by Holly Jaymes
Fuck. “I don’t know if she’ll go along with it. Our lives are on opposite sides of the world.”
“Go on a honeymoon. Hide away for a couple of weeks and we’ll try to work something out. You don’t have any performances coming up, do you?”
“Not in the immediate future.”
Victoria exited the bedroom looking completely gutted. It made my heart clutch in my chest.
“I’ve got to go,” I said to Dane, ending the call. “Victoria.”
She managed a smile. “I’m just going to go-”
“We need to talk. We need to figure this out,” I said. I reached out to rub her arms but she stepped back.
“We’ll just get it annulled or divorced or whatever.” She started to walk around me. “After all, it was a mistake.”
I closed my eyes as I realized that I’d used the same words I’d used to Lily to explain my time with Victoria six years ago.
“I meant accident.” I reached out and took her arm. “Victoria. Come on. You know what happened. We didn’t set out to get married.” She stopped but didn’t turn to me. Anger flared in me at her attitude. “We’ve got a real problem here, Victoria.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Why are you being like this? Unless you’re a part of it. Did you conspire with Lisbeth to make this happen?” I remembered Dane saying that her Instagram had boomed and that she’d likely get more business.
Her blue eyes flared with angry heat. “Sometimes you’re a bastard, Pax.”
Now I felt guilt. I ran my hands through my hair. “Stay and let’s work this out, Victoria.”
“What’s to work out? We go to the courthouse and figure out how to prove we didn’t agree to this or get an annulment.”
I blew out a breath. “I can’t.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why not?”
I was a fucking pussy to go with Dane’s advice, but my reputation was important to me. “It would be bad for my career.” She simply stared at me. “And, your being married to me, won’t hurt yours.”
Now she gaped. “You’re saying we should stay married?”
“Just for now. Just until we can figure out how to get out of it without looking like a fucking Vegas cliché.”
“So, this is all about your reputation?”
I looked down, unable to meet her eyes because I was being a selfish bastard. But then I remembered she could benefit too. “I can bring greater awareness to you and your business.”
Her jaw ticked. “My business does fine.”
I blew out a breath. “All I’m asking is that we don’t be rash. Let's think this thing through. It can’t be good for your business either to be seen as a woman that would get drunk married-”
“I wasn’t drunk.”
“That’s not how it will be seen if we end this marriage less than twelve hours into it.”
She looked away but I could see she was seeing my point. When she looked back, she said, “So what’s the plan? Am I supposed to abandon my life here and go to England with you?”
“No. If we were newly married for real, we’d go on a honeymoon. We can do that.”
“Honeymoon?” She quirked a brow. Her expression told me I’d never be able to touch her again.
“It gives us time to figure out what to do. I’ll stay in the U.S. I don’t have any performances for several weeks, so I have the time. What about you? Can you make time?”
“Not really. But I could probably take care of what I needed remotely. Where would we go?”
Since she sounded like she was on board with our marriage, I walked over to the table and picked up my coffee. I nearly went to the mini-bar instead. “I don’t know. Where would Pax Ryder and Victoria Sinclair go on a honeymoon?”
“This time of year? The Caribbean or somewhere tropical.”
“We should probably remain close to your work though. And Dane.”
“There’s Eden Lake.”
I looked over at her.
She shrugged. “The resort out at the lake is quiet and out of the way. If Tucker McLean can have privacy out there, we can probably too.”
I nodded. “Okay. We’ll go there.”
“What about Lily, Pax? She’s going to flip out when she hears this.”
I let out a breath. “Let’s hope she’s off the grid, too focused on her new husband right now. And if she does get in touch, we’ll just tell her the truth. We were hanging with Lisbeth who somehow duped us. We can avoid the part about last night.”
She flinched but nodded.
I wanted to go to her and hold her. To tell her how much I loved last night. How I wished we could do it again. But last night was now relegated to the past, just as our time six years ago was. Now we had to figure out how to navigate through a marriage and come out the other side with our reputations intact.
“First things first, we need to find Lisbeth. What the fuck was she thinking?”
“She’s young and in love. She seemed to think we were too.” Victoria sighed and sat in the chair at the table. She looked like all the life in her had left. I wished I could say or do something to bring back her smile.
Instead, I picked up the room phone and asked for Lisbeth’s room.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Ryder, Mrs. Garner and her husband checked out this morning.”
I hung up and swore. “She left.” Victoria rubbed her temples. “I’m sorry about your business deal.”
She looked at me. “The note said she’d be back to work on the endorsement deal.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good.” I shook my head and looked out over the fountain, wondering how we ended up here. Then a new problem came to me. “We’ll probably have trouble getting out of here.” I tried to look down toward the front of the hotel, to see if paparazzi were camped out for a glimpse of me and Victoria.
“You might. I’m not a celebrity like you.”
“You too, Victoria. Dane says your Instagram account is blowing up.”
“So, what do we do?”
“Let me make a few calls. We should probably drive back to Eden Lake. Flying will make it too easy to be seen and tracked.”
“My car is here.” She sounded completely defeated.
I walked over to her and squatted down. “I’m sorry, Victoria.”
