Page 23 of Bride Bargain

They learned my name, too. That’s new. And it was gratifying for about three seconds before they all kept yelling, and then I wanted to run and hide under a table somewhere.

“I get it now,” I murmur, a polite smile fixed on my face as I lean closer to my husband, speaking out of the corner of my mouth. Elliot bends down a few inches so he can hear me over the chaos outside this event. “I get why you got canceled online every month. My nerves are fried. I’m ready to push a lecherous old woman too.”

Elliot hums—I feel the vibration more than hear it—and he rubs my arm, soothing my bare skin. Immediately, my tensed shoulders ease a little.

“Inside will be better,” he tells me, not bothering to smile at the cameras. He never does, even now, because it’s ‘none of their business that we’re so happy’. Classic. “Calmer, quieter, with food and places to sit. Let’s go in now.”

The relief makes my knees shake, but I grab Elliot’s hand and stop him from leading me away.

“Wait, not yet. I’m on a mission, remember?”

My husband frowns down at me, then his expression clears. “Ah, yes. You’re humanizing the robot.”

“I’m showing the world your good side,” I correct. “Since you’re not inclined to do that yourself.”

Elliot’s smile is real, amused, and the cameras pop madly, flashing in our peripheral vision. He doesn’t even notice, butthisis what I’m talking about. These quiet, unguarded moments have been doing wonders for my husband’s reputation over the last year.

And he might not care what the world thinks of him, butIdo, damn it. Elliot Ramsay is the best man I know, and these mofos are going to learn that fact.

Fierce protectiveness burns like a fire in my chest as I yank Elliot round and kiss him on the mouth, all the onlookers and cameras and busy city streets gradually fading away until it’s just… us. Us and the stars overhead.

When we pull apart, Elliot looks grudgingly pleased. He takes my hand again, ushering me up the steps, always so keen to make sure I’m comfortable and well fed.

This is what we do. This is what we’ve always done.

Best friends protect each other.

And if these two best friends also screw each other’s brains out most days… well, that was a long time coming.

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