Page 29 of Inconvenient Marriage
Dallas groans again to hear the name of the bar where I first met Annaliese, and Adrian chuckles softly under his breath. “Fuck me, Bas. You’re such a sap.”
“Why’s that?”
“She’s the one who got away, isn’t she? The one that got stuck in your head. That’s what this noble, knight-in-shining armor bullshit is about. Annaliese Crawford is the mysterious woman who walked away from you, and now you’re going to… what? Marry her because she’s the first woman who ever got a taste of you and wasn’t immediately begging you to fuck her again?”
I flip Adrian the bird. “Sorry. We can’t all lurk in the shadows and wait a decade before taking the woman we want.”
“I had aplan?—”
“A plan that had Loni almost ending up as Des’s wife,” I remind him. “Sure, you made those hours at the shooting range count. You’re happy. She’s happy. Now, I might be reckless, but I’m not stupid. If Annaliese is willing to marry me, I’m snapping that woman up before someone else Claims her.”
As usual, Dallas watches our back and forth with interest. “You’re serious.”
“As a fucking heart attack.” I lean forward. “Listen. It makes sense. She wants a husband. I wanther. Alexandre’s off the hook since at least one of us Reynolds will marry and satisfy the Order’s ridiculous requirement that members of the founding families have to get hitched. When the old guard comes downon you, tell ‘em to fuck off. You got Bas Reynolds in line. Even if we didn’t go way back, that should be enough to earn you a little wiggle room.”
I hate that Dal needs it. He’s been a kickass King so far, but the Order fucking sucks. One wrong decision, one wrong step, and there will be someone ready to try him for his figurative crown.
He does have some of the old guard in his corner, like Stephen and Oliver. The young guys all worship him, and his fellow enforcers know what he’s capable of. At the very least, he’s a Collins. You don’t want to fuck with him, and if they try, I’ll always have his back.
I just… I also want him to be cool with me marrying Annaliese.
Dallas sighs. “Okay. I know you’re not asking me for permission, Bas, but it’s fine. Go ahead. It’s… what? A year, right? That’s what you said. This marriage of convenience thing she’s after was only for a year.”
Right. “Yeah. About that… she thinks it’s for a year.”
“And what do you think?” asks Adrian.
In answer, I yank my pocket knife out of my jeans pocket. I flip it open. One quick slash over the brand on my palm, blood welling up instantly along the slice, and I show it to my friends.
“Got a piece of paper? And, Dal… I’m going to need you to seal this.” I pause, the blood beginning to drip down my wrist. “And, fuck, I owe you a hundred bucks, bro, because Adrian’s right. I…I’m gonna Claim Annaliese Crawford.”
After all, that’s how you make a blood oath in the Order of the Owed—and with one of those, no one can ever take her away from me.
NINE
THE WEDDING
SEBASTIEN
Most Order weddings come together quickly. When Desmond fucked up and tried to marry Loni, she received an invitation to her own wedding in two weeks time.
Annaliese had ours planned to be held in eight days.
I know she’s rushing it. I’ve done my best, trying to figure out who ‘he’ is—the fucker that convinced her she was ruined—but despite my efforts… and Dallas’s… andAdrian’s, who is taking it as a personal challenge to figure out his identity… I still don’t know. Eventually, I’ll earn enough of Annaliese’s trust that she’ll tell me. For now, I’m happy to see the whole wedding come together quickly because, well, that just means that I have her, and no one else can.
It’s a simple affair. That was fine with me. I didn’t want a huge shindig. None of those weddings with three-hundred guests. Still, to prove to my new bride that I didn’t consider this a ‘fake’ marriage, we needed to have a real wedding. So, eight days after I signed the marriage agreement she drew up, the two of us stood in front of Father Francis as the Order’s priest married us.
We held the ceremony at St. Catherine’s like nearly every other Order wedding. Instead of allowing it open to any and all guests, ours was a closed service. On Annaliese’s side, she had her mother, her father, and her younger sister, Miranda. That was all.
On my side, Maman and Dad sat with Dallas and Adrian. In the last pew, Connor was holding Haven’s hand. Seated on Haven’s other side, there was Loni.
I was so glad to see Connor and Haven had shown up. That Loni was sitting with her childhood best friend, the two slowly resuming the friendship after what happened to Haven and Loni’s decade-long disappearance from Harmony Heights… that just made it all the more special. All of the people who are important to me were there.
Except one.
Except Alexandre.
My brother was invited. Of course he was. Because we kept the wedding small, we didn’t bother with bridesmaids or groomsmen, maids of honor or a best man. Still, I figured that my older brother would at least come to meet my bride.
