Page 26 of All Bets Are Off

“Normally, I would say the latter, but it’s hard to tell with her.” Rex lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “She’s kind of hard to read sometimes.”

“Actually, I think she’s pretty easy to read when you put the effort in,” I countered, ignoring the sharp look Rex shot in my direction. “She wears every emotion on her sleeve.”

The move from her apartment to mine had been easy. Despite her best efforts to stay up and make sure her precious books made it without being damaged, she’d slept through the bulk of it. In the grand scheme of things, she didn’t have a lot in the way of belongings. All her clothes were deposited in my closet—something she’d yet to comment on—and I’d had a fresh cocktail dress delivered from one of the downstairs shops so she would have something pretty to wear. I’d left it on her door without comment. At some point, she’d obviously found the dress because it was no longer there and her door had remained closed all afternoon.

“Is something going on between you and my sister?” Rex asked bluntly. That was his way. He didn’t pussyfoot around uncomfortable situations. He just threw it out there like a bomb.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I made a face. “I feel kind of bad for her because of the surgery thing. Her face is a little swollen, andeven though she tries to act tough, I can tell the pain meds aren’t doing their job.”

“Oh.” Concern lined Rex’s features as he drew his eyebrows together. “I was kind of hoping it would be nothing.”

“It definitely wasn’t nothing.” I shook my head. “I should’ve waited at least one day to host the dinner. I just thought it would be better if we told them right away. If we drag it out…” I trailed off.

“Listen, we have the story in place,” Rex supplied. “You guys have been seeing each other on the sly for months. You didn’t want to tell anybody because you didn’t know if it would work out. On a whim, you decided to get married—this is Vegas, so that can’t come as a shock to them—and unfortunately for everybody involved, my sister had a dental emergency last night so you didn’t get much of a honeymoon.”

It was a simple enough story. It would also explain why Olivia couldn’t eat the prime rib I’d secured for us. Still, guilt flooded me. “She could’ve used a full day in bed.”

“I think she’s probably at her limit,” Rex replied. “Livvie can’t just sit there. She gets bored easy. She’s like a shark. She’s always moving.”

“That’s … an interesting comparison,” I mused.

He shrugged. “She’s always loved sharks. She likes to go visit Mandalay Bay just to see them in the tanks occasionally.”

I filed that information for later and pasted a bright smile on my face when Olivia’s bedroom door opened. She was dressed in the cocktail dress I’d gotten her, and I was gratified to see it was a perfect fit. Her hair had been swept back in a simple but pretty bun. She’d fussed with her makeup, but it didn’t look overdone. The dress itself clung to her curves, which weren’t exaggerated, but got my heart pumping all the same.

“You look great,” I said dumbly.

She frowned at me before gesturing toward the bedroom. “My stuff needs to be put away, and I can’t bend over without it hurting.”

“I’m on it.” Rex immediately started for the bedroom. “I’m going to stuff it all under the counter and in the closet, Livvie. It just needs to be out of sight for tonight. Then you can do whatever with it.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at her brother, but it didn’t last. When she turned to me, there was betrayal in her eyes. “Just for the record, I think this is a terrible idea.”

I nodded. “I’m kind of thinking that too,” I admitted. “It’s done, though. We just have to get through it.”

“I didn’t have enough time to prepare myself for the lie,” she argued. “I’m a terrible liar.”

I could see that. “Just fall back on the dental surgery if you’re stuck,” I said. “Blame it for being muddled. Otherwise, let me do all the talking.”

“And you think you’re just going to be able to magically sell this?”

I nodded without hesitation. “Yes. Trust me. I’ve got this.”

“YOU’RE WHAT?”

My father looked like a cartoon character who was about to release steam out of his ears as he stared down at me. I sat on the couch next to Olivia, her hand clutched tightly in mine and met his furious gaze with an even one of my own.

I’d opted not to drag things out. I only waited until everybody showed up—thankfully, for once, my sisters were not late—and then I’d lowered the boom. I’d said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Olivia and I have been dating for a while. We didn’t tell anybody because we were trying to figure things out. Last night,we decided to get married. So, as of now, we’re all one big happy family.”

In hindsight, I could’ve chosen a softer landing for the news. I was too keyed up to think it through, though. I just lobbed the bomb—as Rex had taught me to do through years of watching him—and waited for the fallout.

It was swift and brutal.

“Did you hear what he just said?” Dad demanded of Mom.

For her part, my mother was much harder to read than my father. She looked between us, at the way Rex and I kept Olivia buffered between us, but she said nothing.

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