Page 139 of Scarred Crown

I make a snort of annoyance just as there’s a knock on the door to Brice’s suite.

“Should I assume it’s not an armed murderer who’s managed to get past all security and tell them it’s open? Or should I go check?” Brice muses.

“Tell them it’s open,” I say. “Probably the only person who’d like to murder me right now is Jules.”

“It’s open,” Brice calls.

The door creaks as it swings inward, and Jules is standing in the doorway. My heart squeezes in my chest.

“Have you got a gun?” Brice calls out.

Julia’s brow furrows in confusion. “Personal gun ownership is illegal in Bellerive.”

“Guess that’s a no, then. You looking for your husband? He’s drowning his sorrows in a bottle of tequila. I believe you’re familiar with the concept.” Brice gestures toward me across the table from him.

Since the minute she appeared in the doorway, I haven’t been able to speak. Our brief conversation earlier this morning wasn’t nearly enough. She’s changed into leggings, and her hair is in a ponytail. Somehow, she’s managed to find her glasses, and they’re perched on her nose. Those fucking glasses. It’s like she’s preparing for battle.

“Can I—” Julia’s gaze shifts between me and Brice. “Can I talk to you alone?”

I pour myself another shot and take it quickly before following Julia out of Brice’s room and across the hall into another one. When she said she wanted to speak to me alone, I sort of assumed we’d end up back in our wing, but I guess not.

“You want to talk here?” I scratch my neck and sink into a very uncomfortable couch.

“How much have you had to drink?” Julia asks before she starts pacing.

“I don’t know. A bit.” I throw an arm over the back of the antique couch and glue my attention to the sway of her hips. How can I be so angry and so turned on at the same time?

“I don’t even know how to say this,” Jules mutters.

“Another secret?”

“One we kept together.” She shoots me an agonized glance, and I furrow my brow at how upset she seems. “Not that we realized we were keeping it.”

“Out with it, Jules. The suspense is killing me.” The other thing killing me is having her so far away.

“We’re not legally married,” she says in a rush. “We never got a marriage license in the State of Nevada.”

“That can’t be right.” I rub my face and squint at her. “We got tattoos. There were photos. The press reported on it.”

“The ‘press’ being you. You leaked the story and the photos. I put that together almost right away.” She perches on the couch beside me. “We’re not married, Nick.” Her voice is thick.

I’m glad for the drinks I had with Brice or else my heart might be clogging my throat. “We’re not married?” I manage to squeeze the words out.

“I just found out,” she whispers. “And then I made some calls to confirm.”

“Who told you?” I stare at the tattoo on my ring finger. Jules. There’s a chance I am drunk. This is starting to feel like a hallucination or a nightmare.

She takes a deep breath and when she doesn’t say anything right away, I raise my head to meet her gaze.

“Alex.”

“Of course he did.” I run a hand through my hair and collapse back on the couch. “Did he then propose to you himself?”

“Nick,” Jules breathes out my name. “I love you. Alex doesn’t love me. He thinks I’m a good fit for a job I don’t want.”

“Queen?” I raise my eyebrows.

“I don’t want the job. Marriage shouldn’t be a job.” A pretty pink rises to Julia’s cheeks.