Page 25 of Her Billion Dollar Groom

Eliza takes my hand silently, like a thank you. I hope she doesn’t mind that I’m speaking for her. It just makes me so angry to hear these people speaking like this.

I’ll apologize to her later. Right now, I want to put these people in their place.

“Of course, she didn’t,” says Lauren, dragging the conversation back to Eliza. “None of us really believe that little Lizzie would be so dirty.”

“Of course,” repeats Max, nodding like he knows everything.

“Of course,” echoes Eliza dispassionately, as if to suggest that she could easily have believed these two would have followed the gossip like a dog on a hunt and eaten up every word.

“The other gossip,” says Max, “is that your ex wants back in with you. That he regrets breaking up.”

“Why would I even speak to Mike again?” scoffs Eliza, her top lip curling in disgust.

But Lauren isn’t ready to drop the subject yet. She leans in like she’s sharing a secret. “Some people are saying that even though you’re married, you’ve been sneaking around.”

Eliza swallows hard.

“So,” I growl without amusement, “according to these rumors, she’s a liar and a cheater, as well as someone who slept her way to the top. Wow. You two must have a really low opinion of her.”

“We’re not saying that,” says Max, as innocently as a person embarrassed about being called out can.

“It’s just good for people like us to be in the loop with rumors, you know. People in showbiz.” Lauren stares me down like I wouldn’t get it. “Guess you’re not going to have any more fun now that you’re married,” says Lauren pointedly to Eliza.

“Jason’s plenty fun enough,” Eliza says, squeezing my hand. “Just because he’s not a party guy doesn’t mean we don’t have fun.”

“Sure,” says Max, grinning. “I bet you guys have a lot of fun. Just look at the guy!”

“Why don’t you go and gossip about that,” I sneer. “Eliza is my wife. She’s not a dishonest person, and if you two knew anything about her, you would know that.” Turning to Eliza, I ask, “Eliza, do you want another drink?”

“Please,” she says softly.

To my relief, Max and Lauren get the hint that I’m telling them to go the hell away, and they slink back into the party, presumably looking for the next person they can latch on to and whisper horrible rumors with.

I open my mouth to say sorry to her, but I can barely get a word out before someone else taps her on her shoulder. “Eliza,” the man says, beaming.

Her tension fades away as soon as she sees who it is.

“Antonio.” She sighs in relief. “Meet Jason. Jason, Antonio. I’m hoping he’ll be my new manager.”

“Good to meet you,” I say, shaking his hand. He shakes back a little too enthusiastically.

“How’s life?” he asks. “How’s the new man?”

Eliza grins. “He’s the best.”

“In every way?” says Antonio, raising a suggestive eyebrow. Eliza blushes hard, and I grit my teeth.

Why are these people so invested in our sex life? It’s not like they know it’s not something that exists, but it still makes me angry that all these people feel entitled to our most intimate details. That, and it’s clearly making Eliza uncomfortable. Why can none of them see how she winces and flinches every time she’s asked about what we’re doing behind closed doors?

Even If I’m sure she would be great to sleep with, I’m trying my best to avoid thoughts like that. It makes the living situation easier.

“I’ve never dated anyone like Eliza,” I interrupt, trying to derail that train of thought in Antonio’s brain. “She’s taken me on the most thoughtful dates that you could ever imagine. I didn’t realize that being in a relationship was meant to be such a two-way street.”

“You’ve dated some bad girls, then,” says Antonio, his eyebrow remaining firmly raised.

“Tell me about it,” I say and suddenly find my whole life story pouring out of me. It’s not entirely fictionalized, but when I start talking about my last girlfriend, the only similarity she has to the real girl is the name.

The truth is that Sarah was in business like me. She was kind of boring too. I was happy enough to settle for her, but she wasn’t ready to commit to me, so she left.

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