Page 89

“I give up. You pick.” Jordan tossed the remote aside and took a swig of beer. “I have decision fatigue.”

I didn’t give a shit what we watched. I wasn’t in a movie mood, but I’d rather stay in than leave the house. Despite Roman’s assurances, I was on edge.

Events like the Valhalla gala were somewhat acceptable because they had high security and vetted guests; movie theaters and other public places didn’t.

Nevertheless, I scrolled through our options and picked a random heist film. Hopefully the distraction would loosen the knots in my gut.

I don’t want you to feel guilty.

He doesn’t love me either. He never did.

Ayana’s admission was seared into my brain. Was it true, or was it wishful thinking on both our parts?

“You’ve been awfully quiet all day,” Jordan said. “Everything okay?”

I gave a curt nod.I just have a lot on my mind.

“With work? You have a new product launch coming up, don’t you?”

I made a noncommittal noise. My marketing and sales teams were on top of the launch, so I wasn’t worried about that. I needed to give everyone at my company big fat bonuses at the end of the year; I’d pulled back from the office, and they’d picked up the slack without missing a beat.

But if Jordan thought my brooding had to do with work, I wasn’t going to correct him.

“Did you think we’d ever be here?” he mused. “You, the CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation. Me, on the verge of getting married.” He drained the rest of his beer. “Our twenty-one-year-old selves would’ve never believed it.”

People change.I stared at the opening credits onscreen. After a beat of deliberation, I added,You never told me why.

“Why what?”

Why you’re marrying Ayana.

When he first dropped the engagement bombshell on me, I’d been so stunned I hadn’t asked questions. I’d simply gone straight to the shooting range and let my feelings fly in a hail of bullets.

Of all the people in the world, he had to chooseher. The only one I wanted.

I knew Jordan and Ayana had been friends for years, but I never suspected their feelings were romantic. The engagement had completely blindsided me, and Jordan had been cagey about when the shift in their relationship occurred.

But according to Ayana, the relationship hadn’t shifted at all. If I hadn’t been so intoxicated by her last night, I would’ve asked why they were getting married if they didn’t love each other.

This was my chance to get the answers I needed.

Jordan hesitated. He cracked open a fresh bottle of beer, brought it to his mouth, and swallowed before answering. “Why else would anyone marry? For love.”

We both know there are other reasons people get married.

“Not in my case.”

So you love Ayana.

He shot me a sideways look. “What’s with the questions today? Did something happen?”

Call it curiosity.I hadn’t questioned him before because I didn’t want to hear him wax poetic about their relationship. That was my mistake.Remember Hungary?

“Oh man, you just unlocked a shitload of memories.” Jordan laughed.

We’d visited Budapest for spring break our senior year of college. Our last night there, we’d stumbled across a wedding in our hotel. We’d crashed it and spent the night partying with the guests, whom we’d conned into thinking we were the groom’s distant cousins from America.

That was one of the last times I’d felt so carefree.