Page 25 of Better Off Wed
He shrugged, eyes sliding away from mine. I watched as he pressed a hand against his scarred neck, stretching his jaw like the old injuries were uncomfortable. Then he said, “Fletcher’s a fuckboy.”
“Okay. Thank you for that completely irrelevant piece of information.”
“I’m just letting you know. But whatever, maybe that doesn’t matter. You guys would look good together.”
Outrage burned in the center of my chest. The wedding ring on my finger felt heavy and tight. “What the hell is that supposed tomean?”
He turned to face me fully, glaring. “As my ‘business associate,’ are you planning on sleeping around with all my cousins?”
I reared back. “Excuse me?”
“You were flirting with him. With all of them.”
“I wastalkingto them.”
“You made Fletcher laugh.”
“Is that a crime?”
Gideon clenched his jaw, then relaxed. His eyes shuttered. “Lunch’ll be served soon. I need to check on something for work,” he told me, and stalked back toward his brothers.
I watched him go as I sat down on the nearest couch. I was offended by his accusations, and yet there was a sick kind of heat kindling in my gut. Gideon cared.
And wasn’t that the most pathetic thing to be thinking right now? He didn’t care about me! He just cared about saving his business from his grandmother’s machinations. We had come to an agreement, and we were using these six weeks to see if it could work.
No sex. No love. No desire.
And that wasfine. It was better than fine. It wasgreat.
We could carve out a marriage that worked for both of us. Something safe and small, that would allow us both to live our own lives.
The thought made me ache with sadness and yearning.
“Will you design my homecoming dress?” Lola asked, interrupting my thoughts as she dropped into the seat next to mine. Today, the teenager wore a crop top and loose jeans, and her blond hair fell down in beachy waves. She smelled like fruity perfume, and it reminded me of the body spray I used to usewhen I was a young teenager. She kicked her legs out, staring at her white sneakers before glancing at me. “Or do you only do wedding dresses?”
“I usually only do wedding dresses,” I admitted.
Lola pouted. “Dang. It’s my first homecoming this fall. I’m a freshman this year.”
“Maybe I could make an exception,” I heard myself say.
Her eyes brightened, and I immediately regretted my rash words. Who knew if I’d even be here by the time Lola’s homecoming came around?
“I looked you up online. Your dresses arefancy.”
I huffed. “Thank you? I think?”
“I want to wear a pink dress. Macy Collins says pink is totally out this year, but it’s my favorite color and she has no idea what she’s talking about. She follows theworstfashion TikTokers, I swear.”
I nodded. “Well, pink is classic.”
“Right?” Lola agreed, huffing dramatically. She slumped back on the sofa and crossed her arms. Then she rolled her head on the back of the sofa to look at me. “Why did you get married to Gideon? Could you not find someone the normal way?”
Ah, the ruthlessness of teenage girls. I forced a smile. “No, actually. I couldn’t.”
“Oh. Like, no one would date you?”
“They’d date me, but they wouldn’t marry me.”