She managed a smile. “I suppose as fake husbands go, you’re not so bad.”
I laughed. “Gee, thanks.” I wanted to kiss her, but refrained. Every problem we ever had started because I kissed her. “Let’s pack up and I’ll make arrangements to get us out of here.”
An hour later, we were in the car heading west to California and Eden Lake.
Chapter 11: Dismally Ever After
Victoria
I was probably overreacting and being a bitch to be so hurt by Pax’s behavior. After all, I was shocked to find myself married to him too. I’d probably describe the situation as a mistake, as well. And he was right, my Instagram following had grown overnight by tens of thousands. Perhaps I could veer this mistake into a benefit for my business. Of course, it could hurt me when the marriage ended, but I decided not to think about that. I needed to focus on the here and now.
“I’m sorry I was out of sorts before,” I said as I sat on the passenger side and let him drive my car back to Eden Lake.
“It’s an unusual situation. I’m sorry we’re in it.”
“We seem to be good at getting into trouble.”
He glanced at me and then back out at the road. Finally, he said, “I don’t regret last night, Victoria. It wasn’t a mistake. The sex, not the getting married part.”
I managed a smile. “Even so, we can’t seem to have sex without causing problems.”
He nodded. “For that reason, it’s probably best if we keep our hands to ourselves from now on.”
“Probably.” Although it seems like having sex would be a silver lining to this mess. But he was right. We needed to go back to being friends. “I’m going to call my sister and let her know what’s up. She’ll be a
ble to help us in Eden Lake.”
“How does your sister feel about us?” he asked.
“She’s fine with it. She thinks Lily is unreasonable.”
He glanced at me again. “What about you? Do you think she’s unreasonable?”
I shrugged. “She feels how she feels. It’s weird for her.”
His jaw clenched. “Eventually, we’ll need to talk to her. Hopefully, Wyatt is keeping her otherwise engaged.”
“You’re a worldwide star, Pax. This will likely be on the news everywhere.”
He nodded. “Well, if I were on my honeymoon, I’d turn all that shit off and focus on my spouse.”
“You are on your honeymoon.”
His lips quirked up. “It was nice, wasn’t it?” He grinned and waggled his brows.
My body lit up at the memory. I shifted in my seat to make it go away. Now, I needed to focus on getting us a place to hide away for a fake honeymoon.
I poked the autodial for Allie.
“Finally! What is going on, Victoria?” Allie said by way of answering her phone.
“Funny you should ask.”
“Oh my God, it’s true?”
“It’s…complicated. I ran into Pax in Vegas and we spent the evening with Lisbeth Garner and her manager slash boyfriend.”
“Skip to the part where you married Pax.”
I blew out a breath. “Lisbeth and Ethan got married, but apparently, she thought she saw something between me and Pax, and somehow, when they got married, we did too.”
There was silence for a moment. “How is that even possible? Don’t you have to get a license or sign something?”
“I don’t know exactly how it was done. Maybe she said she was Pax’s assistant and got the license. We did sign something but I thought it was to witness her marriage.” I looked over at Pax who nodded, suggesting he thought the same thing.
“God, Victoria.”
“I know.”
“So, what are you doing now?” Allie asked.
“We’re driving back to Eden Lake.”
“You’re not getting it annulled?”
“Not right away. Pax’s record label is afraid an accidental marriage in Vegas will hurt his reputation.”
“So, you’re staying married?”
“Until we can come up with a plan that doesn’t hurt his career.” I looked over at him, hoping he didn’t mind how forthcoming I was with my sister. If he did, oh well.
“Pax, Pax, Pax… What about you?” Allie sounded annoyed that he was the focus of all our decisions so far.
“My Instagram following is growing,” I said.
“What about Lily?”
I felt a little sick about that. “We’re hoping that for the time being, she and Wyatt aren’t following the news. Can you and Josh not say anything if they call? Not until we have a plan?”
“I doubt we’ll hear from them until they return,” she said.
“Listen, can you find out about places at Pine Rest? That seems like the best place for us to find privacy and look like we’re on a honeymoon.”
“I’ll set it up. What do you want me to tell Mom?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Chances were my mother would think I’d gotten married in Vegas on a whim to annoy her. I’d done a lot of things in the past to push her buttons, but this situation was even too much for me. “Tell her I’ll call her later.”
There was another pause. “Did you and Pax get together or just get married?”
I glanced at him again and for a moment simply watched him. He really was so handsome. Strong jaw. High cheekbones. And those amazing blue-violet eyes.
“That’s for another time,” I said.
“I see. Well, I hope it was worth it.”
I hung up with Allie and then called my assistant. I wasn’t quite as upfront with her. I simply told her to put off any media announcements until I reached her later. I also told her to arrange with the lawyers to draw up a contract for Lisbeth. After her antics, she owed me. When she was back from her honeymoon, I was getting her to sign.
Then I sat back for the rest of the drive back to Eden Lake.
“I’m surprised your mother or father hasn’t called you,” I said to Pax.
“My mother is at some beauty retreat. My father and I… It’s not like that between us.”
