Since the night of the reception when Natalie put him in his place and he realized how much of an ass he’d been, the awkwardness between them faded. They grew steadily closer, talking more when he was home from the office and working towards building a more solid relationship. The kiss they shared that night on the bridge, before she made them fall into the water, was the last one they’d had so far, and he was anxious for another one.
“Are you listening to me at all?” Billy said, tapping Vincent’s desk with his pen.
“Sorry. I’m distracted.”
“I can tell. She’s really gotten under your skin, hasn’t she?”
Vincent smiled, folding his arms over his stomach as he leaned back in his chair. “Isn’t that what most wives should do to their husbands?”
Billy frowned, but then a smirk broke out across his face. “It is nice to see you so happy,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry, what was that?’
“You heard me, you asshole. Don’t push it.”
“Only because you wanted me to divorce her,” he added.
“Yeah, well, we didn’t know who she was.”
“Speaking of which,” Vincent asked as he sat back up, “did you get the background check? I assumed there was nothing bad, which is why you neglected to tell me.”
Billy nodded as he reached into his briefcase on the floor and drew out a few papers. “Nothing, really. She has no record, never been in trouble. The only thing mentioned on Natalie Jenkins at all are her commendations for graduating Texas A&M with honors and the car accident before that.”
“This is the accident?” Vincent’s hand hesitated before he flipped open the file folder. A few times, he’d tried to get her to open up about it, but she must be used to that from other people. She was a master at avoiding his questions and changing the subject before he even realized what had happened. “Did you read it?”
“Regrettably,” he muttered. “You might want a glass of whiskey when you read it.” He checked his watch and tucked the rest of his papers away. “I have to get downtown and set up for your talk tonight. You’re still good to go?”
“Yeah. I told Natalie she could sit this one out.”
“You sure? She’s been a hit so far, by the way. I’m not sure if you saw the paper the day after your reception. That shot of you two in the water is all over social media. People love her,” Billy announced loudly, throwing his arms up in the air. “If she wasn’t your wife, I’d have to kiss her for saving your sorry butt that night.”
Vincent bobbed his head in agreement. “See you tonight, man.”
Billy left the office, and Vincent was left with all the information the man had gathered on Natalie Jenkins. In all the times they spoke, she never mentioned her time in school or what she taught as a professor, and he was too caught up with all this election campaign crap to think of asking. He opened the folder and skimmed the first page of her background report. There was nothing of concern on her, so he set that page aside and turned to the next. Billy had made a note of her two degrees, a Bachelors and Masters, but didn’t say what they were for. After that was the accident report, news articles, and pictures from the paper, and Vincent nearly lost it. His mouth fell open as he found the image of her car after it rolled six times down the hill and landed at the bottom in a creek. The next article reported what happened and the injuries suffered by the victim, by his Natalie.
The injury to her head was severe, but it was what he read after that nearly made him throw the folder aside and rush home to see her. The car caught fire while she was still inside, and the rescuers struggled to get her out. Her entire back, the upper part of her buttocks, the backs of her arms to her elbows, and part of her neck suffered severe burns. She was in the hospital for a very, very long time. It was a miracle she managed to graduate with honors for her masters, albeit a semester behind.
“Now that is not the look I like to see on my son’s face.” Doris walked into his office and rested her hand on his cheek. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“It’s nothing,” Vincent muttered and tried to close the folder, but Doris was too fast and turned it to face her. “Mother, don’t. It’s not pleasant.”
She shushed him, and he watched her eyes widen as she skimmed through the words. “My, this happened to Natalie? That sweet girl? Good Lord, no wonder she has that look of defeat in her eyes sometimes.”
“What do you mean?” He thought she’d been happy since the reception.
“Every now and then, there’s a glimmer, but I think being around you is helping her as much as you being around her is returning my happy son to me. Now, when are you two coming over for dinner?”
“I was going to call you,” Vincent said as he tucked the folder away. His gut twisted and his hands itched to hold Natalie close to assure himself she was safe and sound. The burn scars…he thought about their time together and realized he’d never seen her back, and she never wore shirts that didn’t cover her arms to her elbows.
“Call me about what?” Doris walked around his office and picked up a mint from the bowl on the corner of his desk. “Vinnie?”
“Huh? Sorry, right. I was going to call you to invite you over for dinner. Natalie is one hell of a cook. She said she wouldn’t mind having more people to cook for,” he explained.
“Do I get to bring a date?” she asked with a wink.
“If you must. I’m sure Natalie won’t mind.”
