by A. F. Zoelle
The plummeting of my stomach had little to do with how fast the elevator was descending. How had we ended up married for real? Plenty of people had teased us about being an old married couple, and we were in some respects. However, it was one thing to joke about it; it was another thing for it to be true—especially right before my actual wedding with my fiancée.
No matter how much I wished I could blame the alcohol, I couldn’t. Sure, Olivia had a banging hot body, but she was pretentious, haughty, and superficial to an obnoxious degree. We may have claimed to love each other, but she only loved that I was rich enough to give her the luxurious lifestyle she expected. The prospect of living in a loveless marriage like my parents suffocated me.
I should have broken up with her years ago. However, I had been so tired of the endless parade of sycophantic beauties only interested in my family. It had been easier to stay with her than find a new girlfriend. They all ended up being the same anyway, so what difference did it make?
It helped that my folks liked her, although I suspected my asshole father’s interest in her was far from pure, given his history of chasing after younger women. The same wasn’t true in reverse, because Olivia’s parents couldn’t stand me.
She had been engaged to some hotshot financial bro in Massachusetts before we dated. Her parents never let me forget that I could never compare to Chaz, even if I cared to try. He had cheated on Olivia with her close friend and gotten her knocked up, so it shouldn’t have been a competition. Yet somehow, he came out on top with her folks. After ruining Olivia’s big day, I’d definitely be the bad guy. I suppose it should bother me, but I was out of fucks to give.
After dating over three years, marriage had been the next logical step. As the wedding planning started, I kept expecting our relationship to fall apart since we weren’t in love. It wasn’t until my bachelor party that I fully understood I was on the verge of being trapped in a life I never wanted.
When I was sitting in my room with Luci afterward, it occurred to me I had never had a girlfriend who I loved more than him. The alcohol made me bold, and my fear of losing him to Olivia made me stupid. I vividly remembered telling him he was the only person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with—and I still meant it. I’d rather wed my platonic soul mate instead of her.
Except things hadn’t been very platonic after our impromptu ceremony. Our kisses had been more passionate than any I had ever shared with a girlfriend before. I hadn’t imagined that we both had been hard and wanting. I wondered if Luci had experienced the same all-consuming desire to be together. Maybe I was the only weird one.
One thing I knew for sure was that I shouldn’t have jerked off this morning because I was so turned on by him enjoying checking out my ass. Even now, my cock responded to the memories. I shifted on my feet as I tried to put such thoughts out of my mind. The last thing I needed was another confusing erection inspired by Luci.
While I dreaded Olivia going off on me for doing this to her the day before our wedding, I was more afraid Luci wouldn’t forgive me. He was too nice to tell me no, and I had used that to my advantage like a total asshole. Although he had been understanding so far, he had every right to be angry with me for betraying our friendship. If he decided he never wanted to see me again, I’d deserve it for persuading him to marry me against his better judgment.
I would be fine after my fight with Olivia, but my heart clenched at the thought of Luci hating me. Out of everything, he was the sole thing I couldn’t bear to lose. It would be like losing the other half of myself, the very thought of it making it hard to breathe in the small space of the elevator.
The doors pinged open. I blindly followed him out, a family of four getting on after us. Instead of exiting at the restaurants, we were on a random hotel room floor. I looked up at him in confusion.
He held my shoulders, gazing down at me with so much concern, that in my unbalanced state, it brought tears to my eyes. How could he look at me like that after what I had forced him to do?
Luci's voice was warm and gentle as he assured me, “It’s okay, Rhys. Just breathe.”
I was hyperventilating again, on the brink of a panic attack—not because I’d married Luci, but because my stupidity costing me our friendship terrified me. I stared up at him with all my fear and confusion, needing him to understand so he could make it better. He always knew the right thing to say or do in every situation.
When he gathered me into a hug, I threw my arms around him and clung to him. “I’m so sorry, Luci. Please don’t hate me!”
“I’m not mad at you, Rhys. I couldn’t hate you if I tried.” Luci’s words soothed me almost as much as being in his embrace did. It was the only place in the world I was safe and loved. How had I never noticed that before? “You don’t have to be sorry. We’re in this together, remember?”
The fact that I’d rather stay in Luci's arms than see my fiancée told me everything I needed to know in that moment. There would be no begging for Olivia’s forgiveness, no pleading for another chance, no promises that I would annul my marriage if only she’d have me. I may have eloped with my best friend on a whim, but it was shaping up to be my smartest relationship decision ever.
I stepped back and took a shuddering breath, running my fingers through my hair as I steadied myself. Luci was the most understanding person in the world. There wasn’t a problem we couldn’t move past. He might be mad at me for a little while once the dust settled, but he would forgive me. This would be okay. We would be okay.
“Hey, you’re still wearing your wedding ring,” he pointed out. “I thought you were leaving it in the room?”
That had been my original intention, because it minimized the chances of a confrontation over breakfast. However, I knew on a subconscious level why I’d left it on to confront Olivia. With a shrug, I walked over to the elevators and pressed the down button. “I changed my mind.”
“We don’t have to do this now,” he offered. “If you prefer to wait until you talk to her alone in private, or—”
I stopped him. “I’ll play it by ear. Whatever happens, happens.”
