I glance over at Alexander and he nods. It’s nice to know he has my back and that I’m not alone in all of this. Together, we can conquer the world.
“You almost ready?” Alexander asks as I take one final glance in the mirror, making sure my gown fits just right.
He steps up behind me wearing a devilish smirk, and I stare back at him through the mirror. “What’s that look all about?”
He traces a finger across the bare skin on my shoulders. “Remember the last time we went to a gala? Perhaps I should get you naked before we leave the apartment so we get it out of our systems now.”
I turn around to face him, and he wraps his arms around my waist. “You’re insatiable.”
“Only when it comes to you.”
My heart pounds against my ribs. No matter how often he tells me that he can’t get enough of me, it still excites me every time.
Alexander leans in and kisses the soft skin beneath my ear. “As much as I want to taste every inch of you right now, I must force myself to resist. Diem would absolutely kill me if I were late for her art show. If it were anyone else, believe me, I wouldn’t have a problem saying fuck it.”
My fingers slide under the lapel of his jacket. “Perhaps this would be an excellent time for you to make up with Diem.”
He sighs. “I don’t understand why she’s so upset. I’m only looking out for her.”
Alexander has found this difficult to deal with. In his eyes, Diem is still a little girl, incapable of making her own decisions. He’s very much taken on the role of the overprotective parent who doesn’t know when to loosen the reins a bit.
“Don’t you think Diem is old enough to make the decision on who to date? I believe that if she and Jack did date, he would treat her with respect because he knows what a pain in the ass you are to deal with when you’re pissed and out for blood.
“Maybe, but I still can’t allow it to happen. If their relationship goes south, that will put me in a really shitty position, which is why I would rather cut things off now before they have a chance to get that far.”
I understand what he’s saying, but I’ve learned Alexander has a big problem when things are out of his control.
He takes a deep breath. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Hopefully, the little talk I had with her on the plane will be enough to squash all this bullshit so I won’t have to worry about it any longer.”
After saying good night to Jimmy Chew and Aggie, we make our way downstairs where Darby waits by the door.
He lets out a low whistle. “Evening. The two of ye be lookin’ mighty sharp this evening.”
I smile at the gentleman. “You are too kind, Darby.”
“Just statin’ the truth, lass. It’s nice to see Alexander happy again.”
A rush of heat floods my cheeks as I stare up to meet Alexander’s gaze. In his eyes, I see nothing but sincerity, making my heartbeat quicken.
There’s no doubt—I’m head over heels in love with my husband. For once, my mother was right. Marrying Alexander King turned out to be a good thing, surprisingly.
Darby holds open the door. “Have a lovely evening and tell Diem that Aggie and me are very proud of her.”
Alexander places his hand on the small of my back as he nods. “I’ll do that. Good night, Darby.”
Darby tips his hat as we pass him and head to the waiting limo. It’s amazing how fond I’ve become of ,what I like to call, Alexander’s extended family. Aggie and Darby seem more like Alexander’s aunt and uncle versus hired help because of how close they are to him. It’s become clear to me that Alexander loves them, and I’ve learned that the circle of people Alexander loves is extremely small. I find myself lucky to be included in that elite club.
We arrive at the gallery, and I’m shocked to find it packed with people. It appears most of the Upper East Side is here to check out Diem’s work. Most of them are here to be nosy and find some gossip than for the art that Diem has poured her soul into creating.
Alexander’s face lights up as we step out of the limo and he takes in the crowd surrounding the entrance. “This is a better turnout than I’d imagined. Let’s hope she sells something. It would be nice if she can get her second sale from this event.”
“Maybe. Let’s hope.” I stumble over my words because I’m positive Diem never told Alexander that Jack purchased her self-portrait, and I’m not about to spill that secret.
He places his hand on the small of my back. “Ready, Mrs. King?”
A huge smile crosses my face after hearing him refer to me as his wife. It truly feels as if our relationship is moving in the correct direction. I like that we’re getting closer every day.
We make our way across the sidewalk and toward the front door of the building. Tall windows show off all the people inside studying the paintings hanging on the well-lit walls. The stark-white walls are a nice contrast to the colorful paintings I’ve passed a hundred times in Alexander’s apartment.
The minute our feet land on the hardwood floor inside, I notice a lot of familiar faces that tend to move in the same social circles as Alexander and myself.
Alexander was correct about one thing; there are a lot of pissed-off ladies that I stole the Naughty King off the market and they have no problem shooting their angry stares in my direction.
“There’s Diem,” Alexander whispers into my ear. “Let’s go say hello.”
The crowd around Diem parts allowing Alexander and me to pass through, and Diem pauses mid-sentence the moment her eyes land on her brother making his way toward her.
“Will you excuse me? Enjoy the rest of the exhibits, and please don’t hesitate to ask any additional questions you may have about my work.” She smiles at her potential buyers before approaching us. “I’m surprised you’re here.”
Alexander arches his right eyebrow before he responds. “Why wouldn’t I be here? This is one of the most important days of your life. I’m here to support you.”
