by C. R. Ellis
“I don’t fucking know, okay? I wasn’t thinking. I thought I’d be able to explain things to you before she found out,” he boomed loudly, panic finally seeping into his voice. His eyes held an underlying look of desperation, like he was hoping I’d take pity on him. “You know…see if there was a way to make this work, for the sake of the wedding.”
“Jesus, Andrew! Do you hear yourself? You’re delusional,” I snapped, moving to brush past him and get the hell out of this nightmare.
“What was I supposed to do?” he shouted, taking two lengthy strides to match my four and putting me nowhere closer to being out of his vicinity.
His panic, the whole reason for his stress right now, became clear to me.
“How about you start with being honest! Does she even know about us, about our broken engagement?” I asked, a challenge in my tone. I was prepared for a lie this time.
His pause told me everything.
I reached for the door handle, but he stepped in front of me. I tightened my grip on the strap of my purse and angled my head up to level him, glaring. “Move. I’m leaving.”
His head dropped forward, and he gripped the back of his neck with both hands, kneading the muscles like he could massage away the stress if he pressed hard enough.
“Everything all right?” Audrey’s voice startled us both, and we turned to see her head poking out of the office.
“Yep, no problem here,” Andrew replied, stepping to the side and tugging the door open.
Her eyes fell to me, where my reaction told her the opposite.
“I, um, have to go. Something came up,” I lied, forcing a quick smile.
Before Audrey could reply, I breezed past Andrew and turned toward the parking lot, intending to run without looking back. Gravel crunched behind me, but I didn’t stop to see the source of the sound; I knew it wasn’t Audrey. She wasn’t the one with a lot to lose in this clusterfuck of a situation.
The footsteps got closer and closer until a hand gripped my shoulder, halting my movement as my hand reached for the door handle. “Jade, wait!”
I froze at the contact and whipped around to break free of his grip. My arms folded across my chest, relaying my annoyance. The look in his eyes wasn’t even a look of remorse, of regret for keeping something so major from Nicole. It was a look of complete panic.
“I’ll pay you double.”
“Pay me double for what?” I asked. Andrew’s eyes darted everywhere, bouncing from me to the far side of the parking lot. Realization dawned; he was hoping I’d go along with his charade and keep the truth from Nicole. “You can’t be serious. You have to tell her, Andrew. Are you seriously going to marry this woman without telling her?”
His hands scrubbed up and down his face in frustration. “You don’t understand. I can’t tell her.”
“Why? Because, in your idiotic logic you’re saving her from the inevitable heartache caused by your honesty?” I snapped, on the verge of completely losing my cool. “You are such a selfish asshole. She deserves to know.” The flare of Andrew’s nostrils at my word choice set off another bomb of realization in my head. I stepped toward him, throwing him off guard. “Or is it because you’re afraid telling her the truth—that you cheated on your fiancé with her—will cause her to break your heart the way you broke mine?”
Andrew winced. Sweat broke out along his forehead as he twisted his fingers together nervously. “Jade, I’m sorry for the way I handled things with you. I admit what I did was fucked up. But that’s all in the past. What good would it do to tell her? Stirring up shit from back then will just cause pain.”
“That is such a cop-out. Tell her, Andrew. Or I will.”
The look of panic vanished, replaced by a razor-sharp look of anger. I took a step back. This Andrew was foreign to me, and a little scary.
He erased the step and barreled past the invisible boundary of my personal space. I would’ve moved, but my back was already pressed against my car. “What did you say? Bitch, you don’t get to give me ultimatums,” he growled, both hands wrapping around my biceps and squeezing.
I tried to wiggle free, but he had an unforgiving death grip and a size advantage over me. Pain pressed from his fingers into my arms, so intense it was like he was trying to crush bone. “Andrew, let go. You’re hurting me.”
Cold, angry pools of gray burned into me. “Nicole can never find out. I won’t let you fuck everything up. You keep your mouth shut, or I’ll make you regret it,” he threatened before finally relinquishing his hold on my arms.
