Page 56 of One Wealthy Wedding

His erection jumps against my stomach in agreement. “I so am.” His grin is unrepentant.

“You better hope it goes away before your investor comes over.”

“Quick, tell me something boring.”

I laugh, and he groans.

“No laughing. You’re too pretty when you laugh. Talk to me about your least favorite class in school.”

“But there are so many,” I grumble. “Negotiations, corporate finance, the primer we had on mergers and acquisitions.”

“Keep going. Tell me about the time value of money. Wait, don’t. That will turn me on.”

I burst out laughing, my shoulders shaking, and press my forehead into Theo’s chest. “Sorry,” I gasp. “Sorry. You said no laughing.”

His palm lands on my neck as his own laugh rumbles up from his chest. “It’s okay. I’m good. But let me help you with school, okay? If you’re that miserable. I was good at it.” He rubs his thumb over the back of my neck.

When I look up at him, his expression is sincere.

“Sure,” I say slowly. “Thank you. But if I get anything less than an A, I’m blaming you.”

“Fair enough.” His thumb rubs over my neck, right above the high collar of the dress. His smile fades slowly, and his eyes soften.

He looks like he’s about to speak, but then we hear “Theo Archer. Is that you?” A smiling man in a tux approaches. His eyes are sharp and intelligent. His wife is small and pretty, with round cheeks and a big smile.

My body goes tense, but Theo reacts by pulling me into his side. “Lorenzo. So good to see you. And this must be your wife, Francesca. Molto piacere, signora. This is my wife, Catherine.” He speaks to Francesca in rapid-fire Italian for a bit, and Lorenzo laughs. I try to keep my jaw from dropping. Theo speaks Italian. Theo sounds Italian.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Catherine.” Lorenzo and Francesca go for cheek kisses after a minute, and I fumble through them. Francesca smells like lemons, and Lorenzo like expensive cologne.

“So, Catherine, how did you convince this one to settle down?” Lorenzo winks and jerks his thumb at Theo.

Theo’s eyes go flat for a moment before he smiles. “It was easy,” he says with a wave of his hand. “She crooked her finger at me, and I came running.”

I blush, because that couldn’t be further from the truth, but Lorenzo and his wife laugh.

“Well, I’m glad to see it,” Lorenzo says. “We were worried, you know. For the casino part of the company, your image is an asset, but for the infrastructure investments, we have to look proper. You know, for the casta who control the government, even though they are far from proper.” His accent thickens with obvious annoyance, and his wife puts a hand on his arm.

“Ignore my husband. How did you meet?” she asks.

My tongue is thick in my mouth. “We reconnected at a charity event like this. For, um, youth.” Great job, Cat. That sounds believable.

Theo’s hand squeezes my waist. “Cat and I are childhood friends. I let her get away once, but when I saw her after so many years, I knew it couldn’t happen again.” Theo’s smooth words are a lie.

I stiffen against him. I let her get away. Bullshit. He ran away as far and as fast as he could, and he never gave me a reason. I force my shoulders down and lean into Theo like he’s my rock instead of the boy who broke my heart. I have no right to be mad at him for it, because we were nothing. Friends who kissed once. As I learned, Theo kissed lots of girls that summer. I was nothing more than a passing fancy for him, and I mistook friendship for more.

“That’s so romantic,” Francesca sighs, her eyes soft. “You really turned him around, Cat.” I’m sure she means it in a nice way, but the thought rankles.

“There was nothing to turn around,” I say with a smile. “Theo isn’t the man a lot of people think he is. I’ve always recognized it.”

Lorenzo’s eyes light with approval, and I feel Theo relax against me.

“How are you enjoying New York?” I ask. I’m done answering their probing questions.

“We love it. We come here every year for Fashion Week, but Lorenzo is usually working. It’s been so nice to be tourists together. Is there anything you two like to do? We’re always looking for recommendations.”

I dart a look at Theo. We do nothing together. Shit.

“Hockey games,” he says slowly. “Cat is just getting into it. My brother plays for the Royals.”

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