Page 39 of Paradise & Vodka

I didn't let go of her hand as we made our way toward the water. The sun was setting, and once again, I was in awe of how beautiful Fiji was. The Vegas desert had nothing on the tropical islands, even with the glitz and glam of The Strip.

"You know the suspense is killing me, right?"

"Well, if you hadn’t been sleeping when I got back last night, I would have told you then."

"You should have woken me up!"

"Yeah, but the wedding needed to happen."

She stopped walking and turned to me. "What does that mean?"

I looked back and figured we were far enough away from anyone hearing us. "Last night, when I was walking back to our room, I saw Everleigh and Dougie fighting."

Ashleigh drew her head back slightly. "Okay?"

"I don't know exactly, but your sister signed some sort of agreement."

"Like a prenup?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so, but maybe."

"That's not really breaking news. I would expect Douglas and his family would make her sign a prenup."

"But she said something about how he wouldn't let her break up with him."

"Wouldn't let her break up with him?" Ashleigh repeated.

I nodded, and with a huge grin said, "And he cheated on her with some chick named Lyssa."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"Are you surprised? He cheated on you."

She thought for a moment. "I mean, I guess I'm not shocked given he did it to me, but why did Everleigh agree to marry him?"

"She said something about your parents."

Ashleigh balked. "My parents?"

I shrugged. "I didn't hear what that meant, but the agreement was because he had to be married before twenty-six to get his inheritance."

"So, all of this"—she waved her hand in the direction of the reception—"is fake?"

"I'd say the marriage is real, but what goes on behind closed doors isn't what anyone expects."

"But why would she do that?"

"For your parents or something," I repeated.

"That doesn't make sense. Yeah, my parents don't have a lot of money, but they aren't living on the streets either."

"But you said it yourself, whenever you've talked to your parents, the conversation has been all about Everleigh. What if they're hiding something from you?"

"Why would they do that?" Ashleigh questioned.

I lifted a shoulder. "I don't know, baby."

"I need to go ask them." She started to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist.