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“I’m out of town. And considering I’m the one who caught her in our bed fucking my colleague, I’m not interested in letting her dictate when we meet.”
Adrian sighed. “Fair. But we could send a more powerful message.”
“Which is?” Victor asked, resting his elbow on the table beside a pile of half-opened mail. He saw several from Oliver’s university that looked like bills, and he told himself he would not look. He had no right to be curious about something that he would never have to worry about.
“You don’t show up at all,” Adrian said. “There’s no reason you have to be there. You’re refusing to give her anything, right?”
“This had better not be an attempt to convince me to give anything—”
“Victor,” Adrian said quickly. “No. As both your attorney and your friend, I can say with my whole heart she can go fuck herself. She’s not going to cause a scandal. Not when she knows how bad it’ll look for both her and her father during an election year.”
Victor sighed and rubbed at his eyes. He wanted no part of this mess any longer. He assumed that getting out of it before marriage would have saved him from going to fucking court, but he’d forgotten how petty she could be.
“Fine, let her change the date. Say no to everything. If they threaten court, let it happen.”
“They’ll blink first,” he said.
Victor wasn’t totally sure about that, but he had other things to worry about. In all honesty, Alice was the least of his problems. He still had Charlie and his involvement with his company to contend with. How the hell was he supposed to go back to his life—to his business—with that hanging over his head.
He wasn’t like the rest of them. He couldn’t just accept this was part of life.
“Victor?”
He realized he’d been quiet too long. “I need to go.”
“It might be a good idea if you tell me where you are and what you’re—”
He didn’t let Adrian finish his sentence. He ended the call, and just as his thumb left the screen, Oliver appeared with a bag slung over his shoulder, the tiny grin on his face fading.
“What’s wrong?”
Victor laughed at how obvious he was. “Nothing.”
“Liar.” The word was softly spoken as Oliver crossed the room, dropped his bag, then braced one hand on the table as he leaned in close. “Lying right to my face.”
Victor snorted and shook his head. “I swear, angel. Everything’s okay.”
“God, the way you call me that,” Oliver murmured, closing his eyes. “I want to kiss you.”
“You don’t need permission,” Victor told him. “The rest of this week, I’m yours.”
Oliver let out a slow breath, then cupped Victor’s jaw and pressed their lips together in a slow kiss. It didn’t deepen, as much as Victor wanted it to, but it lingered until they both needed space to breathe. Oliver pulled away and sighed, then offered his hand, which Victor took, bracing himself to stand.
“What’s next?” he asked.
Oliver shrugged, then glanced around. “Whatever you want, sweetness. I’m all packed, and I don’t have pets to deal with, so I won’t need to come back here until our agreement is over.”
Those words weren’t meant to be painful and full of loss, but they were all the same.
“I had some plans for this trip. I made a list,” he added, shrugging and feeling foolish. God, it was no wonder Alice wanted out. “Probably not very sexy, but…”
“I’ve always had a thing for well-organized men,” Oliver said, winking. “Do you have it on you?”
Victor frowned in confusion.
“The list,” Oliver said from behind a laugh.
“Ah.” Victor reached into his pocket and pulled his phone back out. Tapping on the screen, he brought up the itinerary he’d put together, and trying not to look at Oliver’s expression, he handed it off. His gaze stayed near their feet, his turned in just slightly toward each other while Oliver’s fidgeted in his comfortable-looking shoes.