I frowned. “Are you estranged?”
“No. Just, not close. He wasn’t around a lot when I grew up and I live in Europe so I don’t see him.”
“He was a big help when Lily was hiding out after the whole thing with Trask came out. You might want to call him in case there’s a chance the media figures out where we are.” I figured we’d need allies and a sheriff seemed like a good start.
He glanced at me. “You’re hoping he’ll assign a deputy to be your bodyguard like he did with Lily. Turned out good for her.”
I frowned at his tone. “First, if the media is there, they’re hunting for you, not me, which means you’re the one that needs the bodyguard. There are female deputies. Maybe you want one? It turned out good for Lily.”
His jaw tightened. “Sorry.”
“This marriage isn’t off to a great start,” I huffed out.
“The start was great. It’s the first day that’s a problem,” he quipped. He took the exit off of Interstate 15 for the road that would take us the last hour to Eden Lake.
I decided not to respond. As we neared town, I got a text from Allie telling me she’d been able to rent the same cabin that Lily had stayed in when she was hiding out. It occurred to me they should name it “the scandal retreat”. At least it was large and had several bedrooms. I’d be able to find space away from Pax.
I gave him directions and we arrived at the cabin just after lunch. Mrs. Minor, one of the owners along with the McLean brothers, was at the door as we pulled in.
“My goodness, what a surprise to see you two back here. You know, I saw you along the lake the night of the wedding and wondered about you two,” she said, her eyes gleaming at us.
Pax draped an arm around me and smiled. “You’re quite perceptive, Mrs. Minor. You saw something there when we didn’t, is that right, honey?”
“Yes,” I deadpanned.
“Well, you won’t be bothered here. All our New Year’s guests have left and we don’t have many bookings until Valentine's Day. Those that are here are over on the other side of the lodge so you’ll have plenty of privacy.” Mrs. Minor opened the door and let us in. “I arranged for groceries to be brought in.”
“That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Minor.”
“We aim to serve out here. If you need anything else, let me know.” She handed me the key.
“Thank you.”
She left us and we stood for a moment like neither of us could believe we were in this situation.
“I’ll get our bags,” Pax said, walking back out the door.
I went to the large window overlooking the lake. It was cold today, but the sun was out, shining in a blue sky.
“Jesus, Dane, we just got here,” Pax was saying into his phone as he brought in my bag. He set it down and walked back out. I got my bag and took it to the master bedroom. If Pax wanted it, I’d move. “It’s not going to be a problem,” he was saying as he came back into the house. He set his bag down and then sank onto the couch. He looked like a man getting a lecture. “Fine. Send it on. I’ll look at it.” He glanced at me and then looked away.
I got the feeling whatever was going on, it wasn’t good for me.
He hung up and tossed his phone aside. He dropped his head back on the couch and scraped his hands over his face.
“What did Dane want? Has he changed his mind and wants us to go back and annul the marriage?” I walked to the kitchen, deciding to make lunch and find out what kind of booze was stocked.
“No.”
I found a bottle of wine and corkscrew. It’s five o’clock somewhere, right? I set it on the island and looked over at Pax, wondering why he wasn’t elaborati
ng.
“What, then?” I prodded.
He kept his face looking out toward the lake. “He wants me to get a prenup.”
I didn’t know why, but my stomach dropped. “You think I’m going to try and take your fortune.”
He stood and turned, making his way to me. “No.” I raised my brow. “I don’t. But he wants me to protect my assets-”
“Prenups are done before, not after a wedding.” I had a thought to take some of his assets just to spite him for thinking I was the type to take advantage. I might not have been rock-star rich, but my business did very well.
He looked completely lost. “I’m just trying to get us through this.”
“Good. Fine. I’ll have my attorney draw up a prenup too. You’re not the only one with assets to protect.”
He set his hands on the island and looked down. A part of me felt bad for him, but then I realized he was feeling like this because he was married to me, and I didn’t like that he seemed to think being married to me was the end of the world.
“Are you going to pour some of that?” he asked with a nod to the wine.
“This is mine. Get your own.” I forwent the glass, pulling the cork and drinking straight from the bottle as I made my way to my room.
Chapter 12: Married Life
Pax
Married life wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. My wife mostly hid from me, although I couldn’t blame her. She was here to protect my image. She’d signed the prenup Dane had sent over, and I signed hers. We’d each walk away with what we had when this marriage started.
The lake was quiet and with Victoria spending most of her day at the little desk by the window in the living room working, I had time to work on my music or watch European Football on cable in the TV room.
The hardest part of this arrangement was how much I wanted to play house with Victoria. Some days, I felt like I spent the whole time just watching her. I didn’t think I ever saw her without thinking, “God damn, she’s beautiful.” Not in the morning when she’d come to the kitchen, her hair a wanton mess and no makeup on. Not after her workouts on the exercise bike in the TV room when she was damp with perspiration. Not after her walks by the lake when she’d arrive back out of the cold with her blue eyes clear and a lovely pink hue to her cheeks. It all made me long to get her naked and writhing underneath me again because she’d been so fucking beautiful then too.
