“Good.” A corner of his mouth quirks upward. “So. Exactly what do you need this contract to do for you?”
“Protect my assets against my husband and his family.” Ethan gives me a vaguely horrified expression. I realize he might’ve misunderstood and hurriedly add, “Not that I think they’re going to steal my money or anything, but a girl can never be too safe. Besides,Iought to have full control over my premarital assets, not my husband or his family. Right? So can you do that for me?”
A smile tinged with glee splits his face. “It will be my pleasure.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ares
Even though it makes more sense for me to go directly to my father’s house from the office and have the driver bring Lareina, I make a detour to stop by my place. I want to check on her and make sure she’s going to be presentable. Part of me would like to believe she’ll behave, but my luck with women hasn’t exactly been great. Furthermore, given her eccentric behavior, it’s an open question as to what she’ll find acceptable for the dinner.
Although it’s technically a “family” dinner, dressing too casually would be awkward. Dad, Aunt Jeremiah and my brothers will show up in suits because they’re coming directly from work. Grandmother will put on whatever dress managed to catch her fancy on her latest shopping spree. Akiko will pick either a dress or a kimono, depending on how she’s feeling. If she goes for a kimono, it means ultra-formal and fancy. Dad told me he was pretty certain she’ll spring for a new kimono she’s been dying to wear.
Besides, even if I wasn’t worried about Lareina’s choice of clothing, I need to see her to give her the new wedding bands from Sebastian Jewelry I picked out in case the ones she got are unsuitable. My family will never believe we’re married if they see our current cheap crap. Vegas, the city of fake Sinatras and fake gold. Even if we eloped and had no choice at the time, The Fogeys would expect me to replace them as soon as possible.
I walk inside and spot a little purse on the kitchen counter. Must be what my wife picked out. Cute. It suits her.
I go to the living room to snoop a bit and see if she’s spent most of her day sorting through what the personal shopper brought. Five or six half-open boxes litter the floor, and a few dresses lie limply over the backs of sofas. My personal shopper brought colorful items, it seems. He’s been trying to get me to expand my color palette. He’s crazy if he thinks I’m putting on a salmon-colored dress shirt, even if it was hand-stitched in Italy.
“Lareina, I’m home,” I call out, then suddenly stop. That sounded a little too domestic. It’s unsettling how naturally the words rolled from my mouth.
Footsteps come from the staircase. I turn, and my breath catches at the sight of her descending the steps. She looks like an angel. Her unbound hair flows down her back like a golden waterfall. The makeup on her face is light, making her look younger than her twenty-nine years. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she spreads her arms and twirls like a pirouetting fairy. The hem of her teal dress spreads out. “How do I look?” She gazes at me, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“Beautiful.”
“Thanks!” She flushes, then hesitates for a second. “You look very nice, too.”
What’s the indecisiveness about? Since she tends to be blunter than not, I doubt she was trying to lie about how I really look. “Thank you.” I reach into my pocket and pull out a velvet box. “Here. I got us rings.” I pop open the lid, showing her a pair of matching bands. They’re classy with small diamonds dotting the platinum.
Lareina leans forward to study them, both excited and dismayed. “They’re so pretty. I didn’t realize you were going to get rings. I bought some this afternoon.” She looks up at me. “Do you think we can send them back?”
“Which ones do you want to send back?”
“Yours.” Her answer is prompt. “Not because there’s anything wrong with them,” she hastily adds, “but I just like mine a little bit better.”
“Let me see,” I say. Although I want to tell her it’s my job as a husband to provide the rings, I want to see what she bought. She reaches into her clutch and pulls out a box with a discreet Peery Diamonds logo on it. At least whatever’s inside is going to be high quality.
She opens the lid and presents a set. “Here. What do you think?”
The rings, glinting against dark velvet, make my pulse skitter. The platinum bands are classic, like the ones I bought, but they feature exquisite, radiant-cut sapphires that seem to sparkle with their own inner fire. The blue is deeply saturated, and the shade reminds me of my mother’s eyes and sends a small chill down my spine. Hiding my reaction, I force a smile, not wanting to upset Lareina. “They’re beautiful,” I murmur. “But why sapphires?”Can we get different stones?
“Not just any sapphires, but these. They’re theexactshade of your eyes. I just had to get them.”
I go still.
She smiles up at me. “You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. The shape, color, intensity—everything about them is divine. It must’ve been fate at work for us to meet and get married in Vegas the way we did—so unlikely and far-fetched but real.” Her cheeks flush with shyness, but she doesn’t look away.
I gaze deeply into her eyes—what she said about mine is exactly how I feel about hers. Her face shines with sincerity, not a hint of sarcasm or deception.
My lingering doubts about her true intentions quiet down. If she were somebody Mom sent, she’d never comment on myeyes. Mom has to have learned how much I despise them for looking like hers—her father Vincent came to see me at the hospital after the fire and remarked how my eyes look just like Mom’s, as though that would soften me toward her. My reply wasThat’s why I hate them.
“I know it sounds selfish. I mean, I doubt thinking about your eyes does anything for you, but if you don’t mind… I’d love it if we could wear them,” Lareina says.
When she asks like that, my heart feels funny and I can’t say no. I also wonder what else she sees when she looks at me. Or is she like this because she has no clue about my reputation? “Jerk” is one of the kinder word people use to describe me. “Yes. That’d be fine.”
“Great!” All the anxious trepidation gone, her smile grows brighter. She pulls the old ring off my finger and replaces it with the band from Peery. The size is just right. Either she checked before leaving or she has a great eye.
She does the same with herself and lifts her hand to admire the ring. “Wow. It looks even better on my finger.” Her gaze softens as she gently caresses the blue stones.
