Page 23 of Perfectly Wedded

“You couldn’t hurt me,” Vale says, glancing down at my hand on his chest. I can’t tell if he feels as awkward as I do, but I make a point not to move it, remembering rule two.

“Look at you two,” Jaz croons. “Whenever I run into Brax, I always make sure to give him a kiss. It’s tradition for us.”

“Is that why you kiss so much?” Vale says to his brother.

“We don’t need a reason,” Brax says.

Vale takes my hand, the one splayed across his chest and lightly sweeps his lips over the tips of my fingers. An electrical current shoots from my fingers through my arm, and I’m left wondering how much longer I can pretend this doesn’t affect me.

“Just a warning—Tate and Leo hate it when we show any kind of affection around them,” Jaz says. “But we understand what it’s like to be newlyweds. So don’t feel like you have to hold back for us.”

“Hold back? Oh, we won’t,” Vale says, tugging me so close, my body might as well be attached to his hip. His hand travels up my back, lightly brushing my spine. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to head to bed. Don’t we,babe?”

A laugh escapes my lips. “Sure do, my littleHoney Smacks.” I look up at Vale and smile. It feels good to get even.

With a fire in his eyes, he leans forward and kisses my cheek, right next to my earlobe, and I swear my knees almost buckle.

Then he gives me a sexy half-smile before whispering, “That’s for calling meHoney Smacks.”

NINE

Vale

My back aches as I roll over, desperately trying to find a comfortable position on this miserable floor. I wasn’t supposed to wake up for another hour, but between the ache in my spine and the looming press conference, sleep feels impossible.

I rub the palm of my hand into my eyes and peek across the room. Sloan is sleeping on her stomach, one arm hanging off the mattress, her hair a tangled mess. She’d kill me if she knew I was staring, but I can’t help it. I drink her in—her brown hair splayed across her pillow, the neck of her T-shirt falling off one shoulder, her pink lips slightly open. It’s not just her looks that pull me in—it’s everything about her. The way she makes people feel seen and special, the way her laugh lights up a room, and how she throws herself into everything with her whole heart. That’s what makes her one of my favorite people in the world. And it’s exactly why I’m terrified of messing this up—because losing her would mean losing the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

The whole world will be watching us today, ready to pick apart every word, searching for cracks in our story. It’s one thing if I slip up and ruin my reputation, but risking Sloan’s future? That’s a whole different thing.

Which means I’ve got one job today: convince everyonethat I’m madly in love with Sloan and that includes my friends and teammates. If anyone’s going to see through this, it’s them.

I sneak through the room, when Sloan suddenly stirs and lifts her head from the pillow.

“Why are you up so early?” she asks sleepily, propping up on her elbow. Her hair falls over one eye, and she pulls the sheet up to her neck, like she’s trying to cover her body even though I’ve already seen her in a much skimpier nightgown.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I whisper.

“It was the floor, wasn’t it?” Her eyes graze over my bare chest before a pink flush warms her cheeks. Judging by the way she’s avoiding looking directly at my chest, I’ve already failed my first test—making her feel comfortable with us sharing a room. If we can’t fix this, it’s going to be a very long two years.

“I’m heading out for an early morning workout,” I say.

I head to the kitchen, where the morning light has cast a gray, sleepy hue over everything, and grab the orange juice from the fridge. As I tip it to my lips, Brax steps into the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” he asks, flicking on the light.

“What does it look like? Drinking some juice. You should warn a man before you give him a heart attack.”

“You know the house rules,” he says, ripping the juice from my hands. “No drinking from the container.”

I point at the container. “I bought that juice.”

Brax shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. Leo drank from it while you were gone, and I gave him the same warning.”

“Seriously? Gross.” I wipe my lips with the back of my hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I could ask you the same question,” he says, crossing the kitchen to grab two glasses, handing me one. “You went to Vegas and got married without telling anyone.”

Brax turns toward the pantry and takes out a package of bagels.

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