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“Not for you,” he snaps, then he sighs. “She loves you.” I sit down. “She was torn up after you forced her to tell us everything, but I see it in her eyes. She loves you, and I knew if she ran, you’d hunt her down and fuck knows how that’d end.”
“I’d never hurt her,” I mutter.
“You already have. I don’t know how you got her down the aisle, but you did, so now she’s yours. I’m stepping away.”
I scoff. “How fucking noble of you.”
“Just do what you’ve gotta do,” he snaps. “Kill me if it makes you feel better. I don’t regret what I did.”
“Go home, Hulk. Tell Ace he’s got himself a deal.”
“What’s that exactly?” he asks.
I grin. “I’ll let him break the news, I’m sure you’ll be thrilled. You can take Lucy home too, Tag is expecting her.”
Me: I was twelve when I had my first kiss. It was with Aurora when I was on holiday in Italy. We’d spend our days on the beach and our evenings with the families. We slipped away and I kissed her behind her father’s house. If he’d have seen us, I would’ve been in trouble and we probably would’ve been forced to promise a marriage. She didn’t let me touch her breast. Peter Smith was a lucky son of a bitch.
Piper: Maybe you were meant to be? At twelve, I had my first official boyfriend. Mainly because Peter Smith told my entire class I was easy. Every boy in there thought they were in with a chance. His name was Andy McHale. He had floppy hair and a cute smile. He didn’t kiss me for two whole weeks and when he did, it was . . . disappointing. Wet, sloppy and it gave me the ick. I dumped him the next day.
Me: Aurora and I were not meant to be. Her family has worked for mine for many years. It was a convenience. One I should have avoided.
Piper: I was thirteen when I had sex. His name was Dale. We’d been to a disco and he asked me to dance. He kissed me until my toes curled and said all the right things. We went on one date and he took me back to his place (his mum was out). It was over pretty quickly, much like the relationship that followed because my dad picked me up from his place and gave him the scary warning stare. I never heard from him again.
Me: I was thirteen. I don’t remember her name. I was with my father and his men after a heavy night doing business. After those nights, we’d always go back to a club and play cards and drink. Women were never far from my father and his men. My father ordered one of them to take care of me. If it’s any consolation, it was over pretty quickly too.
Chapter Nineteen
PIPER
Lucy and Mae insisted on meeting at the hotel, and as I wait for them to arrive, my stomach is in knots. I know they want all the details, but I’m not ready to share everything. Partly because I still feel like a fool, and partly because I don’t want them to judge Anton. I don’t think too much about why that is.
I stand as they arrive and wave them over to the quiet corner table I snagged us. A bottle of wine sits in an ice bucket, and I busy myself pouring it as they approach. We embrace and they sit down, taking the glasses I offer.
“So,” says Mae, looking around the hotel bar, “this is nice.”
“It looks expensive,” says Lucy.
“It is,” I mutter.
“Then why the hell haven’t you come home?” Mae demands.
“Ace told me to leave. I don’t feel very welcome right now.”
“And maybe you’re avoiding your parents?” suggests Lucy, arching a brow.
I take a mouthful of the crisp white wine to buy me some time. I’ve been avoiding my mum’s calls since I left the clubhouse. “I don’t know what to say to them.”
“Maybe start at the beginning,” Mae says gently.
I take a breath. “It’s all been such a whirlwind, and some of the things Anton’s done haven’t exactly been . . . conventional.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” mutters Lucy.
“I just don’t understand why you’d run off with a man you hardly know and marry him without telling any of us,” says Mae.
Guilt hits me hard. “It wasn’t planned,” I whisper.
“Weddings don’t just happen,” Mae pushes.
