Page 43 of Billion Dollar Vow

I have a sinking feeling. I need to know. “Who chose this for me?” I ask in a shaky voice.

Please don’t say Oliver.

“Mr. Lincoln, of course,” the hairdresser says with a sweet laugh.

I close my eyes as I let the words settle.

Oliver chose this for me?

The idea of it is jarring, yet I find myself curious. Will it fit? Why did he choose this specifically? Was it another necessary prop, or did he actually think about how it would look on me?

I head to the bedroom and slip it on. When I’m dressed, I move slowly to the full-length mirror, admiring the way it accentuates my curves, showing off my hourglass figure. I gulp down air as I stare at myself. I look sexy. Surely, he isn’t expecting to see it.

A knock at the bedroom door startles me. “Come in,” I call, covering myself up with the robe.

“I have your dress.” The stylist walks in, and I gasp.

Chapter 12

Oliver

“Ican’tbelieveI’mdoing this,” I say on the phone to my brother, Jeremy. I’m dressed in my wedding suit, pacing the pavement on the ground floor of the Bellagio. I called Jeremy yesterday and filled him in on the wedding because I needed someone to confide in.

“I wouldn’t say I’m happy about it, but I support you.”

“I’m not trapping her in to this. She’s willing to do it,” I say, guilt tightening around my throat.

“I didn’t say she wasn’t, but you threw money at her.”

I rub my forehead with my other hand. “I know, but she deserves her own place. She works hard.”

“I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve it, but I worry this is going to end badly.”

I frown as I dodge people coming into the hotel. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t. And what’s going on with you? How are the wedding preparations coming along?”

He’s getting married in a few weeks, and his bachelor party is next weekend.

“Yeah, everything is set. You didn’t let Evan throw you a bachelor party.”

As he says it, my heart squeezes. Not for my bachelor party, but for Karley. Have I taken away her chance at having a bachelorette? But this is all fake. When she remarries, she can have one... My stomach knots weirdly again at the thought.

With a sigh, I stop pacing the sidewalk as movement catches my eye. I look up and freeze, all thoughts vanishing as my breath catches in my throat.

“You there?” my brother asks in my ear.

“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “But I’ve got to go.” Karley walks toward me, giving me time to let my eyes drift slowly over her.

Her white high heels make her legs seem longer. Her white dress, silk and flowy, slips effortlessly over her hourglass figure. The thin straps make her look delicate, and the dress compliments her complexion. Her hair is in a low bun, and by the time I take in her red lips and natural makeup, it’s hard for me to breathe.

I’ve never seen her look like this. I have to swallow hard and refocus.

As I bring my gaze up to hers, my lips twist into an easy grin. “You are breathtaking.”

“Do you think so?” She smooths her hands over the dress.

“You look like my wife,” I reply with a wink, surprising myself with how right the words feel coming out of my mouth; how much I mean them despite this arrangement.

She smiles, a blush blooming across her cheeks. Her eyes gaze over my suit. “You clean up alright, too.”