I blinked, frozen in shock at the insanity of the last sixty seconds.
Andrew stepped back, apparently satisfied I wouldn’t go through with telling her after all. My pounding heart, along with the whirlwind of panic flooding through my veins and thundering in my ears, must’ve been the reason I didn’t hear the approaching footsteps.
“Trey? What the hell are you doing?” Nicole’s frantic voice spurred my feet into action.
I didn’t think, didn’t stop when I looked up and saw Nicole’s furrowed brow and questioning gaze bounce from Andrew to me. Her gaze softened when our eyes met, but I couldn’t form words, and I couldn’t stomach the thought of hearing whatever lies Andrew tried to feed her. I ripped open the door, practically launched myself into the driver’s seat, and frantically fastened my seatbelt before barreling down the road without looking back.
Chapter 26
Jade
“Jade? What’s wrong?” Hope asked, her voice filled with concern. She immediately pulled her suite’s door open and ushered me inside.
I saw the streaks of black trailing from beneath my eyes and down my cheeks before getting out of my car, but I didn’t even care. Liquid proof of the pain Andrew caused once again was there, and no amount of swiping could remove the evidence. If someone had told me an hour ago anything having to do with Andrew could still get to me, I would’ve laughed. I had built myself up and protected my heart from ever being remotely affected by him.
The bruises on my arms and the unmistakable knot of anger in my chest made me a liar.
“I couldn’t see anyone else like this,” I stammered, already checking to make sure Emmett wasn’t there. He was supposed to be finishing up at the office before going home to get ready. When I didn't see him, I unfolded my arms and released a breath.
The bright light beaming from the chandelier hanging above the entryway put my puffy, crying eyes and bruises on display and gave me nowhere to hide.
“Jade, what happened?” she probed, eyes darting to the marks now visible on my biceps. Her hands moved to grip mine reassuringly.
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. My head shook, and I felt another round of tears threatening when I met her eyes and saw nothing but compassion and worry staring back. I took a breath and dug deep for the strength to tell her everything.
“I didn’t know he’d be there and get so angry,” I cried, shaking my head and choking back a sob.
“Who, Jade? Who was where? What are you talking about?”
She guided me toward the plush, gray couch situated across from balcony doors showcasing a view of the city. The suite’s open floor plan gave me an unobstructed view of the kitchen and dining room from my spot in the living room, so a quick sweep of my surroundings told me we were alone.
Hope read my thoughts. “Colby took Caroline for a walk so I could get ready in peace. It’s just us.”
I nodded, breathing a sigh of relief before launching into the saga. Until now, there was no reason for Andrew to ever come up in our conversations, so I started from the day my relationship with him ended and told her everything.
“You have to tell Emmett.”
“I can’t. Not yet. Tonight is too important to him.” Our no more secrets vow echoed inside my head, but I couldn’t risk him dropping everything to hunt Andrew down like I knew he would once he found out. “Please, Hope. I’m going to tell him, but you know as well as I do what will happen if he finds out before
the party. Help me get through tonight, and I’ll tell him everything after the party.”
Hope shifted on the couch, adjusting her robe and crossing her legs as a frown fell across her lips. Slowly, she nodded and cleared her throat as she considered my plan. “I don’t like the idea of keeping something from Emmett, but I also don’t like the idea of him getting arrested, no matter how much Andrew deserves to have his ass kicked. If we do this, you have to swear to me the second you two leave, you’ll tell him.”
I nodded and edged closer toward her on the couch. “I swear. I want to tell him, believe me, but you see why he can’t find out yet. He deserves a drama-free night to celebrate his accomplishments.”
Indecision weighed heavily in Hope’s features. She chewed on her bottom lip as her fingers drummed against her legs and her eyes remained fixed on my upper arms.
I placed my hand over hers and drew her attention back to my face. “I’m sorry to put this on you. I just didn’t know what else to do.”
She smiled sweetly and squeezed my hand back. “Oh, sweetie, you don’t have to apologize. None of this is your fault. Of course I’ll help.”
