“Right about what?” I asked.
“Jessica, we were talking all over dinner last night about hooking the two of you up. I mean, Lucas was all like, “She would be great for Everett,’ and I was all like, ‘Yeah, she really would.’ But then my nervous laughter gave it away and Lucas poked me about it all night and I finally spilled the beans this morning when he caught me in a vulnerable state and you didn’t really want me lying to my new boyfriend, did you? That’s no way to start a relationship.”
“You promised me, Jessica. I promised Everett you wouldn’t say anything!”
“Who’s that?” Everett asked.
I held up my finger to him and felt him set up in bed.
“What did you mean Lucas was right?” I asked.
“Well, when I accidentally told him this morning, he started calling Everett. Like, over and over again. And when he couldn't find Everett, he might have asked me where you lived.”
“And you told him?! Are you insane!?”
“I’m sorry, Andrea. He was upset and rattling on about the fire and the business and how this was all reckless and how he needed to get to Everett and talk immediately.”
“So, you mean to tell me a very angry Lucas is headed over here right now?” I asked.
My head whipped over to Everett and I watched his tired eyes widen.
“I’m sorry, Andrea. I really am. I swear to you, none of this was intentional.”
“You promised me, Jessica,” I said as tears welled in my eyes.
Everett scrambled off my bed and ran around trying to find his clothes.
“Please don’t be upset.”
“Don’t be upset? Are you insane? First, you can’t keep a lid on shit with your so-called best friend because you want to stay in good spirits with some dude you’ve known for two months, then you fucking tell him where I live!? Did you give him my credit card number, too!?”
“Please don’t be mad,” she said.
“I’m way past mad, Jessica. I’m livid. I’m infuriated. I’m…”
I looked behind me as I curled the sheet over my naked body, watching Everett toss on his clothes. I’d never seen a man move that quickly in all my life. It made me feel disgusting. Ashamed. Like some secret that had to be kept.
I didn’t like it.
And I wanted this nightmare over with.
“I feel betrayed, Jessica.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll do anything, Andrea. Just please, tell me what I need to do to make this better.”
And just as her request hit my ear, a stern knock came at my apartment door. My eyes panned over to Everett and he held out his hand, then slowly crept out of my room. I slid from my bed and padded over to my dresser, then pulled out the first thing I could put my hands on. My nightgown.
How fucking appropriate.
“Your boy toy’s here. Gotta go,” I said flatly.
“No, Andrea. Put him on the phone. Please, I’m sorry. Please don’t hang—”
I cut the call and tossed my phone onto my mangled bed. Stains could be seen in the sunlight that streamed through the window. Stains that denoted a beautiful night between Everett and I, and it was about to be destroyed. The stern knocking came down onto my door again as I pulled my nightgown over my head. I hoisted my breasts into the pockets of the built-in bra before I reached for my robe, then padded into my bathroom to throw my hair up into a bun. This wasn’t going to go well. I knew it.
“Andrea?”
Everett’s voice hit my ears as I came out of the bathroom.
“Aren’t you going to answer the door?” I asked.
“I want you to know that I don’t blame you for what’s about to happen.”
“What is about to happen, Everett? I’m really worried right now.”
He drew me into his arms and kissed the top of my head as a voice sounded behind the door.
“Everett, I know you’re in there. It’s Lucas. Open up.”
“I’m going to get him out of your place, and then we’re going to have to go talk. I’ll have to tell them what happened in Vegas,” he said.
“I know. It’s okay. I’m so sorry. I really thought Jessica would keep her mouth shut.”
“It’s fine. Trust me, I know Lucas. And when he sets his mind on something, he’ll bug the shit out of anyone around in order to get his way.”
“I’m sorry,” I said breathlessly.
I felt him place another long, warm kiss to the top of my head and it made my heart ache. Why did it feel as if this would be the last time I’d experience him like this? And why did the idea of that finality hurt so much?
