Page 66 of Wed to You

She wiped her tears and exited the tub. She washed her face, studying it in the mirror. “You’re a hot mess.” A little embarrassed by her outburst, she gave herself a pep talk about being strong.

“Chelsea?” Jagger’s voice preceded a knock on the door.

She inhaled a steadying breath, mustered a smile, and opened the door. “Everything all right?”

His blue eyes narrowed as they studied her face. “I was going to ask you the same question.”

“I’m fine.” She started to push past him, but he blocked her, backing her into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

“I didn’t mean what I said.”

She raised one eyebrow, but said nothing.

He winced. “Well...I did, but not because I think there’s something wrong with you, which Alexis thinks you heard.”

Chelsea shrugged his comment away. “It’s okay, Jagger. I know I don’t fit in your world.” She made another attempt to escape, but he put his hands on her shoulders, gently maneuvering her against the vanity.

“Let me talk to you.”

The only problem was, when he was close like this, her senses went haywire.

“I’ve told you about my father and his wife. They’re mean, Chelsea. They’ll hurt you or embarrass you or both.”

For some reason, that didn’t make her feel better. “I understand. There’s a lot of material for them to work with.”

He frowned. “What does that mean?”

She blew out a breath. “My accent. My lack of sophistication…”

He was shaking his head before she finished the long list of traits with which his family would easily find fault. “It’s not you, Chelsea. It’s them. You could be the Queen of England and they’d hurt you.” His hands rubbed her shoulders. “You’re sweet and kind, and I don’t want them anywhere near you because I can’t bear the idea of them causing you pain.”

Warmth spread through her chest. “I’m stronger than I look.” She wasn’t sure why she said that. She’d just had a crying jag in the tub that suggested otherwise. Besides, she didn’t want to go to the party. Even if everyone was nice, she’d feel like an old shoe in a department store of designer Jimmy Choos. But she didn’t want him thinking she was a delicate Southern flower either.

He nodded. “I know. As much as I don’t want to go, I think we should. It will help make this marriage look real, especially if it ends up on Page Six.”

“Page Six?”

“It’s the gossip section of the newspaper. I know that’s not what you signed up for, but it could help prove this marriage is real in case Tanya sues for custody of Kaden.”

Chelsea couldn’t see how a piece of gossip in a newspaper no one in Virginia would see could help his case, but she didn’t understand his world, so she didn’t respond.

“Most people at this party will be outwardly friendly, but my father won’t, so...” He shook his head. “You know what, never mind. I can’t subject you to that.”

She now understood Jagger wasn’t worried about her lack of social graces, but instead, about his father’s cruelty. Still, a part of her didn’t like him thinking she wasn’t a strong woman.

“If you need to go and if you need me to be with you, I can do it. I don’t have a dress and I can’t hide the fact I speak with an accent, but I know how to smile and be charming.”

He surprised her by flashing a grin. But as soon as it was there, it faded. His blue eyes studied her, for what she didn’t know. He stepped closer, and she was unable to move back because the vanity blocked her. “I don’t deserve you.”

A mixture of confusion and hope swirled in her belly. His words hinted that their relationship was more than a business deal of a marriage. The concept of deserving someone went beyond a simple arrangement. She pressed her hand to his chest, wanting to tell him he was worthy of her. She felt the beat of his heart, until he flinched and stepped back.

“What I mean is, this isn’t what you signed up for.”

She swallowed her hurt and stupidity. “If it helps people believe in this marriage and your effort to keep Kaden, that is what I signed up for.”

“I don’t want to do this, but I can’t see a way out of it.”

“So we’ll go.”

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