Page 45 of Till Cupid Do Us Part

“What exactly did the text say?”

Jill pointedly lifts the phone in front of her face and clears her throat. “Hi, honey. I know you said you weren’t bringing a date to the wedding, but I ran into James’ mother at pottery, and she suggested the two of you should reconnect because he’smentioned you a lot to her recently. It was my idea that he joins you at the wedding. Please don’t argue with me on this. I’ve already given his name to Sarah as your plus one.”

“Oh,” I mutter, fighting back a wince.

Jill flashes her brown eyes up at me. “Yeah. Oh. My mother is fucking crazy, Ivy. She did this on purpose. It’s punishment for something.”

“Is there any chance she actually thought she was helping you? You’ve never even mentioned a James to me before.”

“Absolutely not. My mom is a busybody to the extreme. This is her way of telling me she doesn’t approve of my singleness. And I haven’t mentioned him for good reason. We dated years ago, and he was a total turd.”

“Alright, fair enough. So, telling your sister to remove him from the plus one list isn’t a possibility?”

“No. She’s a suck up. The minute I asked, my Mom would be knocking on my front door demanding I change my mind.”

She huffs, tipping her head back and shaking her hair out along her back. The bright yellow t-shirt dress she’s wearing contrasts well with her newly dyed cherry-cola hair. Silver hoops bobble below her ears when she straightens and frowns at me.

“I’m sorry to lay this all on you right now. You just got back from your honeymoon this week,” she apologizes.

I reach for her hand. “Don’t apologize. I missed you while we were gone.”

A week baking in the sun and drinking daiquiris in a swim-up pool has me more than relaxed enough to dig back into real life. I never took Niko for an ocean lover, but it was a struggle every day to get him out of the water long enough to tan with me on the sand. More than a handful of bribes were used. Some I’m prouder of than others. It turns out you can be quiteimaginativein circumstances like that.

“I haven’t even had a chance to gush over your new necklace. Honestly, I didn’t think Niko had taste like this, but damn. That’s gorgeous,” Jill says, leaning forward to inspect the diamond choker.

I flush from my toes to my cheeks and touch the centre of the necklace. The real meaning behind it is not one I’m going to share with Jill. Not because I’m embarrassed, but because it’s a secret I’d like to keep between me and my husband.

After experimenting with the belt in the cabin, it was almost nightly that I was having something wrapped around my throat, collaring me. There’s just something about it that drives me out of my mind. Maybe it’s the helplessness and knowledge that I’m at Niko’s mercy, or it could be the opposite. While I enjoy him taking control and demanding what he needs and wants from me, I also have power in the relationship and our sex life. I let him collar me, and because of my trust in him, I know that at the drop of a hat, he’d free me if that’s what I wanted.

It’s become an aphrodisiac stronger than anything else. And now, this diamond collar stays around my neck every single day as a reminder that I’m with the man who was made just for me. I belong to him, but he also belongs to me, even if his mark of ownership isn’t so obvious.

“Yeah, he did a good job. I don’t think I’ve taken it off since he gave it to me,” I tell Jill. She fakes a supportive smile, and I squeeze her hand. “How do we fix this mess?”

“I obviously have to find someone else to go with me.”

I chuckle. “Obviously. Do you think that will work?”

“There’s nothing else I can do. It’s not like I can just not go to the wedding. My sister would never forgive me.”

“Alright, so we need to find you a date, then. That shouldn’t be hard. Is there anyone you have in mind? A recent online match maybe?”

She groans, pulling her hand away to collect her hair in her hands and pin it to the back of her head. “No. The guys I go out with aren’t exactly the bring home to meet your family types.”

“Not even one of them could pull it off?”

“No. I’m serious, Ivy. I wouldn’t even take one to meet my third cousin. They think with their dicks, not their heads.”

I nod, rolling my lips. The men I know in town are all either in their sixties with grandkids, or straight out of high school. There’s only one guy I know who doesn’t fit into either of those categories?—

“What about Grayson?” I blurt out.

Jill grows still, her hair slipping through fingers. Throat straining with a swallow, she releases a doubtful noise.

“He wouldn’t go for that,” she mutters.

“Why not? You’re friends, aren’t you?”

Okay, maybe I’m baiting her. She’s been toying with Grayson for the better part of a year now like a cat with a mouse. The poor guy wants her so bad he’s been tripping over himself trying to earn her favour. The only thing stopping them from just being together already is Jill.

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