“How could you do this to me?” Sierra asks, her gaze filled with torment. “To both of us,” she adds, before elbowing Raven, who is seated next to her.
They showed up the moment Luca left for poker night, and I have a feeling I’m not leaving this living room until they’ve interrogated me to their satisfaction. Somehow, I was more ready for Grandma Anne than I was for this.
We’ve spoken in our group chat in the days since Raven’s fashion show, but other than congratulating me, they didn’t say much else. I thought they were letting it slide because they know how awkward I get when asked to speak about my private life, but it looks like I underestimated them. They were just waiting until they could corner me in person.
“I… I’m sorry for not telling you,” I murmur, my cheeks flushed. The idea of letting them down breaks my heart. I know it’s difficult for them to accept that I have a hard time letting people in, and throughout the years, they’ve always forgiven me when I went through periods of involuntarily pushing them away, but even I can admit that keeping something this big from them is too much. I must have made them feel like we aren’t real friends, and I don’t know how to fix it.
“Luca and I agreed to keep it quiet until we officially told your grandmother, but I should’ve just told you in secret. I’m really sorry.”
Sierra narrows her eyes at me. “That’s not what I’m worried about. How could you have deprived me of an opportunity to throw you a bachelorette party? Isn’t it enough that Raven got married in a rush and I was deprived of my maid of honor duties? How could you do the same thing to me?”
Raven bites back a smile and shakes her head. “Stop messing with her,” she tells Sierra, before turning to me. “Besides, we both know it’s me you would have chosen as your maid of honor, right?”
I stare at them doe-eyed and breathe a sigh of relief when I realize they aren’t mad at me at all. “You two… you had me so worried. I thought for sure you wouldn’t forgive me for being so secretive this time. Do you have any idea how many times I replayed this conversation in my mind?”
Sierra and Raven glance at each other, and then they smile. “Luca was a mess when you quit your job,” Raven says. “It was obvious that there was no way he was letting you go. This doesn’t surprise me in the least.”
Luca, a mess? I can’t even imagine that. I bet he was simply pissed that I deviated from his carefully laid out plans. He doesn’t like change, and I definitely caught him by surprise.
Sierra looks into my eyes and crosses her legs over each other as she leans in. “So, is it real? Your marriage?”
I look down in an attempt to hide my shock, my heart racing. What do I say to that? It’s one thing to keep our marriage from them, but it’s something else entirely to lie outright. I can’t breach our contract, though. What do I do?
“I see,” Raven says, a smile on her face. “You think it isn’t, huh? That’s cute.” I look up at her in confusion, and she grins at me. “Did you two decide to stick it out for three years, until Luca gets his inheritance?”
I take a deep breath and look away. “I can’t answer that,” I tell her honestly, my words conveying the truth I can’t articulate.
“When you sleep with him, does it feel like more than sex?” she asks, her eyes twinkling.
Sierra groans in disgust and wraps her hands over her ears for a moment, before clearly deciding she wants to know after all, because she drops one of her hands while keeping one ear covered.
“Um, yes,” I admit, my cheeks no doubt bright red.
“Does he get jealous and possessive of you?”
I think back to the way he reacted when Theo dropped by my desk, the new identification documents he got me, and the wedding rings. “He does, but that’s just Luca.”
Sierra chuckles and shakes her head. “No, Val. That’s Luca when it comes to you. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone else. Do you remember when we got caught breaking into Xavier’s office? I’m his sister, and he left me behind bars when we got arrested. If you hadn’t been with me, he wouldn’t have come at all. He’d just have left Xavier to deal with it.”
I look away and try my best to suppress the tinge of hope I feel. I shouldn’t want Luca to care about me at all — that isn’t what we agreed on. So why does it feel so good to think he does?
“Oh well,” Raven says. “If your marriage isn’t real, he won’t mind if we go out tonight, will he? Sierra is right. I never had a bachelorette party, and neither did you.”
I pin her down with a stare. “Luca might not care, but Ares will.”
Raven merely grins. “Do you really think the boys will leave poker night? They’ll never know.”
The subsequent grin that lights up Sierra’s face spells trouble, and I really should’ve known better than to give into them.
Yet somehow, I find myself in a club an hour later, wearing one of the dresses Raven designed for me. I’m feeling buzzed and haven’t stopped smiling, courtesy of the wine we drank while we got ready together. I wonder if they knew that I needed a breather, a night with just my two closest friends, and no worries whatsoever.
“Come on,” Sierra says, twirling me around. She gets behind me and wraps her arms around my waist, the two of us dancing like a drunk and somewhat deranged couple. Giggles escape my lips every few seconds as Raven busts out some truly dreadful dance moves in front of me. What is she even doing? Is she pretending to be a robot? It’s ridiculous to see a woman as beautiful as she is acting so silly, but this is exactly what I love about her. Sierra and Raven have totally got me sandwiched, but I’m enjoying every second of it.
“Val?”
An arm wraps around my waist, and I tense as I look up into sky blue eyes that I remember all too well.
“Ben?” My heart starts to ache at the mere sight of him, the pain feeling fresh all over again. It’s been eight years, but the betrayal feels brand new. “What are you doing here?”
“Do you know him?” Raven asks protectively. I glance back at my friends and nod, not wanting to worry them.
Last I heard, Ben had moved to Australia for work. What is he doing back here? Why did I have to run into him here, now?
His eyes roam over my face, his gaze filled with the same torment I feel. “I missed you,” he murmurs into my ear. “I was hoping I’d find you eventually. I only got back a few days ago, and here you are. How could it not be fate?”
I push away from him and try my hardest to look unaffected by his words. If this is fate, then mine must be rotten. “I’d have much preferred it if you’d stayed wherever the hell you came from,” I snap, my heart racing.
Ben wraps his hand around my wrist, and I try to shake it loose instantly, but he’s holding on too tight. “Val, please, can we talk? If nothing else, please let me apologize.”
Sierra starts to reach for me, but then she stops and steps back, her eyes wide. It doesn’t take me long to realize why.
“How about you take your fucking hands off her before you lose them altogether?” Luca threatens. I look back to find my husband standing behind me, fury blazing through his eyes.