Doris crossed her legs and leaned on the front of her son’s desk. “So you and the website wife are getting along then? Nothing I need to be worried about?”
“If you’re trying to ask if we’ve had sex yet, the answer is no,” Vincent grumbled. “And please, for all the love you have for me, do not mention grandkids at dinner. We’re taking this slow, remember? We only met two weeks ago, after all.”
“Eh, if it’s meant to be it’ll happen.”
Vincent checked the clock on his desk. Four more hours before he would leave for the day and then another two before he would actually get home and see Natalie. She’d offered to come tonight, but she had gone to the last few functions and meet and greets with him. The actual events weren’t the problem, it was the car trips that were getting to her. For two years, she said she was maybe in the car once a month. Her sister was able to get groceries for her, and most other things, she ordered online. He wanted her by his side, but pushing her to the point of tearing down what stability she had was not his intention. His mind rushed back to the accident report and he stood up from his desk.
“Where are you going?” Doris asked.
“I am taking a half day because I feel like it,” Vincent told her. “Dinner tomorrow night?”
“I think that will be perfect. We’ll see you at seven.” Doris winked at her son as she left his office first, humming happily under her breath.
“Whatever you’re thinking, Mother, just stop it.”
“I’m thinking about that night with you two on the bridge and the whiskey bottle they found floating through the garden later,” she mused. “I’m curious is all. Very curious.”
Vincent’s cheeks heated, but it was the growing want in his lower belly for a woman who cared about him and his career as much as he was beginning to care for her. Today, things would change. He wanted to know more about her and would take the time to do it the right way. After he told his assistant he was leaving early, he drove to the local flower shop and sought the help of the young florist there.
“Good afternoon, sir, what can I help you with today?” the woman asked cheerfully.
“Yes, I’m hoping to put together a bouquet for my wife…something different.”
“I think I can help with that. What type of woman is she?”
Vincent froze, licking his lips nervously as he tried to think of how to describe Natalie. “Well, she’s beautiful, even though she doesn’t know it,” he started, and the woman nodded, moving slowly through the shop with him following. “She’s strong—stronger than me—and she makes me…I’m sorry, that’s probably inappropriate.”
The woman laughed as she drew a few long-stemmed orange snapdragons from a bucket of water. “Not at all. These will do for those inappropriate thoughts,” she added with a wink. “And I think hydrangeas for your heartfelt actions today on behalf of your wife, then some gladiolus for strength. Finally, tulips. Yes, you have to have tulips.”
“Tulips? What are tulips for?” Vincent asked, fascinated listening to the woman talk about each flower and what they symbolized.
The women picked out some orange tulips to go with the snapdragons and offset the white hydrangeas and vibrant gladiolus. “Tulips stand for only one thing. Love—the love I can see in your eyes right now as you talk about her.”
“Love? Well, of course,” Vincent said hurriedly when the woman eyed him funny.
Love. She saw love in his eyes for Natalie? The florist arranged the bouquet in a beautiful arrangement and wrapped it in paper, finishing it off with an orange ribbon. He handed over his card as she rang it up, while Vincent thought this woman—a stranger—was right. In the short amount of time he’d been with Natalie, he thought of her constantly and ached to feel her touch, even if it was only a brush of his hand against hers. His drive to get through the day was to get home to see her smiling face and hear her laughter as they talked and joked about Billy’s freak outs over the campaign, or her catching him up on what her identical twin was doing with her own wedding plans. Vincent hadn’t met her yet, but Natalie told her he could when she stopped thinking he hated her for what the sisters did to him.
“Here you are, sir,” the florist said. “I hope she likes them.”
“I’m sure she will. Thank you for your help.”
He took the bouquet gently in his hands and walked to the truck parked outside. When he reached the house and parked, he heard music blaring inside before he even opened the door. Grinning, he poked his head inside and paused to watch as Natalie swept her way around the kitchen, using the handle as a mic, though her lips only moved to the words. She shimmied in those damn short shorts she wore constantly and the sweatshirt he had declared her favorite. His smile faltered as he realized now why she wore such conservative tops and wished she was more comfortable with herself to show those scars.
Natalie spun around and staggered to a stop, laughing hysterically when she spotted him. She drew the remote from her back pocket and shut off the speakers. “You were not supposed to be home yet,” she pointed out.
“I thought I would surprise you.” He beamed as he revealed the bouquet to her.
