward, Kara picked up the crystal pitcher that was almost empty and filled my cup. “Good thing you don’t have a final until the day after tomorrow, because you will definitely be feeling some pain in the morning.”

“You lied tub me,” I accused. “You said this would make me feel bufler.”

“No, I said it would make you feel nothing,” she snickered. “You’re on your fourth cup. I’m surprised you haven’t passed out yet. Kudos to you for still being able to talk.”

Taking a gulp, I picked up the crumpled-up wedding invitation. My breath hitched seeing Reeve’s name next to his bride-to-be’s. “Who even is Marianna Westfield?”

Kara scrunched up her nose. “She sounds like a bitch. Is that his type?”

I tried to fight the sting of tears, but they still spilled free. “I dunno. Nev-ber met anyone he dated. Wilder ether.”

Thank God. I wasn’t sure how I would have handled meeting anyone either of them went out with. They were supposed to be mine. Even if it was wrong, I loved them both. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t consider them my brothers. For four years, I’d pushed down what I felt for them. Now, I was going to lose them both.

Reeve might have been the one getting married, but eventually, Wilder would find someone to love and spend his life with. She would be so damn lucky. Just like Marianna Westfield.

Whoever the stupid skank was.

While I was in bed the night before, I’d gone searching for her online. I couldn’t find anyone with that name linked to Reeve or Wilder. Other than a few random pictures of me with them at several different charity functions, no other women had been connected to either man in years.

Did that mean she was so special he was keeping her completely out of the spotlight?

Or that I wasn’t special enough to him to have been introduced to the love of his life?

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