“I had a wonderful time last night,” he said.
“Me, too.”
“Now, I want you to stay in your room until I can get my brother out of here. Once we’re gone and things have calmed down, I’ll give you a call and we’ll proceed with things as usual. Okay?”
I felt my heart breaking, and it only served to make me more confused.
“Okay,” I whispered.
He broke away from the embrace and I drew in a deep breath. I didn’t know what to expect, nor did I want it to happen. I wanted Lucas to go away and I wanted to have Everett all to myself. I wanted him to come back so I could hold him closer. I watched him backtrack to my front door as I sat on the edge of my bed, just barely concealed from his view.
But when he opened the door, I didn’t expect the tirade that followed.
TWENTY-TWO
Everett
“Where is she?”
My eyes widened when my father pushed past me and into Andrea’s apartment.
“Dad? What the hell are you doing here?” I asked.
“I called him,” Lucas said as he pushed past me as well.
“Andrea! Where are you!?” my father exclaimed.
“Dad, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked.
“Don’t you cuss at me, boy. You get one pass, and you already used it. Now where is this girl? I want to speak with her,” he said.
“You can’t just barge into her apartment and start demanding her presence,” I said.
“Where is she, Everett?” Lucas asked.
“Like hell I’m telling you anything with how angry you two are. Out. Now. We can all go get coffee and sit down,” I said.
“Andrea!” my father bellowed.
“Dad! Shut up!” I exclaimed.
“Hi there.”
My eyes fell onto Andrea as she came and stood in the doorway of her bedroom. She looked beautiful. Graceful. Strong. Her thick red hair was piled high on top of her head and her dazzling green eyes bounced between my father and Lucas. She had on this gorgeous silken gray nightgown with a robe tossed over her shoulders and tied off around her cute little waist. At any other moment, I would’ve picked her up, ripped the flimsy fabric from her body, and painted her living room with our bodies. I would have made round two our breakfast before taking her out to have a decent one.
She looked so small staring up into my father’s eyes.
“You,” my father said.
“If you take one more step toward her, you’re done for, Dad,” I said.
“What the hell’s wrong with you? What were you thinking?” Lucas asked.
“If I recall correctly, Vegas was your idea,” I said.
“Do you want to talk?” Andrea asked.
I watched my father point a finger at Andrea as she stood there, strong and stoic. As if nothing was going on. But the devil within me rose up. I took a step towards my father but felt Lucas’ hand wrap around my arm. I whipped my head around to him and saw him shake his head curtly.
What the hell did he mean no?
“You’re nothing but a gold digger,” my father said.
“What?” I asked.
“The only reason you made my son marry you is because you wanted his money!” my father roared.
“Can it, Dad. That isn’t what happened,” I said. I could not believe the words coming from his mouth. I would never
allow her to be spoken about like that.
“You have no idea if it is or is not true,” Lucas said.
“Yeah, and with the guy who pined over some barmaid before throwing an elaborate party just to find her again before taking her out on every date imaginable doesn’t paint her in the light of a gold digger?” I asked.
“You watch your mouth when you talk about Jessica,” he said.
“Then you sure as hell better watch your mouth after barging into some unknown woman’s apartment and throwing around accusations like that,” I growled.
“You had no right to take advantage of my son the way you did. No right! And you won’t get a cent out of the divorce. You’ll be left with nothing!” my father exclaimed.
“Both of you get out of her apartment. Now,” I said.
“He’s got a point. For all you know, she got you drunk and married you so she could get to your money. You don’t even know her, Everett,” Lucas said.
“Oh, and you knew Jessica when you fucked her in the hot tub of the mansion we were renovating?” I asked.
“What?” my father asked.
“Yeah. If you’re going to barge in here and yell in the face of someone you don’t even know, then at least level the playing field with your other son,” I spat.
“Mr. Wilder, I did not marry your son for his money,” Andrea said.
