Page 85 of The Reluctant Wife

"Gavin took me by surprise." I rub at my forehead. "The man gave me the impression that he’s a laid-back, spoiled heir to the family fortune. But for some reason, he seemed to find his balls when he wanted to get into my pants. No pun intended."

The girls laugh.

"Thankfully, Ryot intervened before things got too far."

"And now, you’re marrying him." Harper sighs.

"Ryot says, this way, he has a reason to stay by my side all the time without raising suspicion. This way, he can protect me. It also gets his grandfather off his back about getting married. In return, he’s going to invest enough money into Verenza to help us pay off our debts to the International Monetary Fund.”

"Hmm"—Grace purses her lips—"and how do you feel about this?"

“Frankly?” I look around their faces. “The money he’s investing is too important for me to turn down the offer. But if I put that aside, I honestly don’t mind the idea.”

"But does he love you, right?” Grace asks.

I glance down at my locked fingers then up at her. “He cares for me, a lot. As for love”—I pop a shoulder, trying to look unconcerned— “hopefully, that will come later.”

"And what about you?” Harper tilts her head. “From the look on your face when you speak about him, I’m assuming you do love him?”

I wince. "I’m that transparent, huh?"

"Only because I'm a romantic." Harper smiles a little. "I want to believe that, while the two of you might have an unorthodox start, you're meant for each other. I truly hope that this marriage of convenience turns out to be the real thing.”

"Hear, hear," adds Grace. "It's not for nothing we belong to a spicy book club. Aura is currently living the 'fake marriage' trope."

Everyone laughs.

I’d like to believe that too, but the fact is, I’ve only seen Ryot twice since we returned to Verenza. And that's only because I needed to update him on the wedding arrangements. He might have wanted to marry me so he could stay close to me, but the arrangements are taking up a lot of his time. He’s trying his best to stay close to me, but he told me he doesn’t trust anyone elsewith the arrangements and wants to oversee them as closely as possible.

He’s roped Tyler in to stand in as my bodyguard whenever he’s unable to be with me. He also drew up a cordon of handpicked guards around the palace, and given I haven’t left the premises, I’m as safe as can be.

"So, are you ready for the wedding?" Zoey scrutinizes my features. "There’s been very little time to plan for it."

She’s right. The last three weeks since returning to Verenza have zipped by in a storm of preparations for the wedding.

Harper throws up her hands. "A month is very little time to organize any wedding, let alone, a royal one."

"There’s a blueprint in place. One which has been followed for royal weddings for generations, and which I revisited with my father and brother not long ago. We updated it in anticipation of the next royal wedding, so all we had to do was activate the protocol. I’ve also brought in a wedding planner recommended to me by Zoey." I nod in her direction.

"Whew." Harper pretends to wipe her forehead. "That’s good."

"It still feels like a very rushed timeline," Grace murmurs.

I pop my shoulder. "Arthur and my father agree that we don’t want to wait too long. Especially since we need the investment to come in quickly."

"And Ryot was okay with that?" Grace asks with a shrewd expression on her face. Nothing gets past this woman.

“He was concerned that the time required to organize the security necessary for the event is very tight,” I concede. “He argued for a more private wedding to better protect me but was overruled.”

He’s also managing operatives on the ground who are tracking the person who broke into Arthur’s home, and who they believe is also behind the attempt on my life.

"And what about the man who’s a threat to your life?" Grace scowls. "Is Ryot confident of managing that?"

"He’d have to get past me first," he interrupts from the doorway.

41

Ryot

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