“I see.” Kate nodded. “You want her to stand out.”
“I want her to be her.” I wrapped an arm around Laney’s shoulder and tugged her close. “Because she’s already perfect.”
All three stylists made small sounds of delight. Dario actually clutched his chest.
“Oh my God,” the other one squealed. “Talk about smitten!”
I ignored them, keeping my focus on Laney. “Ready?”
She frowned, then looked back at Kate. “But we still haven’t decided on a?—”
I leaned down to nip at her ear and murmur into it. “You think a quick fuck on the bathroom counter is enough, did you?I owe you at least one more orgasm tonight. Plus, I bought a new prop.”
Her cheeks flushed the color of ripe tomatoes. “You’re incorrigible.”
I offered my toothiest grin. “Nah. I’m just yours.”
She stared up at me like I’d just told her the world belonged to her, not just my barren soul. Suddenly, I needed us to be back in Charlestown immediately.
“Kate,” I turned to the stylist and her team. “We’ll meet you here tomorrow before the event. Thanks for all your hard work.”
“But we need to discuss—” Kate started.
“Tomorrow,” I repeated firmly. “Right now, my wife and I need time alone.”
30
MAYBE A BLACKENED SOUL CAN NEVER BE CLEAN
RONAN
Idon’t know a lot of dudes who spent much time imagining their weddings, but if they did, I doubt it would have looked like this.
At eight o’clock on Friday evening, the ballroom at the Martin was packed like a sardine tin. Three hundred of Boston’s upper echelon, including Blackguard board members, investors, industry elite, and the arm candy they brought with them, all puffed up with their own self-importance as they attacked the raw bar and compared stock portfolios.
In other words, it was my worst nightmare.
Not that any of them besides the woman with me knew it. If I had a dollar for every time I heard some variation of, “Try not to go too crazy at your own wedding, Black!”, I’d be a billionaire all over again.
“And who, exactly, was that guy?” Laney asked after one such exchange where a James Snowden III made only slightly veiled jokes about that time we did speed balls at his sister’s prom along with an even more poorly invitation to repeat the experience tonight.
I’d put him off but felt sick to my stomach. Odd, considering I probably would have jumped at the chance a month ago. But Laney’s hand in mine was a connection to a life I was so close to having, and all the James Snowden IIIs in the room felt like specters sent to hold me in the underworld I’d inhabited for so long. Douchebags, one and all. And I had been one of them, hadn’t I?
“He’s no one,” I murmured to her as I nursed my second scotch of the night. I’d saved up my drink limit for tonight. “Don’t worry. They won’t remember your name, and most of them will forget their own by the end of the night.”
She chuckled, but couldn’t quite hide her concern. “And these are your friends?”
I shuddered. “No, Ari. I don’t have friends. I have vultures. Except for you, of course.”
She gave me that look, the one that somehow managed to be sympathetic without pitying me. It was the one that made me want to find the nearest coat closet and fuck her senseless, but it also made me feel seen. Like it tied my guts into knots and made chest feel like a sponge being wrung out.
Hence the need for the coat closet.
God, she was beautiful. Kate and her team had done right by her this afternoon, returning to the penthouse with a whole other array of gowns that were less Paris Fashion Week and more Midnight on the Mediterranean. Laney had chosen a more subdued green dress that was draped over her shoulders toga-style, her dark hair loose in waves that were back from her face by gold bands. With minimal makeup and subtle gold jewelry, she looked like a Greek goddess come to life. I couldn’t stop staring.
“You all right?” I asked before she could answer me. When in doubt, deflect, deflect, deflect.
“Oh. Sure.” She looked slightly confused. “I’m just here for the free food.”
