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He quirks his brow but doesn’t acknowledge my statement.
“Did you know that Cherry Blossoms have a ridiculously short lifespan?” he starts off. “Now, I know why it’s a big deal when they bloom.” His gaze is soft when our eyes meet in the mirror. “I thought it’d be better for you to have something that doesn’t die.”
A rose gold necklace glitters as he removes it from his pocket. Righting it, he slides it around my neck. The tapered chain widens the closer it gets to my bosom. Matching rose gold and diamond balls on each side lead to a cluster of delicate five petal Cherry blossoms made of rose gold. Those blossoms lead to a singular pearl. It’s much more beautiful than the one I was looking at in the store.
I run the pads of my fingers of the intricate design. “Oh, Oran. It’s beautiful. Thank you.” I can’t speak above a whisper lest it’s my imagination playing a cruel joke on me.
“I don’t think the Hale’s have a wedding tradition. But it should be to give the bride a trinket on her wedding day.” He produces the complimentary earrings - a five petal cherry blossom attaches at the ear then drops into a pearl. “I thought it would be best to get the set.”
My ears tear up and I can’t believe it’s for a good reason. He gives me another soft smile before returning to himself.
“Don’t get all emotional. I just needed to shine my trophy,” he stops before he opens the door. “And don’t trip down the
aisle. That’s embarrassing for everyone involved.”
He disappears shortly after.
Okay, there’s the man I’m used to seeing.
Chapter 9
Oran
“Don’t put your bride in a headlock,” Jagger says when he comes into my dressing room. “Unless…” He shakes his head. “No. It’s not dignified.” He rocks on his feet with his hands on his hips for a beat like he will let the subject drop then hits with a megawatt smile. “I’m bullshitting. Put her fine ass in a headlock if she gets out of line,” he jokes.
I think about Karessa, poised and polished, and the notion of needing to put her in a headlock seems absolutely ridiculous. Now, I know for a fact he’s joking.
My smile slips when I catch Jagger staring at me. “What?” I say, my tone slightly defensive and I tuck in my shirt then refasten my pants.
“You like her. Did you bite her ass like I told you?”
“No, and I don’t like her like that. I just don’t hate her. It’s hard to hate her. She’s so damn nice all the time. Even her fits are posh.”
“Oh, man you’re going to kiss the bride.”
“Jagger…”
“You will tongue her down like you want her to have your babies.” Jagger nudges me out of the way and runs his fingers through his cognac locks, making sure he looks good on my wedding day. I’m sick that I just thought of it as my wedding day. “Look, if you’re trying to get her pregnant, let me know so I can knock up that little asshole I had to marry last month.”
“You’d get Ainslee pregnant?”
Jagger smirks. “Only to piss her off and fuck up her life. I’m just saying if we have to have children, it would be cool if the next set of Hales and Hanlons are close to the same age. I’m sure I can get drunk or take some anti-nausea medicine to make it happen.”
“You two haven’t fucked yet?” I ask as I cross to the hanger and retrieve my jacket. I wonder again if it’s a good thing that Karessa put us in all black from head to toe.
“Don’t worry about all that. Just make sure you’re fucking her right.”
“Don’t know if that’s happening. There’s a clause in her prenup that says if we don’t consummate the marriage, we can go our separate ways in six months.”
I need not tell him it’s a secret to keep his mouth shut. We don’t trust easily. Jagger laughs as if I’m Kevin Hart.
“Sounds like you will be married forever just like me. Ainslee and I fought at our wedding and we won’t make it six months. I’m sweating thinking about it.” He grabs my shoulders and shakes me a little in his version of an intervention. “You’re smiling before the wedding, you’ve lost the battle before it began.”
Jagger’s message washes over me like a verbal bucket of cold water. He’s right, I’m softening. If we want our lives back, I must remain firm. We can’t let each other in.
Again, my mind goes back to my parents. It’s what happens when an angel marries a monster. He broke her until he couldn’t break her anymore. I know why he wants her, Karessa’s gentle nature is much like my mother’s. Karessa - fragile like her favorite flower - will perish under my dad’s control. He’s a weed that will kill her by depriving her of everything essential for her light. Worst. I’ve never given love a chance. I don’t know if his evil lurks within me.
Pushing away from his hold, I study myself in the mirror once more. My decision takes root and firm in my bones.
