Page 29 of Deal with Mr. Cruel

He led her through the restaurant, following the hostess. As they approached the table, Braydon stood, giving them both hugs. Julia did, too. They all sat down and a waiter appeared with a bottle of champagne on ice.

“Our finest champagne, sir.”

“Thank you. Only the best for our newlyweds.” Braydon winked at Jonas and Mae.

The waiter poured four glasses and quickly took their orders.

“Congratulations to the happy couple,” Julia said, holding up her glass.

Jonas put his arm around Mae and pulled her close, as the four of them clinked their glasses. She felt stiff being this close to him, but he seemed completely comfortable. His fingers grazed her arm softly as he took a sip of champagne. She took a generous sip of hers to help loosen her nerves.

“So, how did this come about?” Julia asked, pointing at the two of them.

“Yes, please. Do tell,” Braydon said, nodding.

“Well, I’ve always had my eye on this one.” Jonas nodded toward Mae. “How could I not? She’s beautiful.”

Julia was practically already gushing.

“But she didn’t make it easy on me,” Jonas continued. “She’s a stubborn one.”

“Don’t I know it,” Braydon said with a laugh.

Mae playfully rolled her eyes and took another sip of champagne.

“But eventually, she finally agreed to go on a date with me,” Jonas said, giving her a squeeze. This was her cue.

“Yes, I finally broke. It was the sweetest thing. He set up a late-night picnic in his living room, with the fireplace crackling, and a nice bottle of wine,” she said, remembering the night because it had happened.

“How romantic.” Julia sighed.

Jonas looked at Mae and caught her gaze. “I remember looking at her in the glow of the fireplace, and thinking,I can’t let this one go.”

Something about the way he said it made Mae’s stomach do a small flip. His eyes told her he was telling the truth. She looked at his lips and brought her hands to his face, bringing him in for a soft kiss. She felt Jonas take in a breath as his lips met hers for that brief moment. She pulled back and looked at him. His eyes slowly opened and they beamed. She laid her head on his shoulder, watching Braydon and Julia gush over them. The champagne had definitely gone to her head.

Jonas stumbled over his words for a moment before collecting himself. “So yeah, now we’re married.”

“Cheers to that!” Braydon said.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly. Between the two of them, Mae and Jonas had enough real memories to really sell their relationship. Braydon was eating it all up. By the end of dinner, he was hugging Jonas, which was a sight Mae never thought she would see.

“My boy, you two really kept this under wraps, but I’m glad to see the both of you settled.” He slapped Jonas on the back. Jonas smiled proudly.

Braydon gave Mae a big hug as well, and discreetly slipped her a check before whispering in her ear. “Buy the pair of you something ridiculous.” He walked away, hand in hand with Julia, before she could protest.

“Well, that went well.” Jonas let out a sigh of relief as he slid his arm around Mae’s bare shoulders. She looked at him curiously. Wasn’t their little show over? He must have seen the look on her face because he cleared his throat and removed his arm.

“I’ll call my driver.” He pulled out his phone.

They rode home in silence and on opposite ends of the seat. It was as if some spell had been broken and they were back to normal. Mae didn’t like it. Why had she let herself kiss him? That had been a mistake. As much as she was fighting them back, her feelings were coming to the surface.

“Home sweet home,” Jonas said, kicking off his shoes as they walked through the door.

But it’s not my home, Mae reminded herself as she pulled the check from her clutch. She waited until Jonas was in the kitchen to unfold it. When she did, she nearly choked. It was a check for $500,000.

“Are you okay?” Jonas asked, walking toward her. For a second, she debated showing him, but she wasn’t selfish.

“Yeah. Braydon gave us a gift. An outrageous one,” she said, holding out the check.

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