Page 39 of Fit for Love

“Go ahead,” he says with infuriating magnanimousness.“I only know two people at that table, Geoffrey and Jarrod, and I’m not that close to either.”

The names sound familiar.

Ah, right, one of them is Marcus’s CIO and the other is his butler—not sure which is which.

“Have fun,” he says, then turns around and leaves.

I locate the dining room and add my tacos to the pile of food already on the table.

Unlike Tierre, I don’t believe in juju or the evil eye, but if I did, I’d be positive Ashton’s “have fun” cursed this dinner because it turns out to be boring, awkward, and tedious, with Mr.Suck-Up telling us endless stories about Goldman Sachs, the investment bank where he works.

On the bright side, the stories manage to make me so drowsy I fall asleep as soon as I get to my room.

Unfortunately, the curse continues.

I’m bombarded by a variety of wet dreams, all of which feature Ashton.

Chapter17

Kendall

A knockon the door wakes me just as I’m sucking on Ashton’s neck like a horny Nosferatu.

Turns out, Marcus hired a makeup artist for the bridal party.The woman is good too, as skilled as the pros we have at our shoots in New York.And she’s thoughtful.She brings me breakfast and has me eat it as she works on my nails.

Freshly primped and preened, I exit my room and head outside, where I’m relieved to see that Marcus ordered two limos for us even though we could easily squeeze into one.

“Morning,” says Janie.

“Morning,” I say, giving her a quick onceover.She makes the bridesmaid dress look good, and I tell her so, eliciting a bright smile from her.

“Do you know which car Ashton’s riding in?”I ask.

“He just got into that one,” she says and points at the farthest limo.“Go ahead.There’s still room.”

“What about you?”I ask.“Which one will you take?”

She points to the nearer limo.“Landon wants to talk to Jarrod some more.”

“Ah.I see.”My choices seem to be Ashton or Mr.Suck-Up.“I’m going with you guys, so you and I can catch up.”

She nods at that, but like during the dinner last night, we don’t really get the chance to catch up because her boyfriend word-vomits business ideas to Jarrod the entire ride.

Exiting the limo, I take in our surroundings: a golden-sand beach in front of a rough, gray-blue ocean, with a few surfers bravely catching the tall-ish waves.A boardwalk stretches as far as the eye can see in either direction, and happy beachgoers frolic about, clearly enjoying the warm weather.

“That’s where it will happen.”Janie gestures at the pier in the middle of it all.

I figured as much, given the red carpet leading to our destination, and the fact that the pier has been heavily decorated with flowers and balloons.

“I thought everything was going to be super simple,” I muse.

“And it is, simple… for a billionaire,” she says.

She has a point.The red and white roses covering every empty inch of the pier likely cost more than I make in a year, but the flowers are not gold-plated, which shows definite restraint on Marcus’s part.

“What’s with the cat food jars?”Janie asks.

Huh.She’s right.Right below each balloon is a can of cat food, all different brands.

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