“Thank you, Hope.” The small smile her reassurance brought vanished when I realized the bruises would be impossible to hide. I gently ran my hands over the noticeable, hand-sized marks on my arms. “What the hell do I do about these? They’re not exactly easy to hide.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Hope exclaimed, jumping up from the couch and disappearing down a hallway. She reappeared moments later with a black shawl and wrapped it around her arms, concealing her biceps completely. “What do you think? Will this work with your dress?”
“My dress is red, so they’ll go together perfectly.”
She handed the shawl to me so I could give her a twirl.
“Well?”
“It’s the best option we’ve got,” she replied, tugging the material up on my left arm. “Do you have your dress with you?”
“Yes, all my stuff’s in my car. What are you thinking?” I asked after she practically sprinted to the kitchen counter, where her phone was plugged in and charging.
“I’m going to text Emmett and let him know you’re getting ready here because you didn’t think you’d make it home in time. That’ll buy us some time to get your head on straight and get the tear situation under control.”
I shot Hope an appreciative smile and took the shawl off before making my way into the kitchen and pulling her in for a hug. “Thank you. You’re amazing.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We still have to pull this off, and I’m not entirely convinced we can. But you’re going to be my sister some day, so it’s my job to help you in this department.”
An hour later, after a shower, with a fresh layer of makeup applied, and loose curls framing my face, I felt like a new person. Other than the proof of his hands on my arms, all traces of anything remotely related to Andrew were gone—from my mind and my appearance. I buried all of the emotions he elicited under the layer of excitement welling up inside me at the thought of finally getting to celebrate the man I loved.
The venue for the Axtero party was an old, renovated hotel with an extravagance perfectly suited to the occasion. A pair of smooth stone columns highlighted the entryway, and smaller versions of the pillars lined the entrance of the ballroom. Inside, the room had been partitioned into sections; one side filled with tables, and one side open to use as a dance floor. A local jazz band had been hired for the entertainment, and their soft tunes floated through the space as employees and their guests filtered in. The relaxed, almost casual ambience created by the soft lighting and simplistic decor juxtaposed against the sea of tuxes and floor-length gowns filling the room, but it somehow worked.
After stopping at various tables, we finally made our way to the table near the stage with a ‘RESERVED’ card leaning against the vase of white peonies in the center.
“Not sure how it’s possible, pretty girl, but I love you more now than I did yesterday.” Emmett’s lips grazed my ear as he whispered and instantly melted my insides.
I turned and pressed my lips to his clean-shaven cheek in a quick kiss. “Must be the dress. I’m pretty sure it came with a warning label about attracting the affection of any person of your choosing.”
A low chuckle vibrated through his chest as he pulled out my chair. “Guess that makes me the chosen one, then?”
“I’ll always choose you, Boston,” I confirmed, tightening my hold on the shawl. I didn’t even care how cheesy I sounded, my love for this man demanded to be expressed.
“You’re wrong, you know,” he replied as he took his seat to my left. “It’s not the dress. It’s the way you managed to suffer through half an hour of standing and walking around, making small talk in heels I’m sure are killing your feet, while genuinely smiling and getting to know the Axtero employees. It’s the note you slipped in my pocket this morning just to say you’re proud of me. It’s the unwavering support you’ve given me for the last month. Each day you manage to surprise me, Tiny. That’s why I love you.”
With uncharacteristically tamed hair and an impeccably tailored black tux on, Emmett was impossible not to ogle. He wasn’t wrong—I genuinely wanted to know the people who’d be working for him. Plus, thanks to my job, the ability to make small talk came easily in settings like this. But, even as we chatted and laughed with his employees, I found my eyes lingering on this man of mine—on his chest, his dimples, or the slight curl to the ends of his hair.
“I love you more now than I did an hour ago.”
An amused scoff drew my attention from across the table. “Jesus. Can I just plan your wedding already?”
My eyes rolled and narrowed on Jas. “Tease all you want, smirky. Just remember what a bitch payback is.”
