Page 47 of Marrying Mr. Majestic

Dev’s eyes brightened. “What horse thing?”

“I’m going to take riding lessons,” I explained.

Everyone stared at me. Landry frowned in confusion. Dev looked low-key excited. Bash narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and Kenji nodded and continued. “They recommend protective headgear and nothing out of the ordinary. No extreme sports version of it, whatever that means.”

“Trick riding,” I said absently, remembering a conversation I’d had with Natana Whiteplume. “Like rodeo stuff.”

Dev’s face lit up in a rare smile. “You know about trick riding? Is there a good rodeo there?”

Bash interrupted before I could answer. “You never let Dev teach you to ride, but suddenly, you want to get on a horse?”

I ignored him and told Dev about meeting Natana and hearing about the nightly rodeo Majestic hosted during summer. The conversation was enough to bore Landry off the call.

I glanced at Bash’s face on the screen. “I’m surprised you haven’t dropped, too, Bash. Surely you have an important meeting about Daisy Chain.”

“Rowe’s on his way in. We have a meeting this afternoon.”

Kenji rolled his eyes. “Only because during yesterday’s meeting, the two of you wouldn’t stop flirting long enough to focus on the funding report.”

Bash’s expression was unapologetic. “At least I didn’t marry a stranger in Vegas.”

I closed my eyes and groaned. They were never going to let that die.

Bash continued. “Can we get back to my original question? What are you doing? What’s your plan? Why are you staying there?”

“I made a deal with W—with the guy that I would stay. And in return, he’ll agree to an uncontested divorce.”

“Does he know you have money?”

As Bash peppered me with questions, Dev’s forehead creased in concern, and I tried to keep from snapping at him, myself.

I understood why he was worried. Of course I did. After launching ETC, we’d been taken advantage of by even the very few friends and family who’d known about our windfall. Our business mentor had urged us to hide the sale of the company inside another company and then hide our wealth as much as possible moving forward. He’d also said, “Telling people about this kind of money is a bell that can’t be un-rung.” And he was right. If it became known that one of us had billions, it wouldn’t be long before all of us were discovered.

Ironically, a fact I’d pointed out to Bash not long ago.

“No. Not big money.” I ran a hand through my hair. “He knows I have a good job in the city. That’s all.”

Bash’s eyes bored into me in a way that reminded me of how judgmental I’d been toward him when he’d gotten involved with Rowe. “Why can’t you simply pay him off and get back here? Surely he’d take a hundred grand and be happy with it. It would be easier to work on Daisy Chain if you were here in the office.”

His boyfriend’s pet project was important to him. It was important to all of us. But I resented the implication I should give up my own personal plan to suit his.

“I can work just fine remotely,” I said in a tone that brooked no compromise.

Bash and I had been best friends since college. The man knew how to interpret my moods even better than my sister. “You like him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped.

Dev’s eyes widened. Kenji closed his eyes and shook his head. Bash grinned as if he’d gotten me to confess to an unsolved murder. “You fucking like him! Holy shit.”

“I do not like him,” I insisted, hearing myself and immediately regretting my words. “I mean, I do like him. He’s a good guy. But it’s not what you think.”

“I thought he was straight,” Bash said, not losing his grin.

“He is. Was. He’s… bi. I guess.”

“And you’re having a summer dalliance. A hundred-thousand-dollar fuck fest.”

I wanted to throw my laptop out the door and into the raging river. “Shut your damn mouth,” I growled.

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