She squares her shoulders. “So you pick and choose what you support me in now? When Mom left, you told me you’d always have my back no matter what, but after that plane ride home from Yamada’s island, I realize that isn’t true.”
“You still don’t get it, do you? I’m only … l—”
“No, Alexander. It’s you who doesn’t understand. I’m in love with Jack, and I’m pretty sure he’s in love with me too, or at least that’s what I thought until you attempted to force him to choose between his friendship with you and his job at King or me.”
Alexander lifts his chin. “It’s for the best, Diem. One day, you’ll see that and thank me for stopping this affair before it ever started.”
Diem rolls her pretty green eyes. “I don’t understand where you get off trying to control my love life when you can’t even control your own.”
Alexander’s head tilts. “What do you mean? I’m always in control.”
Diem folds her slender arms across her chest. “Not when it comes to Jess. She actually just purchased a piece of artwork from me, and you’ll never guess which one. Check it out.” Diem tilts her head to the right a tiny bit.
Both Alexander and I follow her direction, and my mouth instantly drops. Jess stands there in a gold cocktail dress staring up at the painting I assume she just purchased. It’s the portrait of Alexander that once hung in his apartment.
Alexander storms over in Jess’ direction without saying another word to his sister or even to me.
“Alexander,” I call after him, not wanting him to cause a scene at Diem’s opening because I know he’ll regret it later.
I begin to take off after him, but Diem grabs my hand, halting me in place. “Margo, I’m sorry about all this. Please don’t be upset with me. I just think it’s time Alexander learns that no matter how much he wants to, he cannot control everything all the time. Especially when it comes to matters of the heart. That’s one subject I think I know a little more about than my brother does.”
I give her a small smile. �
��I understand, Diem. You can’t help that you’ve fallen for your brother’s best friend any more than I can help that I’ve fallen in love with my enemy. The heart wants what it wants, as they say.”
Then she does something I don’t expect. She throws her arms around my neck and wraps me in a warm hug. “Thank you. You are the best sister-in-law I could have ever asked for. Thank you for being so understanding about the Jack situation. Maybe you can help Alexander understand it too?”
I squeeze her back, loving the feeling of acceptance into her family. “I will try my best.” I pull back. “I had better go over there and try to keep Alexander from going to prison.”
Diem laughs. “Please do. I don’t need my brother to be the dominating topic of conversation when people talk about my show. It will be nice to have it remembered for the art and not Alexander killing Jess.”
“Agreed. Wish me luck.”
I head toward my irate husband, who is in the middle of telling Jess no way in hell will he allow her to purchase a picture of him to hang in her bedroom to masturbate to, when a voice from my past stops me dead in my tracks.
“Margo Buchanan? Is that you?” The low baritone voice that once turned me on with one word is now the sound that causes my stomach to turn.
Standing before me in a black suit, wearing an amused smile, is none other than Chuck Vanderbilt. The man, who at one time, I was convinced was my forever until he decided it was okay to sleep with a waitress during our engagement party.
Looking him over now, I can’t believe how attractive I used to find him. His professionally styled blond hair, brown eyes, and perfect veneer-covered teeth only mask his very ugly heart.
My back stiffens. “What are you doing here?”
He flinches at my tone. “No, hello, how are you?”
I roll my eyes. He’s lucky I can stand here and be calm and rational in his presence. Last time I saw him, there was a lot of screaming and yelling, and I’m pretty sure I threatened his life if he ever spoke to me again.
Chuck lifts the drink he’s holding in his hand to me. “A drink to loosen up perhaps?”
“Drop dead.”
I know that’s not the most grown-up answer I could’ve given him, but direct disdain is the only way I can ensure nothing I say will come off remotely friendly when it comes to Chuck Vanderbilt.
“Okay, then.” He pulls his hand back. “I guess we won’t be catching up with one another. I thought it might be a good time to finally speak and get some closure.”
“Closure? Are you serious right now?” I fold my arms over my chest. “I can’t believe you can stand there and look me in the eye and say that to me. I found you in a bathroom, during our engagement party, fucking the hired help. You’re lucky you’re still standing here right now with your balls intact. I don’t need any closure from you. I don’t need, nor want, anything from you ever again.”
Chuck lifts his hands, still holding two drinks, and a couple of his fingers fan out as if he’s trying to hold his hands up in surrender. “Whoa. It’s apparent you hate my guts even after all this time. It’s been a couple of years, Margo. I figured you would’ve had plenty of time to calm down by now. If I would’ve known you were still this pissed at me, I would’ve never accepted Jess’ invitation to come here to see you.”
My brow arches in suspicion. “Jess?”
“Yes.” He nods and then points in the direction of Jess and Alexander. “She made it seem as though the two of you were friends, and that you had mentioned needing closure with me in order to move on and ensure your marriage to Alexander King would be successful.”
My eyes widen as I turn and focus my stare on Jess, who still seems to be involved in a heated conversation with my husband. Seems that I underestimated just how far Jess is willing to go to sabotage Alexander. If she thinks bringing an ex, who I loathe, is going to do anything to sway me, she’s obviously not as smart as she believes herself to be. This bitch doesn’t know who she’s fucking with because it will take more than just an ex to scare me off from being with Alexander.