“Oh, please. You know the requirements for me to ever settle down.”
“Yeah, yeah. A pierced appendage.”
Jas shook her head. “A pierced dick, JP. You can say it, I’m not ashamed. But even that’s questionable.”
Emmett choked and nearly spit out the gulp of water in his mouth. At the same time, Dean slipped into the seat next to Jas and either missed her comment or chose to ignore it.
“So if a Prince Albert piercing isn’t enough, what is?” I asked, not even pausing when Dean’s eyebrows flew halfway up his forehead as he looked from Jas to me.
“Well, the right piercing might be enough, but I was serious when I told you I’d only settle down with an Aussie with an eight-pack.”
I laughed and slapped the table. “Ah-ha! You both heard her! All I have to do to tempt Jasmine Winters into settling down is find a hot Australian with an eight-pack and a pierced dick,” I asserted, looking from Emmett to Dean.
Emmett just laughed and Dean rolled his eyes before taking a swig from his beer. Jas cut her eyes to Dean, and opened her mouth, but snapped it shut and diverted her gaze to the bar.
“Have they always been like this?” Emmett asked, looking at Dean.
“Pretty much,” he confirmed with a nod before setting his beer down and getting up.
“We’re a package deal, E-money. You’ve bought into Jade’s crazy, so you get mine for free. Gotta love a good BOGO.”
I nodded. “She’s right, Boston.”
Emmett grinned and nodded in a whatever-you-say way. I smiled back and gave him a wink. I was about to tell him we weren’t always this inappropriate when a waving figure at the bar caught my eye.
“Hope’s got the right idea. Jas, you ready for a refill?” I asked, eyeing her half-empty cocktail.
“God, yes! Lead the way.” She downed her drink and practically leapt out of her chair.
Jas went to hook her arm through mine as we walked, but the shawl was in her way. I immediately tried to tighten my grip on the fabric before it fell away.
Too little too late. The shawl slipped down my arms momentarily, long enough for Jasmine’s eyes to fall to the purplish marks staining my skin.
“Jade
! What the hell is this?” she shrieked, pulling the shawl off.
“Shh!” I ordered, coming to a stop. My eyes darted around to make sure nobody overheard her outburst. Fortunately, we were out of Emmett’s earshot, and nobody else was paying us much attention. I quickly jerked the fabric out of her grasp and pulled it back in place before grabbing her hand and tugging her toward the bathrooms.
“Jade. What the hell happened? You better start talking.”
I ignored her command until we were in the privacy of the small, locked restroom. “Okay, look. What I’m about to tell you cannot leave this room. Swear to me, Jas.”
“I swear. You’re kinda freaking me out here, JP. Why do you have bruises on your arms?”
I told her everything. About Andrew showing up. That he was Nicole’s flaky fiancé. About his threat and the way he’d grabbed me.
“Jesus Christ, Jade, why didn’t you tell me before?” Her features softened as her anger with Andrew shifted into sympathy for me. “Does Emmett know? Dean? Please tell me you told them.”
I immediately shook my head. “No, I couldn’t tell Emmett. I’m going to tell him after we leave. I’ll tell Dean tomorrow.”
A stall door flew open and crashed against the wall, demanding our attention. “Fuck that,” Dean growled, looking poised for murder. His jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed in rage as soon as they landed on my arms.
Shit. We’d been so distracted neither of us realized the hotel’s bathrooms were unisex.
Jas froze, and I took two tentative steps toward him. “D, I’m okay. You can’t go around killing people.”
“Watch me. Should’ve kicked his ass before. Breaking your heart was one thing, Jade. But this? Putting his hands on you? He is a fucking dead man.”
I reached my hands out to press against his chest. “Dean, stop. Take a breath. Please just call a cop friend or something if you’re not going to let this go.” His eyes burned into me before squeezing shut.
He inhaled deeply through his nose, and I reached down to grip his fisted hands. “I’m okay, Dean,” I repeated.
