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“What do your family photos have to do with me?” Everly asks.
“We’re married. I’m not letting you out of my sight until we figure this out.”
“You cannot be serious,” Everly huffs in annoyance. “Go to Aspen Grove, and when you get back to London, we’ll take care of this.”
“I don’t think so, wifey.” The new term of endearment rolls off my tongue. “We’re sticking together until we get the annulment.”
Her dark eyes widen. “Don’t call me that.”
“Why not? According to the state of Nevada, you’re my wife until we dissolve this marriage.” I can’t help but egg her on. “Is there a reason you don’t want to go to Aspen Grove?”
“No.” Her gaze shifts to the ground. “I just haven’t been there in a while.”
“It’ll only be for a few hours, and then we can go back to London,” I promise.
She gives me a skeptical look. “Fine, but we fly back tonight. I have to catch up on a lot of work before Monday morning.”
I’m still baffled that she’s working for Richard. He never passed up the chance to tell her and Theo how disappointed he was in them when we were kids.
I had the displeasure of meeting with him in New York last week, and it solidified my opinion that he’s a vindictive son of a bitch. My brothers and I spent three hours with him, and he didn’t bring up Everly once, which is odd since she plays a significant role in his business.
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Family photos shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours. Plenty of time for the pilot to refuel before we take off.”
Unless my mom decides to intervene when she learns the truth about our marriage. Given her track record of meddling in my siblings’ personal lives I wouldn’t put it past her.
My phone buzzes again, likely the hundredth text I’ve gotten in the past ten minutes.
With a brisk pace, I move up the walkway to my parents’ modest two-story Cape-style home.
I’m halfway up the steps when Everly places her hand on my arm to stop me.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
“I just got an urgent email from an important client dealing with a crisis. I need to call him,” she says.
“Yeah, sure.” I do my best to conceal my disappointment. “Just come inside when you’re finished.”
“You’re going to tell your family the truth about what happened between us, right?”
“Yeah, of course.”
I was hoping she’d be there when I broke the news about our impromptu marriage and annulment. My mom has always considered Everly part of our family. I can only imagine her reaction when she finds out that Everly is her daughter-in-law and in the same conversation that we’re dissolving our marriage.
My pulse is racing when I step inside the house. I’m not expecting to find my mom and siblings hovering in the entryway, all wearing looks of sheer panic. I’m bombarded with questions from all directions as soon as they see me.
“Where have you been?” Presley demands, pointing at the clock on the wall. “We’ve tried calling you a dozen times, but it kept going to voicemail.”
“You’re late,” my mom says, echoing my sister’s frustrations. She places her hands on her hips like she used to do when she would scold me as a kid. “You know how important this photoshoot is. I was worried sick when we couldn’t reach you.”
“You were supposed to fly back last night,” Harrison says, studying me suspiciously.
Nothing gets past him. Luckily, he doesn’t bring up the fact that I was supposed to call him after my meeting with the board. I completely forgot about it when I ran into Everly. He must havecalled the chairman for an update. I’m not looking forward to him losing his shit when he finds out what I’ve done.
“Yeah, well, something held me up in Vegas… or should I say, someone.” I keep my reply vague because it’s hard to find the right words to explain that I got married in Las Vegas to Everly Townstead, of all people.
“What are you talking—” Presley cuts herself off as she points to the ring on my finger. “What is that?” she asks with a gasp.
Oh shit.