Page 16 of Venom and Lace
“Nova, don’t apologize. You’re right. Sex can be messy, passionate, emotional, and we should keep it simple. Besides, we have a lot to go over tonight.”
Well, crap, he didn’t have to make it sound so enticing.
No, no. Stay focused.
“OK, let’s start with these details Riddick sent over.” I grabbed my bag and pulled out the two-page list of facts about Ryzen. “This is more of a resume, not exactly a list of intimate details that a fiancée should know.”
The list was a detailed description of Ryzen’s accomplishments. Don’t get me wrong, it was very impressive. But everything on there you could find by doing a quick Google search. I should know. I had found out everything about him by doing a quick search myself.
He had graduated from DePaul with honors and had started his own business with a partner that had eventually gone under. He’d then started another business, this time on his own, where he bought, developed, leased, or sold property for a huge profit. That was where his wealth came from, according to Google. He donated a lot of his money and time to local children’s hospitals and was setting up a training program for underprivileged youths to learn about developing real estate. According to theWeekly Wet, he was like some type of golden money god.
He had one brother, Riddick. His father was a wealthy stock trader, and his mother was head of the board at the country club. In fact, I wouldn’t have been surprised if my mother knew her. They seemed to run in the same circles.
I shook the papers in front of him. “I need to know more details. Let’s start with how theWeekly Wetshows you on their cover with multiple different women all the time. Do you date all of them?” It was morbid curiosity that made me ask. So what if he dated a new woman every week? Why should I care about that?
“Pfft. None of them are women I date. Mostly business associates I take out to dinner or for drinks.” He twirled his wine around his glass. “They are manipulators, Nova. You can’t believe everything you read.”
Maybe it was stupid of me, but I believed him. I mean, everyone knew tabloids were basically the written version of Jerry Springer. “OK, noted. What side of the bed do you sleep on?”
“Farthest from the door. You?”
“It’s on my sheet. Did you even read it?”
“Of course I read it.” He scoffed and pulled out a copy of the list I had sent him.
Unlike his “resume” of details, I had included things that people might ask about. OK, so it was unlikely that someone would ask what side of the bed we slept on, but you couldn’t rule anything out in a situation like this. My list covered everything to how many tattoos I had (close to twelve now), to my favorite kind of soap (we all know Dr. Bronner’s is the best), to things that annoyed me (people who chewed crunchy things with their mouth open).
“I think I need to see this star-shaped birthmark on your ass, Nova.” He winked, his gaze moving down my body. “Tell me more about your family. I’m curious as to why you don’t get along.”
I groaned and reached for the bottle of wine. “Well, how should I put this—my father is mad I wasn’t born a boy, and my sister is mad I was born at all.”
He raised his eyebrows and shook his head. I hesitated to say any more than that. Not because I wanted to protect my family, but because it brought up too many unhealthy memories. The bottom line was my father had wanted a son, someone he could mold and form into an identical version of himself. Instead, he’d gotten me: a rebellious, headstrong girl who didn’t fit his definition of normal and who wanted nothing to with the financial world.
“What about your mother? Are you close with her?” He leaned forward, keeping eye contact as if he was taking in every word I said.
“My mother went from her father’s house, to the sorority house, to her husband’s house, and the only thing she cares about these days is when it’s time to start drinking. I really just get along with my Grams. She’s always been my rock and number one supporter.”
“And your sister Grace is engaged too?”
I’d been hoping to avoid this conversation, even though I’d known it would come up eventually. I closed my eyes and counted to five in my head. “Yes, in fact, she is engaged to my ex-fiancé. Long story short, I brought my fiancé home for Thanksgiving break, and the morning of Thanksgiving, I found him in bed with my sister.”
There wasn’t really a need to go into all the terrible details of finding them having sex, or how when Grace had seen me in the doorway, she had smiled in a way that was pure evil. I mean, I’d known she was crazy, but I’d never thought she would do something like that. Dalton had chased after me with nothing but a blanket wrapped around his waist, begging for my forgiveness. I scoffed at the memory. What a joke.
I didn’t tell Ryzen about the depression I’d gone through or how I’d lain in bed for days, eating nothing but chocolate and pastries, drinking wine until the pain went away. It was like drowning in an endless abyss, but at the end of it had been Juliet. She had been my savior, and had brought me out of the funk I had been in, making me realize I was better off without the scumbag. She’d told me, “Time heals all wounds, Nova.” And she had been right.
Ryzen scooted closer to me and put his hand on my knee. “I’m sorry you went through that.”
I smiled up at him and patted his hand. “It was a long time ago. I’m completely over it by now. They deserve each other.”
He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands under his chin. “I kind of went through the same thing.”
My mouth fell open. “No way.”
He had a faraway look in his eyes and was silent for a moment, collecting himself as I had needed to do moments ago. “I made the mistake of introducing my best friend to my fiancée. Not only was he my best friend, he was also my business partner.” He ran his fingers through his hair and tugged on it slightly. “The night before the wedding… I’ll never forgive him.” His voice trembled and my heart shattered for him.
I wrapped my arm around him and squeezed. “You’re better off without those kinds of people in your life.” I was taken aback by this raw moment. Until now, Ryzen had been a hardass and somewhat flirty. But this—this showed a vulnerable side to him I hadn’t been expecting. “Well, now you have a fabulous fake fiancée who’s going to help you win some hotels from some weird cowboy, so screw them.” I bumped my shoulder against his and grinned.
He chuckled and pushed back against my shoulder. “Do you typically use humor to deflect?”