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“I grew up in Regalia. I’ve seen the arranged marriages that went sour quick. They can’t stand to be in the same room as each other. They’re cold, bitter, and hiding an army of mistresses, escorts, and boyfriends to get what they’re missing. Is that what you want?”
“I...”
I fell quiet, considering it for the first time. I didn’t really think past the proposal that would secure my spot in Regalia University and seal my deal with Jack. Honestly, I stopped thinking about my life after avenging Winter. What did any of that matter? Winter wasn’t here.
“What do you want?” I asked softly, closing the distance.
“To be friends, at least. Partners. Equals. Our kids can see an example of two people who respect each other, instead of Mommy drinking herself to death on the couch and Dad pretending he works late every night. I want us to go on family vacations and have inside jokes about how much we used to despise each other.”
My eyes glazed, staring off into a distant future so different from the one I dreamed of when my world was a happy one. Different, but... not bad.
“That sounds nice,” I muttered.
“I also want sex.”
The sweet, family picture imploded.
“Lots of it. All the time. Hot, nasty, and willing,” he dropped. “I’ve got the sex drive of a Lamborghini with an unlimited gas tank, and your boy’s not interested in a life of celibacy.”
“Annnnd you’re back.” Spinning around, I walked off. “Nice chatting with you, Victor.”
He jogged out in front of me, pulling me up short. “I’m serious.”
“Trust me, I know.”
“Is there a chance of any of that happening between us, if I sit on my ass in a corner, keeping my mouth shut while people bully you? Could you ever respect a coward like that? Let alone touch, sleep with, or pop out his kids?”
Meeting his eyes, I spoke honestly. “No, I couldn’t. I would never forget that you did nothing.”
I looked past him at the Royals and Dregs happily going on with their lives. Like I’ll never forget that you all did.
“There you go. I’m trying to show you I’m not the guy you think I am, Sinclair. I can be there for you. I can protect you. I can make you— You fucking throw that drink, Juan, and you’ll lick every drop off the concrete!”
I twisted to find a random guy behind us, latte raised suspiciously over his head. Near him, two guys hurriedly put away their phones. “I wasn’t doing anything,” he rushed out. “Chill out.”
He took off in the opposite direction, where Lucien trailed him.
“—happy,” Victor finished like nothing happened. “Would it be so terrible to let your fiancé prove he can be a good husband?”
My face warmed. When he said it like that, I sounded like the asshole.
“No.” My voice was hardly more than a grumble. “Not terrible.”
Triumphant, Victor threw an arm around my waist again, getting real comfortable with the touching. “Good. And in the meantime, you should start working on how you’ll make me happy. So far, I’m doing all the work in this relationship.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh yes, hubby dear, please, tell me how I may please you?”
“I mentioned the hot, dirty sex, right?”
I shoved him, giggle almost slipping through my lips. Dear Thor, since when did Victor Wilson make me giggle?
A stray, wild thought popped in my head. “Can I ask you something? Now that we’re talking about what comes after.”
“Shoot.”
We ambled toward anthropology, taking our time.
“What if we never feel it?” I asked. “The ‘head over heels in love’ stuff. One day, I could get past the fact you’re conceited, snobbish, and prone to sticking your dick in anything that moves—”
“Put that on my tombstone. Sums me up perfectly.”
“—and become your friend,” I finished. “Maybe even your friend with benefits. But what if we never get past that, Victor, and feel something deeper. Could we really be happy?”
“A different kind of happiness, but yeah. There are people who marry for love and are divorced in a year. They hate each other. Is that better than a relationship built on friendship and respect?”
“Better than that example, definitely. But better than friendship, respect, and love...?”
He observed me out of the corner of his eye. “What are you saying, Sinclair? You don’t want to do this?”
“I’m not saying that.” Amazingly, I wasn’t. “It’s just that I know I’m not your first choice. I was the only choice willing to marry you now, and the banshee brigade is looking to change that—snatch my paws off Regalia’s most eligible bachelor. What if that doesn’t stop after we’re married and you take notice of one of the women throwing themselves at you? What if you fall for her because she gives you what our relationship is missing?”
Annoyance flashed across his face. “I wouldn’t cheat on my wife, Luna. What kind of guy do you think I am?”