“The hell you didn’t,” my father said.
“You can believe me or not, it doesn’t matter. But I didn’t grow up caring about the wealth of other people when we were struggling to put food on our own table. The point of all this is that the both of us were taken aback by what happened. And whether or not you choose to believe it, I have just as much to lose in this fight as your son does,” Andrea said.
“Oh, really? You’ve got billions to lose?” my father asked.
“No. Just my life’s work,” she said flatly.
I wrapped my arm around Lucas and dragged him back to the doorway. He kept hanging back from my father, clearly not wanting to answer to the fucking family drama he created in the first place. I slammed him against the wall as Andrea and my father continued to go back and forth as my eyes locked onto his. It took all the strength I had not to break his nose or rip open that scar on his stomach with my bare hands.
“I don’t know where the hell you get off thinking you can do this, but you can’t. You had no right to pin Jessica down the way you did to get that information and you had no right storming in here. This is your fault, and I expect you to get Dad to step down so you can fix it,” I said.
Lucas shrugged me off before he narrowed his eyes at me.
“My fault? Your getting married is my fault? You’re the one who’s been unfocused. You’re the one who keeps turning a blind eye to things that are important. I mean, insurance, Everett? You forgot the fucking insurance on the house?” Lucas asked.
“That has nothing to do with Andrea!” I exclaimed.
“It has everything to do with Andrea! I talked you into going to Vegas because you were clearly too wound up. The one-night stands weren’t doing it for you, so I figured some drinking and some gambling would! No one fucking forgets insurance unless their mind is too clouded to think. I planned Vegas for all of us with you at the forefront of my mind. And then you go and pull something like this? Was this really the release you needed to get your mind back on track? Because all I see is my brother screwing around with some woman after receiving the worst news of his business career!” Lucas yelled.
“That fire happened way before any of this shit happened! You can’t blame that on her! You can’t blame that on our weekend trip! And if you recall correctly, you were the one pushing Vegas on everyone. I was the only one who didn’t want to go.”
“All of this is your fault, Everett.”
“No, Lucas. It’s not. This situation is your fault, however. You had no right to demand Andrea’s address and you had no right to call Dad and you sure as hell had no fucking right to barge into her damn apartment and accost her the way the two of you are!” I exclaimed.
“The fallout from this fire is all on you and you’re running around in Vegas marrying women who will bleed you dry of your money, Everett! Don’t you see how far off the deep end you’ve gone!?” Lucas yelled.
“Look at where you’re standing before you continue raising your voice at me!” I shouted.
“Enough!”
All of us whipped our heads over to look at Andrea. She had tears in her eyes and my father was practically looming over her, like a predator staring down some useless piece of prey. And it made me snap. If I had to pick a side in that very moment, then Andrea’s side was the side I would stand on. I strode over to him and ripped him back, forcing him to stumble on his feet. And his angry glare he had hooked onto her quickly turned itself onto me.
“You will not yank your father around like that,” he said.
“And you won’t walk into women’s apartments whom you don’t know and intimidate them with your posture,” I said.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on right now and I don’t care. What I do know is this. Obviously, you guys have been living a life that gets you what you want when you want it, no matter what. You think your money makes you special and you think it gives you the right to do and say whatever you please. You think you can charge into my apartment and start calling me things like ‘gold-digger’ and ‘reckless’ and ‘useless’,” Andrea said.
“Useless? Who the hell called you useless?” I asked.
“Your father, while you and your idiot brother over there were having your little pow-wow,” she said.
“You watch your mouth,” Lucas said.
“You talk to her like that one more time and you won’t have a tongue to speak with,” I growled.
“I don’t know what story you two know, but the only story I know is mine. Everett and I woke up in Vegas one morning with no recollection of what had happened the night before,” Andrea said.
“Because you got him drunk,” my father said.
“No. Because we both got drunk together,” I said.