Her eyes lit up instantly, and she bounced on the balls of her feet like she did every time something excited her. Last night, it was when she found a Star Trek marathon on TV and forced him to sit down and watch. After the first two episodes, he was laughing so hard his sides hurt. She recited nearly every line perfectly.
“They’re beautiful,” she whispered, taking the bouquet from him. She reached around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you. What are they for?”
“Just because,” he said, his chest swelling with the love he knew he couldn’t deny any longer.
She found a vase in one of the cabinets and rested the bouquet in it, setting it in the center of the kitchen table. The sight of flowers he bought for his wife on his kitchen table did something to Vincent he hadn’t expected. The loneliness that had occupied his mind for so many years vanished in a flash, and he imagined the two of them sitting at that table every night for dinner. He pictured a child, maybe more, surrounding them, and friends and family. He saw their potential lives together pass right in front of his eyes and there wasn’t a chance in hell he would let this opportunity slip from his grasp. He needed to know everything about this woman, and he was more than willing to take a lifetime learning from her.
For now, he hoped she would grace him with some answers.
“Mother and a date are going to join us for dinner tomorrow night,” he said as he followed her to the kitchen island.
“Oh, good. I’ll have to order a few extra things from the store.”
“Order?” he asked, frowning.
“Yeah. I hope you don’t mind. I had some groceries delivered this morning.”
“I have food in the house,” he grumbled as he pulled the fridge open. “Well, shit, I thought I had food in the house. Are you sure you bought enough?” he teased, looking over the shelves fully stocked with fresh produce and condiments he hadn’t even heard of. He checked the freezer next and his mouth watered immediately at the sight of the steaks stacked high. The pantry also brimmed with groceries. “Okay, I lied. I thought I had food in the house.”
“You had bachelor food, and as much as I like frozen pizza,” she said, hip-checking him as she passed to grab a cookbook by the stove, “a girl likes to change things up every now and then.”
He watched her flip through the cookbook, humming the theme to Star Trek under her breath the whole time. “You know you don’t have to do all this cooking, really.”
“And I told you I don’t mind. I’m off for the summer, remember? No classes.”
“What did you teach anyway? I never asked and I’m, uh, I’m sorry for that.”
She threw him a smirk before she picked up the cookbook and rummaged through the pantry, drawing out different ingredients and lining them up on the counter. “I teach astronomy and physics, and every now and then, I do a lecture course on current topics revolving around anything to do with space. All beginner courses, really. I can’t do much else with only a Masters.”
“But you graduated with honors, didn’t you?” he asked then glanced away when she shot him a look, one eyebrow arched.
“I did. You’ve done some research.”
“Billy might have looked up a few things. You can’t really blame him.”
“No. No, I can’t and I don’t. Yes, I graduated with honors, but that doesn’t count for shit when people assume you can’t work as well as everyone else can,” she snapped bitterly and shook her head. Her body stiffened and she chewed on her bottom lip, staring blankly at the cookbook in her hands. “Sorry, touchy subject.”
“Natalie?”
“Huh? Sorry, just…ah, I don’t always talk about what happened.”
“What did happen?” he asked softly. “You can tell me. I’m here for you, remember?”
She set the cookbook down and rested her hands on the counter, hunching over the book as she scrunched her eyes closed. He rested a hand over hers, and she laced her fingers around his. “After the accident, with the memory issues, I was told I wouldn’t be able to finish my Masters. I proved them all wrong, of course, but there were some issues. I saw them along with the other professors and my fellow students.”
“You never tried to get your PhD?”
Her laughter was harsh. “It’s hard to do that when no one will accept you and you can’t get an internship anywhere, either. No one thought I could do it, so I settled for the only job I was offered by the same college I attended before heading to a four-year school.”
“And the cooking you’re doing?” he asked, curious when she had time to take culinary lessons.
“Oh, I learned that last week.”
Vincent had to have heard her wrong. “I’m sorry, you did what?”
“I had nothing else to do, so I picked up a few cookbooks from the library and taught myself a thing or two.” She patted his hand. “I can be quite intelligent when my brain decides to cooperate with me.”
He should have brought her a second bouquet of flowers. This woman was incredible. When everyone told her she wouldn’t be able to do something, she basically told them to shove it and did it anyway. “When did you decide to lock yourself away in your apartment?”
The seasoning in her hand clattered to the floor, and he bent to pick it up, catching her shaking hand on his way back up. Her face paled and her jaw tensed so hard, it was a wonder she didn’t crack her teeth. “That came…uh, that came later.”
Vincent tucked the errant strands of hair behind her ears and tilted her chin up so she faced him when she tried to turn away. “What happened?”