There were no more words as we went to face off against my fiancée.
Olivia was waiting outside of the restaurant, tapping her stiletto heel on the floor. Her pink dress was so short that it amazed me she would wear it in front of her family at breakfast. Her breasts almost spilled out of the top of it, which was earning her quite a few looks as other people walked by her. Her bun was so tight my headache got worse from looking at it. She was artificially beautiful, but there wasn’t an ounce of kindness in her piqued expression.
After she had declared no sex until our honeymoon, seeing her in that outfit should have filled me with an urge to fuck her where she stood. Instead, I was devoid of any desire for her. Somehow, waking up naked next to Luci that morning had turned me on more. Not to mention that I masturbated in the shower thinking about him and not her. Those were dangerous thoughts, so I pushed it aside to handle later.
When I saw how pissed off Olivia looked, I glanced at my watch. We were five minutes early for breakfast. Before we approached her, I shoved my hands in my pockets to hide my ring, noticing Luci had done the same.
“Where the fuck have you been, Leopold?” she hissed once we were close enough to hear her.
I hated that she only called me by my first name. It emphasized how she only cared about my family legacy, rather than about me. I had tried to make her stop in the beginning, but at some point, I had given up the fight. I was such an idiot for wasting so much time with her. Why didn’t I realize that until it was almost too late?
Frowning at the greeting, I asked, “What the hell is your problem? Chill, we’re not late.”
“Don’t tell me to chill!” Olivia snapped. “And why is he here?”
The disgust in her tone as she pointed at Luci with a hateful glare made my blood boil with rage. I could deal with any insults aimed at me, but I refused to tolerate her treating him like shit. “He is here because he
’s my best man.”
“So?”
“Your maid of honor is here, so it’s only fair.”
“That’s because Katie’s my sister! This breakfast is family only. Lucien, leave.”
I appreciated that he didn’t obey her. With a nonplussed shrug, I said, “If you won’t let him join us, I’ll order room service with him instead. Have fun with your folks.”
When I turned away, she grabbed my upper arm, her acrylic nails digging into my bicep. “You’re such a pain in the ass, you know that?”
“How could I forget when you remind me every chance you get?” I asked, shaking her off me. “What’s your problem?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her breasts higher. Her brown eyes were full of accusations. “Ambrose and Katie broke up yesterday.”
“So? That’s the third time this month. They’ll be back together before the rehearsal dinner tonight.”
“He cheated on her with a stripper,” Olivia spat, glaring at Luci as if he had something to do with it. “They’re done for good this time.”
“Hey, we weren’t there. Ambrose went to a strip club without us, so it’s not our fault.” The irony that I would have gotten in less trouble there than drinking alone with Luci would have been funny under any other circumstance. “Try being thankful that there’ll be less drama now.”
“I’m sick of this bullshit! Ambrose is out of my wedding!”
I started to argue she couldn’t kick out one of my groomsmen, but it didn’t matter when there wouldn’t be a wedding. “Okay.”
The stunned expression on Olivia’s face was comical as she sputtered, “O-okay? What do you mean ‘okay’?”
“As in, okay, Ambrose doesn’t have to be in the wedding anymore,” I patronizingly clarified. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
I didn’t blame her for looking suspicious. “You won’t fight me on it?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Of course not!”
I asked, “What’s your issue, then?”
Olivia frowned at me as she accused me, “You don’t care at all, do you?”
“As you’ve repeatedly told me, this is your wedding,” I reminded her. “In your own words, I’m just supposed to shut up and show up, right?” Ha, fat chance of that happening now. “Is there anything else? Because we’re all late now thanks to you.”
“God, I fucking hate you sometimes,” she muttered under her breath.
“Only sometimes?” I retorted. “Huh, it must be true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder.” That wasn’t the case for me, since having distance from her showed me why I should stay away permanently.
With a final glare, she turned on her heel and stormed inside.
I grinned as I bumped Luci with my shoulder. “See? It’s going great.”
“Why didn’t you fight her about Ambrose?” His eyebrows creased in confusion. “If he’s out, you know August will bail, too.”
Luci was right. He always was. Much like our relationship, Ambrose and August were an inseparable duo. He had long suspected there was more to their friendship, but I found it hard to believe given Ambrose’s love of the ladies. The man was aggressively heterosexual. Besides, August had almost as many women in his bed. Then again, weirder things had happened, as our recent marriage proved.
Rather than commenting on that, I pointed out, “She can’t kick him out if there’s no wedding.”
“No wedding?” he repeated in shock. “But I thought—”
I interrupted him by clasping his shoulder with a squeeze. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s go before she decides her stilettos need to become acquainted with my balls.”
He remained unconvinced, but he followed me over to where my folks, Olivia’s parents, and her sister waited. She dropped into the chair with a huff and dour scowl.
There were two free seats next to my parents, so I sat next to my irate fiancée, figuring it would be safest if Luci was between me and my mom. While my old man was a prick to everyone, my mother was nice to him most of the time. She wore a black dress that would have been more appropriate at a funeral. Her dark hair was in a fashionable bob, making her appear younger than she was. Well, that and all the plastic surgery.
