Page 35 of Sweet Wicked Vows
The fates were truly testing me.
We all gathered in the drawing room at the back of the house. The room offered no reprieve from the humid August heat. Evelyn sat by my side, our knees a whisper breath away from touching, while Olivia, the picture of professionalism, sat across from us with her pen tapping against an open notebook.
And then there was that ridiculous cat.
It—shewas unable to be swayed from missing the meeting and plonked herself on Evelyn’s lap.
“Again, I want to say thank you for agreeing to see us last minute.” Evelyn smiled. “Given your busy schedule, I appreciate that this is a little unorthodox. Then again, this whole scenario is quite peculiar.”
Olivia’s gaze traveled between me and the woman at my side. “It’s my pleasure. Though, I’m not going to deny that I am a bit confused as to why you called me.”
Dark loose curls, a heart-shaped face, and a pair of eyes that rivaled a wild tiger, Olivia was the spitting image of her mother. Her mother, Sophia, still to this day was one of the most stunning women, in looks and soul. Sophia was a model, andthough much more active in her earlier years, she still continued to take on some work. Many speculated that as Olivia’s natural beauty broke through, she would also end up doing the same work as her mother.
Instead, she opted to pursue her career in event organizing. Many told her she was a fool for not following her mother in the modeling world, stating she was wasting her natural born good looks.
Olivia proved them all wrong with her own success.
“You were rather vague on the phone,” Olivia continued. “You said something about an event, but I didn’t quite grasp what the event is for.”
Evelyn shifted, the slit in her silk black and white skirt raising with the motion and revealing the perfect blossom-tinted skin of her thigh. A surge of blood rushed through me as I pictured the skirt riding up further, revealing her bare and ready.
Or maybe she was wearing some of the lingerie she charged to my card.
My knuckles blanched as I tried to control myself.
“Well, I was hoping that you would be able to organize an event for us. A celebration for all our friends, family, and business associates to let them know our wonderful news.” Her hand rested on my knee, and I tried to fight against the blood surging straight to my crotch. “My dad wants to throw a party to celebrate our marriage.”
Olivia stopped tapping the top of her pen against paper. “The two of you got married.” It was a statement, not a question. “And now, you wish to celebrate it? Why not do what every other person does and have an actual wedding?”
Evelyn’s fingers twitched on my knee.
“This all seems odd,” Olivia said. “I can’t say I am not surprised. I don’t remember reading anywhere about your engagement, let alone the fact you were dating.”
“Um, yeah, like I said, I know it’s peculiar...”
Olivia cut her off. “Weren’t you engaged to Laurence Larkin a couple months ago?”
“We eloped,” I said, encasing Evelyn’s hand with my own. Being this close to her, caused her intoxicating and demanding sweet scent to embed itself into my nostrils. I tried to ignore the way my body jolted to life when she pressed her hand into mine. “It was a last-minute decision.”
Evelyn chuckled weakly. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind romance.”
Olivia frowned, her feline eyes scrutinizing Evelyn. “You two both realize how this looks?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“People in our world use their weddings as a way to flaunt their wealth.” Olivia closed her notebook. “It’s another excuse to showcase what they’ve achieved. A big venue. An expensive white wedding dress. Selective invite list. It’s the norm. It’s the status quo.” Her shoulders snapped back. “The two of you are jewelry royalty. Why would the two of you not wish to do what every other person does in your circle and have an actual wedding? It would have been one of the hottest events of the year.”
“We just didn’t,” I ground out. “We wanted it just to be the two of us.”
“Jaxon,” Olivia sighed. A whisper of a shudder ran down my spine, the flicker of a forgotten memory of my name on her lips. “What you two have done, it sort of—no, itdoeslook like the two of you are hiding something.”
“We have nothing to hide.” I squeezed Evelyn’s hand, whatever it took to stop her fingers from twitching. Fuck, she would be shit in a poker game. “Like I said, we wanted the wedding ceremony to be special. For that one thing to just be about us.”
Olivia’s eyes narrowed. “One of America and Canada’s mosteligible bachelors, who has been quoted saying time and time again that he has no interest in marriage, suddenly is married. You see how that might look?”
My back teeth sang in pain. “Enlighten me, Olivia. How does it look?”
“That she’s pregnant,” Olivia said bluntly. “The two of you are trying to hide it by getting married quickly and blurring timelines so that it all looks legit.”