Page 55 of Inconvenient Marriage
Sebastien sighs. “Do we have to do this now? We just arrived.”
Adrian snorts. “You’ve got a brand on your palm and a ring on your finger. You’re not a bachelor anymore, and that means you’re on the hook. Do it for Dallas. But,” he adds, glancing at me, “we won’t be long. I’ll bring your husband back to you in no time. Until then, my wife will keep you company.”
Loni waves. “Hi.”
Beneath the table, Sebastien squeezes my knee, then climbs out of the booth.
Adrian leans in over, kissing Loni’s cheek. “Princess,” he murmurs.
“I’m holding you to it, Heller. Hurry back.”
He flashes her a grin, and then both of our husbands are gone, stalking across the dance floor to find a quiet corner to talk their Order business out of earshot of the ladyfolk.
Sure.
Okay.
Whatever.
I adjust my skirt under my then glance at my new companion. Loni doesn’t seem to mind that we’ve been abandoned. Following her lead, I try not to let it bother me, either.
Instead, I say, “Can I ask you a question?”
She looks surprised. “Sure. Shoot.”
I tap my ear. “What’s the deal with the cigarette? Every time I’ve seen your husband, he has one.”
Loni’s hazel eyes seem to sparkle in the dim, atmospheric light. “Oh, that? Adrian used to be a smoker.” A small private smile tugs on her lips. “He quit for me. He keeps it there asa reminder. Would he rather smoke or kiss me? As long as he doesn’t light up, I’ll kiss him whenever he wants.”
My cheeks warm. “Sebastien insists that I give him a kiss ‘hello’ and a kiss ‘goodbye’ whenever I see him.”
She doesn’t look surprised to hear that. Maybe that’s just how their crew is…
“How are things with you and Bas anyway? I’m so glad you’re here. He keeps you all to himself, and I’ve been dying to check in, make sure you’re doing okay.”
The way Loni says that, it seems like agoodthing that my husband is hiding me. Instead of remarking on that, though, I find myself asking, “You call him that, too?”
“You mean ‘Bas’? Of course. It’s his nickname.” Loni frowns. “What doyoucall him?”
“Um. His real name. Sebastien.”
Her eyebrows lift. “Ah. Someone’s special. As I recall, he used to beat the crap out of boys back in school when called him that. He was always a scrapper.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Adrian says it’s because he was always so sensitive about being pretty. Like, he wanted to prove himself, prove he wasn’t the Reynolds they wanted him to be all because his dad was supposed to be King before he stepped down and Jack Collins took over.” Loni’s nose scrunches up as she mentions the former King. I take it she’s not a fan, which is good because, after all the ways Eric threatened me with the close friendship he had with the King, I kinda hate the dead Jack Collins, too. “He used to be in detention more than anyone else in our grade.”
“Really?” I ask. “I… I didn’t know that.”
There’s a lot I don’t know about my husband, I’m beginning to realize…
“Oh, yeah. It only got worse while I was gone.” Loni taps her nose. “He broke that a couple of times.” She gestures over hereyes. “Heard he got in a knife fight with some cocked Owed and got that scar.”
I know exactly what scar she’s talking about, too. Maybe that’s why I stare at her now. “You know an awful lot about my husband.”
“He’s one of Adrian’s brothers. If he’s important to Adrian, that means he’s important to me.” She leans over the table, a touch conspiratorially. “Besides… of the five Heirs, Bas was probably the smallest asshole.”
That’s good to hear. Only…. “Five Heirs?”
