Page 19 of One Wealthy Wedding

“You better get some rings, then.”

“Rings? This is not a real—fuck.”

“Yeah.” I can hear my brother smiling through the phone. “Better get cracking. You want this to look real, right? You’re going to need a big diamond.”

8

Cat

The panic sets in on Wednesday when we’re at the courthouse. The cavernous space is full of happy couples. We’re woefully out of place. Theo is scowling at his phone, and I’m pacing the marble floor. Twelve steps to the wall and then back.

My eyes keep going to him, even though I told myself I wouldn’t look. He’s so handsome it hurts. His hair is combed back and full of product, though the sun-streaked, barely tamed strands still fail to be businesslike. His skin is tanned from his time abroad, and his jaw is stubbled. My eyes travel down his form. He’s wearing a suit. A really nice suit, actually. A bow tie is looped around his neck, and his shirt is open at the throat.

He frowns as his fingers fly over the keyboard. He mostly ignored me yesterday when we got the license. His face was cold, his suit impeccable, and his manner hurried. I learned his middle name—James—and little else. No pleasantries were exchanged.

So that’s how it will be. Better than a real marriage, I suppose. I’ll stick to my side of his mansion, and he’ll stick to his. A year of ignoring each other unfolds before me. Will he bring women home? Will I care? What if I date other people?

I reach the wall and turn on my heel.

“Can you stop?” Theo doesn’t lift his gaze from his phone.

“What are you even working on?” I pause my pacing.

“My job,” he says absently. “I know you’ve heard of jobs before, because I saw you at the bar.” He lifts his gaze, his brow wrinkled in mock concern. “It’s when you get paid to do work for someone.”

Prick. No way am I letting him get to me. “Right. You’re the face of Kings Lane. Must be why they hired you.” I give him a fake smile.

His eyes flicker with an emotion I can’t name. “So you do think I look good,” he says coolly.

“Hadn’t noticed.”

“Saw you looking, princess.” His smile is sharp.

“Not at you.”

His smug look says he knows I think he’s hot. He’s always known, and I’ve always panted after him. And now we’re getting married. The irony almost makes me laugh. Almost.

“You always look.” His smile grows. “You can’t help it. I saw you over those summers, checking me out when you thought I was too distracted to see.”

I swallow hard. At twenty-one, Theo had been long limbs and sun-bronzed skin. Forbidden and all the more attractive for it. The one man my parents could never control. I wanted him and I wanted to be him. The thought makes me feel like a stone is lodged in my throat, and I look away. I don’t want to be reminded of the past.

“You’re dreaming.”

He snorts, shakes his head, and goes back to his phone. I narrow my eyes on him. He’s unflappable, and it’s annoying. Theo has always been like this. He’s a calm lake, an easy smile, a slap on the back.

The judge finally calls us into the chambers. The courthouse has witnesses available, and both of them seem politely disinterested in our marriage. If they’re surprised by how far we’re standing from one another when we say our vows, they don’t betray it.

“Rings?” the judge asks, when she’s done reading her statement.

“I forgot—” The words die on my tongue when Theo slips his hand into his pocket. “You got rings?”

His lips quirk. “Can’t have a marriage without them.”

The rings are all for show, and yet I search his face for any hint that I’ve been wrong about him. That our friendship isn’t irreparably broken. Once, each tilt of his head and each lift of his brow would have been part of a secret language, but I’ve lost the ability to translate him.

He slips the platinum band and the massive diamond onto my finger. His hands are warm and a little rough. The soft hairs on the back of his hand rasp against my fingers as I slide the plain gold band onto his. I feel like I’m floating. This isn’t happening. I’m not marrying him in a clandestine ceremony with no friends or family to witness it. I’m dreaming. Even if I’ve never wanted marriage, my body knows this is wrong. My eyes flick to the door. We haven’t said our vows. I could go right now. Where? There’s nowhere to go.

I lift my head to meet Theo’s cool green gaze. “Thinking of running?” he murmurs.

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