Page 18 of Making It While Faking It
“Funny thing about her. It seems your future wife was broker than a joke before agreeing to the deal.” He snorts facetiously while smirking. “I’m not surprised Leo would strip his daughter of cash and then pimp her out to the highest bidder.”
“I haven’t bid on her,” I spit, the words leaving my mouth just as bitter as they taste.
“I know that. I’m just saying.”
“I know what you were saying, but the fact that she was broke is news to me. Tell me more about that.”
His eyebrows quirk up as he takes a moment to assess my mood. My expression stays steady, urging him to get on with it. My cousin has ways which can be annoying to most but not to me—he is who is, and that’s it.
Nero stretches his neck from side to side as he wraps his fingers around his glass of whiskey and looks at the dingy brown liquid as if he’s thinking twice about drinking more. “We tracked her financials back ten years. She hadn’t received any trust payments since then. Treasure Grove has been doing it all by herself. That restaurant almost sunk her battleship. She was in debt up to here before she agreed to marry you for the money.” He shakes a finger as though he’s amused by whatever he’s going to say next. “She’s gotten paid recently, and not from the family chest. Tuff Studios paid her a few million.”
“For the TV show,” I say, recalling the gossip about her filming with Simon Linney on location. That’s where he cheated on her with that actress whose name escapes me. I hate that I know that, but a woman who’s an object of celebrity gossip is going to be my wife, so I have to know it.
Nero’s eyes are shining as if what he has to say next only gets better. “Yeah, but she’s been using the money from Tuff to live on. After renovating her restaurant, she hadn’t touched the trust money.”
I throw my hands up, not getting the punchline.
Nero leans toward me as if he’s letting me in on a secret. “You do know that she has an out, don’t you?”
I didn’t know that, and that’s exactly what my scowl conveys.
“If she’s able to pay back what she spent from the trust, she can saysayonarato the marriage contract she signed.”
My trachea feels like it’s squeezing my breaths. I’m slightly relieved her father and uncle wrote in an out for her, but then I’m not. “How did that get past you?”
He sighs. “It didn’t. Herc agreed to it last minute. It was the only way that deal would get done. Treasure’s mother insisted on the clause last minute.”
“Her mother?” I spit. “What the hell does her mother have to do with it?”
Nero laughs with an edge. “Has it been so long, Cousin?”
Ignoring Nero’s comment about how long it’s been—we both know it hasn’t been that long—I narrow an eye at him as I stroke my chin, trying to figure out if Treasure’s the kind of person who would take what she needs and say “fuck you” to the rest of us, including her family. They cut her off. She may have no real loyalty to them. “Shit,” I mutter and then gulp another swallow of liquor. The burn numbs my anger and keeps me from exploding at Nero about adding that clause without my permission. “What’s our plan B?” I ask, still wincing from the sting in my throat.
“Achilles, is that you?” a feminine and highly curious voice asks.
My muscles lock as I snap my attention toward whoever said that.Damn it.It’s too late to stop myself from gaping at my ex, Penelope Garner. I haven’t seen her in so long. But she’s still beautiful. Her dark hair, flawless skin, and large, seductive eyes still threaten to slay me.
“What are you doing here?” The words leave my mouth unfiltered. If I were thinking, I would’ve chosen a different tone, one that didn’t make me seem unready to see her. But she’s wearing a skirt suit, the kind that reminds me of a pillbox for some reason. Penelope is an interior designer, and she works a lot of weekends since her high-end clientele are at the office during the week.
Her thumb trembles as she points it over her shoulder. “I was in the neighborhood.”
The neighborhood?Nero and I pass each other a look. We chose this dive because it’s downtown, far away from Penelope’s Upper East Side scene. I would ask her what’s she doing in this area, but it’s not my place. We’re not together anymore because she couldn’t—no, wouldn’t—wait for me to sort out getting Hercules married so that my family could earn a financial benefit from the Lord family trust. Of course, Herc didn’t end up marrying our cousin. I was working up the nerve to contact Penelope as soon as Orion was securely contracted to marry Treasure. But then Treasure refused to marry him, and I was the last Lord standing.
But I always figured that as far as my future wife goes, Penelope was the right choice. She has an old-money pedigree and wears the outfits to match. Her roots can be traced all the way back to the Carnegies. Not only that, but she has grace. Sure, she can be stuck-up at times, but that’s because she’s a serious person, just as I am.
But then there’s Treasure Grove…
I snap myself out of a daze. One of Nero’s eyes is slitted. He’s sending me a message, telling me that being seen with Penelope is a problem and I should resolve it, fast. Only a few people know that she and I were involved, Nero being one of them and Orion the other. She closes the distance between us to stand close to my right shoulder. I gently inhale the familiar scent of her floral perfume. I used to love this woman, once upon a time. She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved.
“How have you been?” I find enough breath to say.
“Fine, and you?” Her tone is vulnerable, hopeful.
I nod swiftly.
“Oh, I heard about your good news. Congratulations.” Her solemn expression holds hope that I’ll denounce the press release that went out at ten this morning.
I clear my throat and look away from her glossy eyes as I say, “Thank you.”
