Page 55 of Angels Don’t Date

“You mean that they want to use fake flowers? I know, it’s shocking, but they’ll last longer, and with the tv show pre-recording most of the final episode, it⁠—”

He shook his head, tight. “No, the one that happened yesterday. My dad married us. That’s what those congratulations were about. It seemed weird, but I didn’t…”

A spinning cyclone of despair and absolute rage ripped through me until I was the one pinning him to the wall, squeezing his shoulders too tight and growling at him. “We aren’t married!”

He nodded, but still relaxed, like he didn’t see me as a threat. “It’s crazy. The most I can figure is that he married us so that I can understand what it feels like to be coerced against my will. Like I did with you and the binding. He probably considers it illegal, and he doesn’t like when I break the law. He thinks it sets a bad example.” He rolled his eyes, like this wasn’t the most epically horrific thing in the entire world. I couldn’t marry someone I was in love with if he wasn’t in love with me! That would be torture, and I’d invade his space all the time, and it would ruin our friendship.

I released him and stepped back, crossing my arms. “I don’t believe it.” I was starting to really panic. What did he mean, we were married? And what did he mean, his dad vengeance married us?

He shrugged and gestured with a hand. “Okay. I mean, it’s only legal in this country. It doesn’t make that much difference. I mean, you can still go ahead and marry whoever you choose at the end of the competition. We’ll just be best friends forever without mentioning the marriage thing.”

He was such an idiot. Could I smack him?

“You think my second husband won’t mind that I’m married to someone else, and that person is my best friend forever? Really? And when you get married, your wife will be just fine with it? There isn’t a more official body in the world than the HOST.”

He started frowning. “I’m not getting married. I tried, really, I did, but it’s not in my nature.”

“Except that you’re my husband now? How is that in your nature?” I spun around and stalked off before I put him through the stone wall. He was so stupid. He wanted to die or he wouldn’t be playing these games.

I marched to the hall, trying to breathe evenly, but everything was spinning. Richard and I were married? It hadn’t just been in my head? Did Richard actually not know about it? It seemed like something he’d know about, but he’d specifically said that he didn’t know, and that kind of outright lie should be something an angel wouldn’t do. Richard was an idiot who hadn’t told me about the life-binding or that he was SunRae, but he’d never specifically lied about it. But I’d never said ‘I do.’ So it didn’t count, even if the Commander of the HOST’s said we were married. Unless we said ‘I do,’ it wasn’t true. Except that he couldn’t lie. But he’d never specifically said that we were married. So…

Pearly White took my hand and drew me into the chair next to the fireplace, my head still spinning. “Princess, so good of you to join us. You’ve had quite a whirlwind week with all the rehearsing. You didn’t know it’d be quite so intensive, but the results show your efforts, as well as your partners’. I’m so looking forward to watching these with you and then getting your reactions and hearing some behind the scenes making of. I’m not going to ask you which is your favorite, because we don’t want the audience to be influenced, but you can talk about the music, and which piece was the most difficult.”

I smiled brightly and gave a light laugh. “I’m so excited to get started.” Did any of it matter if I was already married?

He gestured elaborately, and curtains pulled back around the windows to reveal a screen.

The first music video was of me and Banus Jones. For an incubus, he looked more like a businessman than a lover, although he was truly handsome, and seemed extremely respectful and considerate of me. We looked comfortable together, and the music was pleasant to hear. That was the word, ‘pleasant.’

After it ended, and the lights came back on, Pearly White turned to me eagerly. “You seem to enjoy one another’s company, but I’m not sure I see much of a spark. Was this piece hard to perform?”

“It was quite a simple song, and I enjoyed singing with Banus. He’s very pleasant.”

Pearly White gave me a long look before he turned to the camera and gave them a significant look. “You heard it from her. Banus Jones, the Incubus, is pleasant. We’ll be back with the fairy’s duet after the break.”

He lowered his microphone and turned to look at me, his eyes narrowed as he studied me coldly. “Maybe show more emotion about the contestants. Pleasant? Really? Do you want to make him cry? I do, but that’s me. He’s unbearably smug. He thinks because he’s got money, he doesn’t need anything else.”

“I don’t think he’s like that. I like him.”

He flashed sharp teeth. “Because he’s being pleasant. Because he sees you as a business acquisition.”

“Or I like him because I understand his motives and appreciate his straightforwardness.”

He shrugged. “Moving on.” He turned to the camera while it zoomed in and he flashed his notorious smile. “Ladies and gentlemen, and now for the duet between our operatic diva and our fair princess. Are you ready to see the fruits of your labors?”

I nodded and smiled as excited as I could, but remembering the duet with the fairy left a chunk of cement in my stomach. Heavy. So exhausting and without any enjoyment.

I watched the beautifully designed video, and Fellicci’s voice was glorious. My voice was not operatic, so it was jarring to go between one to the other. Still, it wasn’t terrible. We both looked very pretty.

“Wow! I think I can speak for all of us when I say, wow! It must have been incredible to work with such a professional!”

I smiled at him and nodded. “He taught me so much! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to really see how a professional musician approaches a serious performance.”

“Hmm.” He cocked his head and put a hand on his chin in a classic thinker pose. “But it seemed almost as if it were more of a solo than a duet. I’m not sure why, but it’s as if it’s more about his voice than yours. Did it feel like that at all?”

“He’s the professional. Of course I can’t match his abilities, so I’m afraid it wasn’t a very balanced piece. If he’d been matched with someone who could perform as well as him, then that would have been better.”

“So…” He shook his head slightly, “Not a match? Don’t answer that. We’ll be looking at the werewolf’s duet…when we come back.” He flashed his terrifying smile and then the cameras moved away.