“Neither of us would have even known we were married had it not been for the breakfast brought up to Everett’s room that congratulated us on our nuptials. What I can tell you is this: you better be glad you raised one son with decorum, because I may not come from much, but if my father ever saw me treating someone the way the two of you just treated me, he would have snapped out of his drunken haze long enough to put you in your place. And if a raging, angry alcoholic knows how to act better than you and your son do? Then your money and social status isn’t doing much for you, anyway,” Andrea said.
My eyes fell onto her as she stood there, tall and proud. Lucas had his arms crossed over his chest in the doorway of her apartment and my father was panting he was so angry. She stared him down. She went toe-to-toe with the man who had built the Wilder empire. She had no idea the shark she was staring down in the face. But she did it anyway.
My heart swelled with pride at her strength. But inside, I was irate with my family. And they would pay for the nonsense they had kicked up because they felt they had a right to.
“Out. Now,” I said.
“I have more I want to say to her,” my father said.
“Well, you can say it some other time. Right now? We’ve got bigger issues to sort out. And it’s not happening here,” I said.
“Yeah. Issues you created,” Lucas said.
“I’ve heard just about enough blaming of this business and fire situation on people,” my father said.
“Funny, because I’m pretty sure you just tried to pin some of it on me,” Andrea said.
I grinned over at her, but her eyes were still hooked onto my father.
“Of course, you’d marry the one with attitude,” my father murmured.
“Damn right, he did,” Andrea said.
Holy hell, this woman was perfect. And somehow, she still wasn’t mine.
“The two of you.
Out,” I said.
“I don’t think we’re finished. I haven’t gotten to speak with her yet,” Lucas said.
“And you won’t. If any of you want to talk with her, you go through me,” I said.
“You aren’t actually her husband, Everett. Get a grip. You don’t have to protect her. You also don’t have to worry about any of this. We can get you—”
“An uncontested divorce where assets are evenly split between what I came in with and what he came in with,” Andrea said.
I whipped my head around to take her in as her body leaned heavily against the doorframe of her bedroom. I watched her turn her eyes to my brother as a grin spread across my cheeks.
“Yeah. We’ve been talking about it,” she said. “Now I want all of you out. Now. And if I have to ask again, the police will be called and they can escort you out for me.”
“Andrea, I can fix this. Give me a second,” I said.
“I have no doubt in my mind you will, Everett. You’re an incredible man. But you won’t fix it here. You won’t do it in the only place I’ve called home since I left for college.”
I watched tears rise in her eyes before she quickly wiped them away.
“I want you all out. Gone. And I don’t want Lucas or your father stepping back into my apartment ever. And if they do? I’ll be calling the police,” she said.
“Don’t worry. Everett won’t be back either,” my father said.
“You have no right to speak on my behalf regarding where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing,” I said.
“Well clearly, you need someone to. Because the last time you took control of your life, a mansion burned down and you got married,” Lucas said.
“I didn’t want to go to Vegas in the first place, you nimrod! Maybe the next time I don’t want to do something, you won’t be so damned pressed to make me do it!” I exclaimed.
“The two of you! You’re done with this bickering,” my father said.
“Then maybe you should provide a better role model for them to emulate,” Andrea said.
My father’s eyes widened as he slowly panned his head back over to her. Andrea scoffed and shook her head, acting as if my father’s retribution meant nothing to her. It was the first time I ever saw someone treat him like that. Speak to him like that. He was so used to being the dominant party in the room. The one everyone listened to. And here he was, being shunned by a woman three times younger than him and at least half his height. I could have drawn her into my arms and kissed her right then and there. But I knew she wasn’t okay. I watched her retreat into her room after the stare-down with my father, and she closed her bedroom door. Leaving myself, Lucas, and my boiling-angry father standing in the middle of her living room to exit out the way my family had barged in.
Accidentally Wild: An Accidental Marriage Romance (The Wilder Brothers Book 2) Page 18