Crash and Burn
Chapter 7
Alexander
I shoot my icy stare at her. “This is the last fucking time I’m going to say this, Jess, and then I’m walking away. I refuse to allow you to ruin Diem’s event with your bullshit. You are not getting this painting.”
Her lip curls and she folds her arms. “You know as well as I do, Alexander, I get what I want.”
“Not when it comes to me and my family—not anymore.”
She releases an amused laugh. “So you think. Have you forgotten that I will go to any lengths to get what I want? I’ve already set my plan into motion to help my father control of your company, and it starts with reuniting your wife with her ex-fiancé.”
My brows knit in confusion, and I wish my facial expression didn’t just give away the fact that I had no fucking clue Margo had an ex-fiancé. But judging by the huge shit-eatin’ grin on Jess’ face, she knows she’s just shocked me. My investigative team failed to mention that little tidbit of information when they gave me the report on Margo Buchanan before she stepped foot into my office, and Margo never mentioned one goddamn word about it either.
I despise being the last to know anthing and being made out to look like a fool.
Jess makes a show of peering over my shoulder. “Looks to me they’re getting reacquainted as we speak.”
I whip my head around just in time to meet the wide-eyed stare of my wife in my direction as she stands in front of a blond man who has his back to me. My spine stiffens, and I storm out of the room before I fucking explode. Now is not the fucking time or place for dirty laundry to be aired. Diem is already pissed at me enough, and as much as it fucking kills me to walk away from all this bullshit without saying a word, I do. I refuse to be the asshole who ruins this for Diem, although Jess is doing her damnedest to make sure I do exactly that.
Everything feels like it’s crashing down on me at once.
Jess is trying to take away my company. For the first time in years, my baby sister and I cannot seem to carry on a civil conversation, and to top it all off, the woman I’m in love with neglected to tell me she may possibly still have feelings for another man. What if she still loves him? Now that she’s seen him, will she want him back?
Oh, my God. I don’t even know what I’ll fucking do if that happens.
The air around me suddenly feels so thin, so I loosen the tie constricting the air to my lungs.
I rush through the hallway in the back of the building, needing to escape in order to clear my head to think rationally about the situation. I’m freaking out, and this is totally unlike me. What the fuck is happening?
I cut around the corner and find myself in a small office, only I’m not alone as I’d hoped.
Fuck me. I’m so not ready to do this right now, but it looks like I have no other choice.
I square my shoulders. “What the fuck are you doing here, Jack? I thought I made myself pretty clear when it came to you hanging around my sister.”
Jack instantly bounces up from the desk chair he was sitting in. It’s almost as if he was sitting back here hiding from me. His eyes widen, and I can tell by the expression on his face that he’s worried.
Jack holds his hands up. “Alexander, look, I know you don’t like the idea of your sister being with me, but I swear to God, you have nothing to worry about.”
“If I have nothing to worry about, then why are you hiding from me in some fucking office?” Even I can hear the anger in my voice.
It’s not like me to speak to Jack this way, but when it comes to my baby sister, I will go to hell and back against anyone who attempts to hurt her. I will not sit back and watch Diem be used. It’s not going to fucking happen.
“Diem thought it’d be best that you not see the two of us together for a while. Believe me, I don’t give a damn whether you know about the two of us, but Diem wants your blessing so badly, she’s willing to hide our re
lationship until you’re ready to accept it.”
“I’m never going to accept this,” I fire back.
He shakes his head. “Why the hell not? I’m your best friend.”
“Exactly! Which means I know how you are with women. You use them and toss them in the fucking gutter when you’re done with them. I won’t allow you to do that to Diem. She’s better than that.”
“I know she is, which is why I fell in love with her.”
“Love?” I scoff. “Guys like you and me are incapable of love. It doesn’t fucking exist.”
“How can you of all people say that to me? Look at how much you’ve changed over the past few months.”
“Me?” I point at my own chest. “You think I’ve changed?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely. I haven’t even heard you talk about the Buchanan deal since we got back from Yamada’s island. You’re so in love with Margo that you’re willing to allow millions of dollars to slip through your fingertips in order to be with her. No matter how much you don’t want to face it, love has changed you, just like it’s changed me.”
I stare my best friend down, and while he may be correct that I haven’t spoken about dismantling Buchanan Industries in a while, that doesn’t mean love has made me a fucking pussy. It hasn’t changed me that much, which is how I know it will never change Jack enough for me to allow him to be with my sister. I need to make him realize that I’m still the same guy as before so he’ll take a good, long, hard look and realize he’s the same guy too.
I take a deep breath. “I haven’t mentioned the deal because I already know that I’m running things when it comes to Margo Buchanan. Making her believe that I love her is all part of my master plan to gain her trust. Then I can have my way with her company just as I do with her body. She’ll sign whatever I want because she believes I love her, and I’m the best fucking lay she’s ever had. Our love isn’t real. It’s a fucking illusion.”
Dirty Royals Page 4
