Page 131 of Prized Possession

“I don’t want to go to any meetings about this fucking sham of a wedding,” Isay, my voice low, giving away just how much it scares me that this might be my life some day soon.

“You don’t have to,” Marcus says, but Miles stops him.

“At some point, she may have to, so don’t make promises we don’t know for sure we can keep. We’ll do our best to delay or minimise them, but as part of the bet, you agreed to a meeting, closer to the final weeks here.”

Marcus glares at his best friend, who holds down his stare like it’s nothing. I shift in my seat, feeling uncomfortable enough for us all.

“So what do we do right now?” I ask, trying to diffuse the tension in the room.

Marcus goes to respond, but Miles holds up his hand to stop him. For just a fraction of a second, Marcus looks like he might stab him in his hand with the knife on his plate, but he takes a deep breath and lets it go.

Miles gives him a tight smile before turning to me.

“You guys have managed to avoid it since your parents got back, but they’ve been very insistent. You have to attend Sunday lunch tomorrow, so I’ve suggested a two birds, one stone type scenario.

“I’ve said you’ll talk about the wedding over lunch. It’s not ideal, but you have to attend anyway, and at least this way you know both Marcus and myself will be there to support you.”

I give him a smile as I nod. “Thank you. I guess, it’s the best of a bad situation.”

“Exactly,” Miles says, grabbing another spring roll and a barbecue rib. “Anyway, I’m going to leave you to finish your meal in peace. I’ll be here at twelve to drive us there for lunch tomorrow.”

“You can stay, if you’d like,” Marcus adds, shocking us both.

“Thanks, but I’ve got somewhere I need to be.”

As he stands, Marcus glares at his friend, seemingly unhappy with his response.

“Where?”

Miles rolls his eyes. “None of your business. Enjoy your evening.”

Before either of us can say anything, Miles has run down the hallway and he slams the door closed as he leaves. Marcus turns to me, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“He never keeps anything from me. Should I be worried? Maybe I should have someone follow him,” he muses, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

I reach over and take the phone from his hand, placing it on the table. I then lace my fingers through his, squeezing just enough to distract him.

“No, you will not have him followed. Whatever Miles is doing, he’ll tell youabout it when he’s ready. For all you know, he’s seeing someone and wants to keep it private for now.”

That doesn’t seem to ease Marcus’ worries, as he continues to shuffle, his from deepening.

“If he’s seeing someone new, we’ll need to run a thorough background check. He knows the rules. It’s dangerous to go somewhere when nobody knows where you are.”

“Marcus, relax,” I tell him, stroking my thumb over the back of his hand in reassuring circles. “Miles knows all the safety rules, since he wrote most of them. He’s not stupid. Besides, he has GPS tracking on both his phone and his car, so we can find him if we need to—though we won’t need to.”

Marcus’ eyes light up, and I can’t help but groan.

“That’s a great idea, we can?—”

I cut him off by placing a kiss on his lips.

“Enough! Finish your food. When we’ve eaten, I want to go and take a soak in the giant jacuzzi bath in the main bathroom. I’ve always wondered what it feels like to have sex underwater.”

The fork he’s just picked up clatters onto the plate, and his piercing blue eyes darken. “Let’s go.”

“Don’t you want to finish eating?” I ask, pointing to his half-full plate.

He shakes his head. “We’ll reheat it when we’re done.”

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