“It’s stupid, really.”
“I have a feeling it’s not. Talk to me, please?”
She sighed, and to his surprise, she rested her forehead against his shoulder. “The accident nearly killed me, and while I recovered, my friends were there, my fellow classmates. They came to cheer me on, and I thought I could go back to living a normal life. But between the memory issues, my horrible fear of any moving vehicle, and the…the burns that disfigured my back, I wasn’t good company.”
“According to who?” he asked, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.
“A few bitch girls I never liked before, and a guy…or several. They all knew about the accident and wanted me to get over it, to move on.” She pulled back from him, wiping at her face, and sniffed hard. “It doesn’t matter. They were right.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it.”
“Is it? You haven’t seen the scars, Vincent. I look like something Frankenstein put together on his off day.” Tears flowed over and slipped down her cheeks as she backed away from him. “I went from being the fun, carefree Natalie to the forgetful, untouchable freak.”
She turned her back to him, hugging her arms close around her body as she cursed under her breath. Vincent reached out to draw her into his arms, but his hands fell inches away from her.
“They shouldn’t have done that to you.”
“No,” she argued as she turned around, her eyes red and puffy. “You know how hard it is to hang out with friends whose names you can’t always remember? Or you can’t go anywhere with? You know, my sister was never the one who wanted hiking or fishing.”
“No?”
“No, that was always me. I loved being outside, finding a new adventure every week.” She rubbed her hands over her face, staring out the window. He knew she saw something very different from his backyard. “Funny how one shitty night can change your entire life.”
Vincent was at a loss. He knew it must’ve been bad for a while if her sister was worried she would waste away in their apartment but never imagined her facing such negativity from people who should have cared for her. His gaze slipped to her back, and he wondered what the scars looked like to make men actually turn away from such a fiery woman. She ignited his life, and he’d noticed over the last week, she hadn’t forgotten anything. None of their conversations or events. She hadn’t forgotten one damn thing. Part of him hoped it was because she was with him.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered and shook her head, grinning. “I didn’t mean to dump all that on you.”
“I wanted to know,” he reminded her. “Just so you know, you don’t have to worry about any of that around me. I want you to be yourself all the time,” he told her sternly. “And you know what? The next event we go to, wear your earrings. All of them.”
Her fingers ran over her right ear with their multiple silver studs. “You’re sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. It’s 2017. If they can’t handle a woman with piercings in her ear, then screw them.”
“Vincent, I said I wouldn’t do anything to mess up your career.”
“And you won’t,” he said, reaching for her hand and pulling her towards him. “I might’ve been too hard on you when all this started.”
“And you’ve apologized like fifty times at least,” she said, staring into his eyes. “I forgave you.”
He breathed heavily out his nose, running his hands up her back. She shivered at the touch, inching even closer, and he considered offering her an afternoon delight, but they had agreed to take things slow. When she was ready, they would push the boundaries of their fragile relationship. For now, he brushed his lips across hers in a soft kiss and hugged her, safe in his arms. They stood like that for a long time in the kitchen, him holding her as she wrapped her arms around his waist. This was what home was supposed to feel like. He’d wished for a wife, but what he’d found was a partner, a friend, a woman who had seen some shit and found a way to cope with it the best she could. She might have been close to giving up, but he wouldn’t let her reach that place.
“Don’t you have an event tonight?” she asked after a while.
“Not yet.”
“Vincent,” she giggled. “Billy will kill you if you’re late.”
“I have some time still. Don’t rush me, woman,” he growled and rested his cheek on the top of her head again. Her scent of oranges and spice surrounded him until he was lost in her presence. She moved, and he lifted his head to see her staring up at him. “What?”
Her hands cupped his face, scratching playfully against the scruff on his cheeks. She stood up on her toes and kissed him. Vincent’s eyes slipped closed as his hunger for her exploded. His hands reached lower, cupping her ass. She licked his lips before her tongue slipped into his mouth, and they warred for control of the kiss as it heated. He backed them up until she hit the kitchen island then picked her up as if she weighed nothing, setting her on it. She spread her legs easily for him, drawing him in against her body. All ideas of needing to take it slow were no longer in his mind as her lips left his and kissed a path down his neck, nibbling and licking to his shoulder. She tugged at his tie and button-down shirt until he tore the first button free. Their hands fumbled with the rest together, her breathy laughter punctuating each kiss she planted on his body.