Despite it being breakfast, my father was in a full suit and tie. I resembled him in looks, but his features were far more severe. The stress of his job had caused him to go prematurely gray. It always amazed me that my image-conscious mother hadn’t forced him dye it to give the illusion of youth. Then again, knowing my dad, he wouldn’t give a single fuck if she had asked him to do it.
Besides, my father’s silver fox look was working for him, given his many flagrant affairs with younger women. Leo earned enough money that my mom never complained, which I had been bitter about growing up. Their sham marriage had put me off romance. Only now did I realize how badly it had fucked me up with my interchangeable girlfriends. I had settled for Olivia, because love never played into the equation.
Mom greeted us, but Dad sat in stony silence. It surprised me he was there at all, since I had assumed he’d blow the breakfast off to hit the golf course.
We sat down, careful to keep our left hands out of sight. Luci appeared at ease, which helped steady my own nerves. However, I grew irritated by Olivia glaring at him, looking as if she was attempting to set him on fire with her mind.
I nudged her under the table as I mouthed, “Stop it.”
She huffed but remained silent.
It was ridiculous to use one hand with such a massive menu, but our predicament didn’t leave me with many options. Luci did it with far more grace than me.
The server came over and took our orders. Once he left, Olivia announced, “I’ve decided that Ambrose will no longer be in my wedding.”
I sighed as she once again claimed that it was “her” wedding. In fact, she had never once referred to it as “our” wedding during our entire engagement. That said it all, really.
Tears welled up in Katie’s eyes at the mention of Ambrose’s name. I hadn’t spent a lot of time around Katie, but it was easy to see that she was the polar opposite of her older sister. She was so heartbroken that I pitied her. Ambrose was good at doing that to people.
Katie whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault he’s an asshole,” Olivia callously declared, earning her a reprimand from her father for her language. Regardless of her being twenty-eight, Jerry kept her on a short leash. “Maybe you’ll listen to me and stop wasting your time with him.”
“He never should have been involved in the first place,” her mother stated, her scornful expression mirroring her oldest daughter’s. Wearing a white dress with pearls, Sharron’s pinched features gave her a general air of bitchiness. Her plastic surgeon wasn’t nearly as skilled as my mom’s. “Your taste in friends leaves much to be desired, Leopold.”
They made my name sound even more pretentious than it was, which was saying something considering I was Leopold Bertram Huntington, III. In a weird way, I was glad they refused to call me by my nickname, Rhys. It was the name I had chosen for myself, but none of them cared about Rhys. All that mattered was the prestige that came with the Huntington fortune.
When Sharron’s gaze drifted over to Luci and back to me again, I was about to go off on her for the implied insult. The only thing stopping me was his touch on my knee. It triggered a jarring memory from last night of his fingers trailing up my naked thigh as he stared down at me with desire darkening his blue eyes. I flushed with heat, which I blamed on the hangover. Without meaning to, I traced over his wedding band, which reminded me of what I needed to do. When he pulled away, I suffered a disconcerting sense of loss.
“He’ll make better friends once he comes to the country club,” Olivia promised, giving me a warning look that promised, or else.
I could barely contain my disgust. Dad had forced us to hobnob there, hanging out with a bunch of rich, old fucks, whose only interest was ban
krolling their millions. It bored me to death growing up, becoming increasingly unbearable the older I got. If Olivia and her family thought they could trot me out like a show pony for their bougie friends to mock, they were in for a real surprise.
My indignation faded when I remembered that none of this would matter after I confessed what we did yesterday. The tightness in my chest loosened at the realization that soon I would be free of Olivia and her uppity family forever. I had become so detached from her bullshit that I never realized how much anxiety she instilled in me until now.
She kicked me with an expectant look.
I managed an unenthusiastic “Uh, yeah. Sure. Sounds great.”
Luci covered his mouth to hide his grin at my response.
With him at my side, this whole farce was tolerable. Why had I ever believed this was a life I could endure without wanting to jump off the nearest skyscraper? I owed him a massive apology for forcing him to suffer through over three years of watching me endure this nonsense.
Jerry said, “I’ll talk to Francisco about getting Leopold set up at the Nantucket Yacht Club once you get settled out there.” He shared his wife’s just-smelled-shit expression. His thin comb-over was a sad sight. Her dad was a petty man who tried too hard to make people think he had more money than he did. He was the worst.
It annoyed me whenever they talked about me like I wasn’t there, so it took a moment for the latter part of his sentence to register in my brain. “Get settled out there?”
“Yes. When we move out there, Daddy will take care of everything,” Olivia explained.
I repeated with emphasis, “I’m sorry, move out there? As in, move out to Nantucket?”
“Well, it’ll really be Martha’s Vineyard,” she corrected me, “but yeah.”
I was sick of being broadsided with shocking revelations today. “Why is this the first I’m hearing about this?”
“You didn’t expect me to stay in California, did you? You know I hate it there.”
“But we live there.”
“Yes, and after the wedding, we’ll live in Nantucket,” she informed me in a clipped tone that implied how stupid she thought I was being.
