Page 12 of Kinks of a Billionaire
I couldn’t ask her any more questions because she turned to greet Willow’s parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Auclair. So nice to see you again. Retirement suits you.”
Mrs. Auclair chuckled in that melodious way her daughter had picked up.
“Retirement in Portugal suits us,” she answered. She turned her eyes—the same unusual color as Willow’s—my way with a puzzling look. “Royce, is something wrong?”
Everything was wrong, starting with that ring on Willow’s finger. “No, Mrs. Auclair.” I shook hands with her husband. “I must agree with Sailor. You both look well.”
Sailor excused herself just as Mr. Auclair slapped me on the back. “It’s the air here, son.”
He’d always called me that. Would he call Willow’s fiancé that too? Shit, why was I jealous?
“Maybe I should consider moving here, then,” I joked, but something about my words had Willow’s parents exchanging a glance.
Someone switched up the music to some rap song, and the atmosphere changed instantly. Willow’s parents and I turned to glare at the culprit, finding a swaying Stuart issuing instructions to the DJ with an arm strung lazily over a waitress’s shoulders. Was this asshole serious?
My gaze flicked to Willow, whose attention was on my sister and her family. Her white top bared her smooth shoulders, and tiny diamonds glittered on her ears. Almond-shaped eyes twinkled as she smiled at something her uncle said, and her lush lips broke into a smile. As I stood here admiring her long hairfalling in loose waves around her heart-shaped face and down her back, it occurred to me that she already looked like a bride.
I exhaled deeply, my heart squeezing painfully.
“Royce, can I beg a favor?” Mr. Auclair’s accented voice pulled my attention back to him and his wife, the latter eyeing me with worry over the rim of her glass.
“Sure.”
Mr. Auclair cleared his throat, glancing around us uncomfortably. “Can you…” He fiddled with his cufflinks and shifted on his feet.
Intrigued by his state of obvious stress, I gave him my undivided attention and patiently waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, his wife chimed in, “We think something is wrong.”
“Like what?”
“We’re not sure, but something’s off,” Willow’s mother stated. “You’re Special Forces?”
“Was.”
“Did you serve with Stuart?” Mr. Auclair asked.
I shook my head. “He was an Army Ranger, I was in the Marines, but we occasionally crossed paths.”
“He’s too old of her,” Mrs. Auclair said as she downed her drink, her critical eyes on her future son-in-law. I would have agreed with her, but that would make me a hypocrite because Stuart and I were the same age.
Willow’s father let out an exasperated breath. “No, it’s not that and you know it,mon chéri. It’s the fact that Willow is hiding something.”
Now that was something I agreed with them on. In the past month, Willow had grown more distant. None of my surveillance details had flagged anything. I’d scoured our message thread for any red flags, but aside from her becoming distant, I had nothing concrete to point to. I’d come up empty.
“What makes you say she’s hiding something?” I asked. I wasn’t dumb enough to tell them I suspected it too. If it turned out to be nothing, they’d be left disappointed.
“He’s forcing her to push up the wedding. Why the sudden rush? Willow initially said she wanted a long engagement.”
My brain ticked off all the reasons someone would expedite a wedding, and one stood out above the rest. I didn’t like it.
“Did you ask her?”
“We did,” Mrs. Auclair answered. “She just said Stuart wants it and that it’s for the best.”
“They’ve only been dating three months,” her father hissed. “It shouldn’t be like this.”
“Shhh.” Mrs. Auclair blushed as she scolded us. “She’s coming.”
“Say you’ll talk to her,” her father whispered. “You’ve known her longer than that idiot.”