Natalie’s hands shoved his shirt fervently over his broad shoulders, and her lips immediately went to the bare skin as he tossed the shirt to the floor. She drew up the muscle tank he wore beneath, and it joined the other on the floor. Her palms flattened against his pecs, and Vincent cursed roughly as she traced each one, pinching his nipples with a glint of mischief in her light blue eyes.
When her nails raked down his chest towards his abs, he grabbed her hips and ground himself against her, wanting her to feel exactly what she did to him. Her eyes widened briefly before narrowing with what he could only describe as glee.
“Natalie,” he murmured and cupped her face in his hands. “Are you saying what I think you are?”
Her legs tightened their hold around his body. “I don’t know. That’s bad, isn’t it? We shouldn’t start this if I’m not able to go through with it. Damn, I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t you dare apologize to me,” he growled. “I will wait however long you need to.” She nodded, but the flicker of nervousness in her eyes gave him pause. “Have you done this before?”
“Ah, that would be a no,” she whispered.
His hands fought not to grab her hips again and tear her clothes from her body. She had never fully experienced the pleasure of a man, and he would be the first. His primal instinct to possess this woman rose with a fury, and he nearly lost his control.
“Is that bad?” she asked when he choked on his words.
“No…no, it’s not bad. But I want you to be really sure.”
Her hands continued their exploration of his chest and abs, tickling his ribs. He wanted her to say yes, needed to hear that word slip from her red lips so he could carry her straight upstairs to his bed, lay her out, and fill her with his throbbing cock, but the doorbell rang and he cursed, his head falling to her shoulder. She patted his naked shoulders with her hands and kissed the top of his head.
“I’ll go get it. I think you’re a little indecent to answer your front door,” she told him.
His hand held her thighs and he nuzzled her neck. “I’m not even supposed to be home right now. They can wait.”
The doorbell rang a second time and then a third as Natalie’s breathing turned to panting and he kissed the mounds of her breasts as he tugged the front of her sweatshirt down gently.
“Damn it,” he grumbled and pulled away.
She kissed him full on the mouth, leaving him with promises to continue this later, and hopped off the counter. “You should probably freshen up anyway and get ready for tonight.”
He watched her leave the kitchen, swaying her hips as she went, and he groaned, imagining where this moment might have led had the damn doorbell not rung. He picked up his clothes and rushed to the stairs as she reached the front door, chuckling behind her hand as he darted, half-naked, out of sight. He would definitely need a shower—a very cold, icy shower—to put him in the mood for spending the evening with white-haired old men instead of watching another Star Trek marathon with Natalie. As the water sluiced over his naked body and his erection continued to throb obnoxiously, he considered planning something else for them to do. A weekend away at the ranch would give him the chance to have her alone and let Natalie find some of her adventurous spirit again. No prying eyes to judge her, no one to watch her, and no one except him to keep her company.
That, and for some reason, the image of her fishing was extremely amusing to him.
He washed his hair and his body, but every time he blinked, he heard Natalie’s panting breath in his ear and felt her breasts against his chest, begging him to touch her. Her lips taunted his even now, and his hand slipped lower. He gripped his cock hard in his fist, and leaning against the shower wall with his other hand, he let his fantasies run wild of Natalie being in the shower with him. The past few times she left him wanting like this, he managed to think the erection away, but not this time. Probably because now he knew she was a damn virgin. His hand moved faster, and he groaned, seeing her spread out on his bed as he parted her thighs and slipped within her body. Hearing her moans turn into sharp cries of pleasure as he pushed her to the edge and sailed right over with her. Sated, for the moment at least, he washed his body a second time before shutting off the water and grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist. He’d just picked up his comb to tame his hair—steadily growing longer so Natalie wouldn’t stop running her hands through it when they sat beside each other in the evenings—when a knock came at the bedroom door.
“Hey, Vincent? You decent?” she asked.
His cock twitched beneath the towel, and he glared fiercely at it. Once he knew he wouldn’t greet her with an erection, he went to answer the door.
Her eyes widened and slipped to his chest. Her lips parted, and she had to try several times before she managed to get the words out. “Ah, door. There was a man at the door.”
“Oh?” he asked, his lips curling into a crooked grin. “What did he want?”
She licked her lips, and he cursed mentally. Her gaze was still focused on his chest when she murmured, “A reporter…bit of an ass, really.”
“Reporter?” he asked, all teasing gone.
“Right, sorry,” she said and shook her head. This time, when she opened her eyes, they met his. “He said some weird shit and handed me his card in case you wanted to talk to him in private.”
“About what?” he asked as she handed over the card.
