Page 15 of Axe-identally Married
Lila, who’d had her head bowed and was picking at her nails, went ramrod straight, and her gray-blue eyes went wide. “What?”
Willa grasped my hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “Cole and I have been seeing each other in secret.”
Owen’s mouth fell open, and he blinked at Willa, as if trying to make sense of this new information.
“We kept it a secret,” she continued, her lip curled in disdain as she scrutinized my brother, “for obvious reasons.”
A smarter man would speak up, tell her she didn’t have to cover for me, apologize, and set to work fixing this mess. But clearly, I was not that man. Instead, I stood, rooted to the thin carpet, while my wife of eleven hours stared down my older brother.
“We did not pull a stunt. We were not thinking about you and your precious engagement, but way to show us how self-centered you are,” she said to my brother, her tone syrupy sweet. “We got swept up in our passionate love for one another.” She squeezed my hand again, the small gesture like a life raft during a hurricane.
My mind was still spinning, my heart pounding. But with Willa at my side like this, I already felt less shitty. Not because she was lying—in fact, I hated that she felt the need to lie for me—but because she was defending me. No one ever defended me. No one ever took my side. Even if this was only for a moment and a total lie, it filled me with more gratitude than I’d felt for anyone but Debbie in years.
Lila sputtered, “So—so you two…?”
“Yes.” Holding her gaze, I picked up our joined hands and kissed the top of Willa’s. “For a few months.”
Lila nodded, her face a mask of confusion but also curiosity.
Willa shrugged, affecting a challenging expression. “Sorry if this is an inconvenience for you.” She was staring straight at Owen, who was now the one frozen to the spot. “I realize that the timing was not ideal, and that is my fault.” She peered up at me and gave me a warm smile. All for show, of course. “I’ve been in love with Cole for years, and the opportunity arose, so we took it.”
“You never told me,” Lila said softly, hurt swimming in her eyes.
Fuck, I hated myself for my role in all this. The two of them had been friends since childhood, and I was the asshole coming between them.
Willa stepped forward and hugged her friend hard. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. But what you and Owen have is incredible. Yes, we got married last night, but we’re still here to celebrate the two of you.”
Lila hugged her back. The sight sent a pang of jealousy through me. While they were settling things, my own brother was still staring at me suspiciously.
“So,” Willa said, fixing her focus on my brother again. Her tone was friendly, but her facial expression was glacial. “Feel free to apologize for verbally assaulting my husband.”
With a jerky nod, Owen growled out a “sorry” and clutched Lila’s hand.
“We’ll see you at dinner,” Willa said, threading her arm through my elbow and leaning against my bicep.
As the door shut behind them, we stood, frozen, waiting for their footsteps to fade down the hallway.
When the room was deadly silent, I turned to her. “What was that?”
Her cool façade instantly crumbled, and she covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know why I did that. I was so mad. The way he was talking to you pissed me off.” She stomped her foot for emphasis.
I had to bite back the smirk threatening to overtake me. She really was gorgeous when she was angry.
“He spoke to you like you were a—”
“Loser?” I interrupted. “The family shame? Not his real brother?” I had no idea why I was baring all my deep insecurities, but the woman had just gone to bat for me in a huge way, so what the hell?
It was strange, to have an ally like this. When it came down to it, my brothers would always side with Owen. He was the responsible, reasonable one. He commanded respect.
I was the runt, the leftover, the half brother. And after this morning, I had no doubt that all the progress we’d made over the last few months was slipping away. I had nothing and no one, and I only had myself to blame for it.
She crossed her arms over her ample chest—even in this moment of upset, I couldn’t help but notice how ample—and glared at me.
“Cut that shit, Cole. We got into this mess together, and we’ll get out of it together. Owen can suck an egg.”
A laugh rumbled through me unexpectedly. I hadn’t heard that expression in years. “But we still have to get the marriage annulled. Or get divorced or whatever. Deal with the legal stuff.”
Pressing her lips together, she studied my face for a moment. Then she waved a hand. “We will, of course.”
