Page 26 of If You Give a Billionaire a Bride

Before I can respond, Cash ushers me inside and upstairs to the second floor. I tense as he pushes open the door to his childhood room.

“After you,” he says, his hazel eyes lingering on me as I brush past him. My pulse quickens at the touch, and I suppress the urge to glance back.

His room hasn’t changed much since high school. The full-sized bed has a navy-blue bedspread and pillows, with a nightstand and lamp on each side. A black dresser beside the closet is topped with several lacrosse trophies and two photos from before his accident—one of his family and the other of him, Theo, and me sitting on his parent’s porch on our first day of high school.

The space is much smaller than I remember. This isn’t going to work.

I take a step back, bumping into Cash before I can attempt to make a break for it.

He closes the door and must recognize the irritation etched on my face.

“Are you okay?” he asks, gently touching my arm.

“You did not just ask me that.” I shrug his hand off, but the warmth from it lingers on my skin. “Your brothers are more concerned about the gravity of the matter than you are, and they’re not the ones who woke up married this morning,” I remind him. “There’s nothing wrong with rolling with the punches, but this is a marriage we’re talking about. I need you to take this seriously.”

“Ev, relax,” he says in a soothing tone. “We’ll get this all sorted out, I promise. Let’s take my mom’s advice and get some rest. I’m sure things will seem less daunting tomorrow.”

I inhale a long breath through my nose and count to five before exhaling. The last thing we need is for Johanna to comeupstairs to check on us, wondering why we’re fighting on our first day as newlyweds.

“Delaying this conversation will not make it go away,” I mutter, folding my arms across my chest.

“Is there something you want to get off your chest?” Cash prompts.

“Yes, several things, actually,” I answer honestly. “For starters, you should have told me about the acquisition while we were at the hotel. Even if I knew, we should have discussed it beforehand. You and your brothers blindsiding me this afternoon was humiliating.”

From a logical standpoint, I understand Cash didn’t deliberately withhold information. He assumed I knew about the business deal, but it doesn’t stop me from expressing my annoyance.

“And it wasn’t fair of you to put me in this position—the family photos and spending the night here.” I gesture around the room. “I understand you’re close to your family, but they deserve the truth. I don’t like the idea of keeping secrets from them.”

He’s not the one his parents and Presley will hate once the truth comes out. Plus, it’s not like his brothers will fire him if this all goes south. I have so much more to lose.

“Is that all?” he retorts. “Don’t hold back. I can handle honesty.”

“That’s debatable,” I mumble under my breath. “You’ve been acting like this isn’t a serious predicament.”

“At least I have a sense of humor,” he says. “You’re plenty serious for the both of us.”

“Oh my god, you’re absolutely insufferable,” I say loudly, throwing my hands in the air in frustration.

Cash’s eyes soften at my reaction. “I’m sorry, Ev. I’m not intentionally trying to make things more complicated.” His tone is apologetic.

He has always used humor to navigate difficult situations he’s unsure how to confront. While it’s not my preferred approach, I recognize the importance of being understanding and supportive. We’re in this together, for better or worse.

“We’re both doing the best we can.” I give him a wry smile. “There’s not exactly a handbook on how to navigate waking up accidentally married to your brother’s best friend.”

Cash’s eyes light up with amusement. “Shedoeshave a funny side.”

“You bring out the worst in me,” I tease, and he gives me a broad smile. “Listen, the most pressing issue right now is that we don’t have our suitcases. What am I supposed to sleep in?”

We left our luggage on the plane since we were supposed to only be here for a few hours.

“You can wear one of my T-shirts,” Cash says, going over to the dresser in the corner. He pulls out a gray T-shirt and tosses it in my direction.

“I can’t wear this,” I tell him as I catch it.

On closer inspection, I see that it’s the Linkin Park T-shirt he let me borrow back in high school. He and Theo had been obsessed with the band when we were in eleventh grade. When they came to Maine during their tour, Cash and Theo got tickets, and I tagged along. One of the many perks of having a twin is you have built-in friends. Someone standing next to us spilled a drink on my shirt, and Cash saved the day, letting me wear the band tee he’d bought as a souvenir.

We got back to Aspen Grove late, and Johanna insisted we stay at their place. Theo and I ended up sleeping on the floor in Cash’s room. I can’t remember the last time I had as much fun as I did that night.

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