“He didn’t really say, but he kept looking at me and leering. He even tried to get into the house.”
“What?” Vincent was out the door and at the top of the stairs before she caught up to him, grabbing his arm to pull him back. “He’s gone?”
“Yeah, I shoved him out the door and locked it.” She cracked the knuckles on her fingers. “You don’t think he knows something’s hinky with our marriage, do you?” she whispered, sounding scared. “Vincent?”
He crumbled up the business card in his hand. “No, Billy made sure of it.”
“Damn it,” she cursed and hung her head. “This is my fault.”
“Nothing is your fault because nothing’s happened,” he said and drew her into his arms. “Don’t worry about it, all right? Promise me, Natalie.”
“All right, all right,” she muttered into his body.
He realized very suddenly that he was naked except for the towel, and her breathing increased, warming his chilled skin. His hands tightened around her, inching down her back. Her lips caressed his pecs and he considered scooping her up into her arms, if only to show her what he could do to her, but the doorbell rang again. This time, though, a key turned in the lock. Natalie disentangled herself from his arms as Billy stepped through the front door.
“Hello? Vincent? Natalie?” he called out.
“Yeah, I’m here,” he replied as Natalie, giggling, walked down the steps.
“Hey, Billy,” she said when she passed him. “You coming to dinner tomorrow night too?”
“Dinner? With who? Why wasn’t I told?” he asked and shot an accusing glare up at Vincent. His brow shot up to his hairline at his friend’s clear state of undress. “Was I interrupting something?”
“No.”
“Yes,” Vincent argued, and Natalie stifled her laughter with a cough. “And it’s dinner with Mother and her…date.”
“Ah, if you want me here, I guess I can come,” Billy said hesitantly.
“Oh, come on now, Billy, how much longer are you going to hate me?” Natalie pouted, and Billy floundered for words until she burst out laughing. “Come to dinner, eat the steak, and you’ll forget you ever doubted me!” she called over her shoulder.
Billy shifted his gaze back to Vincent. “She is a piece of work, you know that?”
“Yeah, I think I do. Why are you here? I said I’d meet you there.”
“Sorry, change of plans.” He motioned for himself to come upstairs, and Vincent waved him up. He had to finish getting ready anyway. “We might have a problem.”
“Oh? With what, exactly?”
Billy glanced over his shoulder, but Natalie was still downstairs. “A leak.”
Vincent’s hand froze with the comb in it. “About the marriage?”
Billy nodded, and Vincent realized how close to panicking his friend was. “I had a reporter stop by to see me right after I left your office. He wanted an in-depth interview with you and Natalie. I told him he’d have to wait in line, but the way he was smiling, it was like he wanted a chance to trip you two up.”
“Who would’ve told? There’s only, what, five people who know?”
“Me, you, Natalie, of course,” Billy said, counting them off on his fingers. “Judge Harvey only might say something about the name issue, but I doubt it. No reporter is dumb enough to bother that man. The website company, and then your mother.”
“And Natalie’s twin,” Vincent added.
“Her twin knows?”
Vincent stared at him with a flat look. “Really, Billy?”
“Right, sorry. The twin had the idea in the first place. You don’t think she would say anything, do you? Could she be jealous of her sister for landing the billionaire?”
“No,” he argued. “No, her sister is engaged already.”
“Well, someone said something.”
“Did you catch the bastard’s name?” he asked, glancing at the crumpled card on the bathroom counter.
Billy dug around in his suit jacket and revealed a matching card. “Hank Butcher.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised you didn’t pass him on your way in.”
“He was at the house?” Billy hissed.
“Natalie answered the door. She said he even tried to get himself inside.” Vincent tossed the card in the trashcan. “I think we might need to consider security guards if I’m going to have reporters showing up at the house like this.”
Billy nodded in agreement as his fingers flew across his phone’s screen. “I’ll get it set up.”
“Oh, and next weekend, I’m taking Natalie to the ranch.”
“Vinnie, man, I love you, but you have two events scheduled back to back.”
“I said I’m taking Natalie to the ranch,” he repeated. “I think it’s time we had a small honeymoon, don’t you?”
Billy frowned but gave in. “You see these wrinkles right here on my forehead? They’re all from you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll pay for your facelift,” Vincent promised, and Billy groaned in annoyance behind him.
He wouldn’t worry about the reporter unless he showed up again or let something slip about the real story behind his and Natalie’s meeting. It wouldn’t do to start pointing fingers and accuse the few people who did know of ratting him out.
