Page 54 of Love Beyond the Illusion
Bailey’s brows pinch together. “What does that mean?”
Nervously picking my fingernails under the table, I try to hide my apprehension. “It means that we’ve found ourselves in a little bit of a unique situation, and we did something,” I blurt out.
The table grows quiet as it begins to register with all three of them what I’ve said.
“Like what? What did you do?” Avery asks.
Lina’s eyes turn into saucers. ‘Oh my god, are you pregnant?”
Avery cocks her head to the side.
Bailey freezes.
“Jack and I met only a couple of weeks ago. How would I even know I was pregnant that fast?” I retort.
“Okay, fine, that makes sense.” She waves me off. “Tell us what it is then.”
“It’s pretty embarrassing and sort of why I’m in this situation with him in the first place,” I begin to explain.
“Well, tell us. It can’t be worse than when Bailey admitted to us that she was the fuck buddy to her archenemy and brother’s best friend,” Lina presses.
Bailey nods her head in agreement. “That’s true. You guys freaked.”
I angle my head toward the empty appetizer plate in front of me, avoiding eye contact with all three of them.
Avery leans across the table, resting her hands on top of mine. “Shit, Piper. What did you do?”
I suck in a deep breath of air, preparing to tell someone outside of me and Jack what crazy thing we did while we were in Las Vegas. “You know the day that I missed my flight and stayed the night with Jack?” Bailey nods, but the other two remain still and keep their eyes locked on me. I take a swig of some water before continuing, “We sort of got blackout drunk and—” I wince, squeezing my eyes shut. “Got married.”
“What!”
“You have got to be kidding!”
“Oh fuck,” Lina gasps, downing the rest of her . I slowly peel open one eye at a time. “Yes. We did that. Jack and I got married in Vegas after knowing each other less than twenty-four hours.”
“Holy shit, Piper,” Bailey says.
“You’re not kidding, are you?” Avery squeaks.
I shake my head.
“No fucking way! You would be the only one out of all of us to do something like that. This is hilarious and kind of thrilling at the same time,” Lina teases.
I crack a smile at her. “You have no idea.”
“Everyone pause,” Bailey says firmly. “I have a million questions. Did you get it annulled? Are you still married? How does Jack feel about this?”
“Now, that brings me to the nature of our business deal. Jack is in a bit of a predicament regarding his family’s winery. His dad unexpectedly passed away over the summer, and now he’s relocating back to Dupara County to take over …” I continue slowly, waiting for one of them to interrupt me.
“So, where do you come in with all this?” Bailey interjects.
“His dad’s best friend was also his business partner, and now that guy is trying to push Jack and his mom out, and from my very basic understanding, this small town is super close-knit and has a lot of influence over things. If that makes sense.”
“So, the people in the community don’t want Jack to run his own family’s business, or do they?” Lina questions.
“I’m not sure, but from what I’ve picked up, they’re a little apprehensive because Jack hasn’t been a part of the community since he was younger,” I go on.
Avery’s eyebrows snap together. “That’s fucked up. Why is it any of their concern in the first place?”
