Vanessa wraps her hand around the back of my neck, pulling me lower and landing a solid right hook.
At least she didn’t slap you.
I’d much rather take a punch than be slapped.
The movement throws her off-balance in her ridiculously high heels, and my hands fly to her waist to steady her.
Once she’s no longer wobbling, I massage my jaw as she glares up at me.
“Feel better, darling?”
“A little,” she says, planting her hands on her luscious hips.
I bark a laugh, shaking my head. “As long as it helped.”
This is likely only the beginning of the hell she’s going to cause me. Only time will tell if it ends up being worth it.
Vanessa and I make it back downstairs, and she plays the part of a doting wife to perfection. She leans against my side, smiling up at me as I speak, but her scent betrays her anxiety. If that didn’t give it away, how she continually darts looks at her father and brothers would.
They keep their distance, talking among themselves, but the explosion is coming.
Charlotte and whatever the woman’s name is who bonded Wilder make their way closer, and Vanessa excuses herself to speak to them.
“I can’t believe you pulled this off,” Patrick says, clapping me on the back. “Julian looks like he’s about to blow a gasket.”
“Good, let him,” I murmur, taking a drink of the awful whiskey the Chapman family patriarch chose to stock. It’s barelytolerable, and I spin, dropping my glass on one of the nearby high-top tables.
“I’m surprised Vanessa hasn’t gouged your eyes out yet,” Malachy O’Connor says, chuckling softly.
“She really had no idea that speech was coming?” Cormac asks. He’s the youngest O’Connor, and I’ve heard he has a penchant for torturing anyone who ends up in his basement workshop.
“She did not,” I acknowledge. “I believe she’s in shock. It’ll take a bit of time for the real Vanessa to make herself known. I’m sure that’s when I’ll need to watch my back.”
“Possibly,” Patrick says. “Then again, there’s no universe whereanyonewould choose Grigoryan over you.”
That’s not hard to believe, but I’m not about trapping anyone into a life they want no part of. I had no desire for a wife before this situation arose, and I intend to give Vanessa the option to live as she sees fit. At least, once her father and Grigoryan are handled.
Only, my wife is once again fisting a glass of champagne like it’s a lifeline. I sigh, excusing myself and making my way over to where she speaks in hushed whispers to the two women.
“We talked about this.” I pry the glass of champagne away from her with my right hand as the left comes to rest on her lower back. I toss back the last of the alcohol, holding the empty glass out for one of the servers. I make sure to project my voice as I say, “We haven’t exactly been careful. I don’t care if it’s highly unusual for an omega to conceive outside of a heat. No alcohol until we’re sure you’re not carrying my heir.”
A sound I can’t quite decipher escapes Vanessa’s lips, and I believe she might be daydreaming about breaking the champagne glass to stab me with the jagged stem.
My eyes meet Julian’s, and the way his jaw clenches tells me he heard every word.
“I mean, good for you,” Wilder’s fiancée says. At some point, I should probably ask that woman’s name.
“Lacey,” Charlotte says, laughing.
“What?” the woman I now know is Lacey says with wide eyes. “He’s stupid hot. More power to you, Vanessa.”
“Thank you.” I chuckle, winking at the woman. “We’ll be leaving soon. Enjoy a few more minutes chatting with the ladies.” I kiss Vanessa’s temple and excuse myself to make the rounds.
I need to gauge the atmosphere of how the other families are feeling after my announcement.
I’m listening to the Torres family patriarch’s warning that I’ll need to watch my back with the Grigoryan and Chapman families now being my enemies when Julian approaches Vanessa. They speak, going back and forth for a moment before he grabs her by the wrist, dragging her toward the hallway with the bathrooms and dressing rooms.
“Thank you for the advice,” I tell Torres. Normally, I would roll my eyes and ask if he thinks I haven’t thought that through, but I have bigger issues to focus on. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to set my father-in-law straight.”
