Page 32 of Inconvenient Marriage
A hurt expression twists his features. He looks puppy dog awful, like I kicked him when he was down and he doesn’t understand why I would. I’m used to it. Like me, he knows how to use his pretty face to his advantage, and even looking like he hasn’t slept in two days, he’s pulling on my heartstrings.
Damn it.
“Alex—”
He frowns. “I’m not wasted, Bas. I just… needed a little liquid courage.”
“For what?”
“For the same reason that I couldn’t bring myself to meet the family at St. Catherine’s.” Alex lets out a wry laugh. “What if I got there and the whole wedding was in place, but instead of you getting hitched, I got shoved up to the altar?”
“Shit, Alex. Youarewasted. Why the hell would you think something like that?
“Because of Desmond and Adrian.”
Oh. Fair point, I guess. Alexandre wasn’t at the wedding last June—he never attended any of them, as though he’s allergic to the idea of holy matrimony—but, like the rest of the Order, he heard about what went down.
“Yeah, but Desmond planned on marrying Loni. It was Adrian who showed up with a gun so that he could take his place. Unless you planned on shooting me to take my bride, you had nothing to worry about.”
“I know. Iknow. But with you having this wedding so soon without any of us even knowing you were serious with this girl… you gotta admit it’s kind of fishy.” He lowers his voice. No. Hethinkshe lowered his voice, but that just means that he’s talking at a normal, if slightly slurred, volume. “If you did this because you felt like you had to… like one of us needed to take a wife, we can stop this. I… I still have time.”
Technically, Alex’s time ran out last August. He got lucky that Jack was killed when he was because Dallas was able to push back the Claiming ceremony. But now that I’m married…
“Don’t worry about it, bro. I wanted to get married.”
He raises both his eyebrows at me, an expression of disbelief obvious.
I nod. “I’m not shitting you. Maybe I didn’t before, but then I met Annaliese. Trust me. I’m right where I want to be. But, hey, that’s me. If you don’t want to settle down, take a wife, pop out some babies… fucking don’t. You’re only thirty. You have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t sweat it.”
“But the Order?—”
“Fuck the Order,” I say simply. “I mean, look at Maman and Dad. He could’ve been King, but he wantedher.” Just like I need Annaliese in a way I wouldn’t have thought possible before that December night. “So you don’t play along with the Order bullshit. What really happens? Dallas won’t give a shit, and I’m sure you don’t care what he thinks, King of not. As for Dad… you think the man who gave up everything for love would penalize you for not marrying someone you don’t?”
Alex’s blurry eyes seem to clear a little, almost as if I’m making sense. His brow furrows. “But you… you did.”
I give my older brother a smile, clapping my hand on his shoulder. “ I’ll tell you a secret, big bro. Remember how dad said he knew Maman was the one the instant they met? He looked in her eyes and knew he wouldn’t let her go?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
Annaliese was desperate enough to marry me. She promised a year, but now that we’ve done it, I know one thing for sure: that woman isn’t going anywhere. I’ll make her love me, and as for me…
Alex’s eyes go wide, a look of horror on his face. “Holy shit, Bas. You actually love this chick?”
Only in the Order would a man get such a terrified expression when he talks about love like that. Ditto for how it’s completely acceptable to have a shotgun wedding when love is an afterthought, and duty—plus a makeshift contract—is all that matters.
Do I love Annaliese?
I pat his shoulder, then step back. “Worse,” I admit. “I think I’mobsessed.”
To a man like Alexandre Reynolds, that is somehow worse. “Oh, Bas?—”
My brother’s obvious drunken pity is interrupted by a gasp, a squeal, and the sound of chairs moving.
I snap my head, looking at the table. Annaliese is on her feet, staring down at the front of her wedding gown. Loni has joined her, bending slightly, dabbing at it with a napkin. Adrian is saying something to the waitress holding a tray down at her side. His expression is ruthless. Hers would be contrite if it wasn’t for the gleam of satisfaction in her gaze.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened. Just in case, I push past Alex, making my way back to the table.
“—it’ll be okay. Adrian’s housekeeper is a miracle worker. She can get blood out of anything. I’m sure she’ll be able to get this stain out, too.”
