Page 26

“Did we just have our first fight, honey?” he called after her.
Her loud groan carried from inside the house.
He lay his head back and closed his eyes with a smile on his face. Gosh, he enjoyed pushing her buttons. There was something about her that made him want to do everything in his power to get her all riled up. This was going to be fun.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and when he pulled it out and saw Skylar’s name on the screen, he knew she must’ve seen the pictures the paparazzi had taken.
“Hey, Sky.”
“You’re married?” she asked in a loud, high-pitched tone.
“Paps didn’t waste any time, did they?”
“How did this happen? I mean, when did you … who is this girl you married? How did you meet? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“That’s too many questions all at once.” He laughed.
“Okay, start at the beginning.”
“Her name is Merritt. Adelia introduced us, and it was love at first sight.”
Skylar’s laugh was close to a cackle, and he almost laughed right along with her because what he’d just said definitely didn’t sound like him. He didn’t fall in love. Ever.
“When did you meet?” she asked.
“When I came back here in October.” He lied.
“Why is this the first I’m hearing about her?”
“I wasn’t sure how serious she was about me, and I didn’t want to jinx it.”
The other end of the line was quiet.
“Sky? Say something.”
“I’m just in shock, I guess. I never thought you’d be the first one of us to get married.”
“Neither did I, but when you know, you know. That’s what people say, right?”
“People do say that.”
There was more silence on Skylar’s end, and Gus waited for her to speak again.
“Does she make you happy?” Skylar asked.
He paused. The only thing Merritt made him was annoyed and frustrated. “Yeah, she does. She’s smart and beautiful, and for some reason, she loves me.” He bit the inside of his cheek at that outright lie.
“So, what will you do now? Will you stay there in California?”
“Yeah, we’ll stay at the house in Malibu for now. She runs her own business here in LA.”
“Really? What kind of business?”
“A cosmetics company.”
“Wait, Merritt? You don’t mean Merritt Cosmetics, do you?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. You’ve heard of it?”