by Holly Jaymes
I hung up with Allie and then called my assistant. I wasn’t quite as upfront with her. I simply told her to put off any media announcements until I reached her later. I also told her to arrange with the lawyers to draw up a contract for Lisbeth. After her antics, she owed me. When she was back from her honeymoon, I was getting her to sign.
Then I sat back for the rest of the drive back to Eden Lake.
“I’m surprised your mother or father hasn’t called you,” I said to Pax.
“My mother is at some beauty retreat. My father and I… It’s not like that between us.”
I frowned. “Are you estranged?”
“No. Just, not close. He wasn’t around a lot when I grew up and I live in Europe so I don’t see him.”
“He was a big help when Lily was hiding out after the whole thing with Trask came out. You might want to call him in case there’s a chance the media figures out where we are.” I figured we’d need allies and a sheriff seemed like a good start.
He glanced at me. “You’re hoping he’ll assign a deputy to be your bodyguard like he did with Lily. Turned out good for her.”
I frowned at his tone. “First, if the media is there, they’re hunting for you, not me, which means you’re the one that needs the bodyguard. There are female deputies. Maybe you want one? It turned out good for Lily.”
His jaw tightened. “Sorry.”
“This marriage isn’t off to a great start,” I huffed out.
“The start was great. It’s the first day that’s a problem,” he quipped. He took the exit off of Interstate 15 for the road that would take us the last hour to Eden Lake.
I decided not to respond. As we neared town, I got a text from Allie telling me she’d been able to rent the same cabin that Lily had stayed in when she was hiding out. It occurred to me they should name it “the scandal retreat”. At least it was large and had several bedrooms. I’d be able to find space away from Pax.
I gave him directions and we arrived at the cabin just after lunch. Mrs. Minor, one of the owners along with the McLean brothers, was at the door as we pulled in.
“My goodness, what a surprise to see you two back here. You know, I saw you along the lake the night of the wedding and wondered about you two,” she said, her eyes gleaming at us.
Pax draped an arm around me and smiled. “You’re quite perceptive, Mrs. Minor. You saw something there when we didn’t, is that right, honey?”
“Yes,” I deadpanned.
“Well, you won’t be bothered here. All our New Year’s guests have left and we don’t have many bookings until Valentine's Day. Those that are here are over on the other side of the lodge so you’ll have plenty of privacy.” Mrs. Minor opened the door and let us in. “I arranged for groceries to be brought in.”
“That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Minor.”
“We aim to serve out here. If you need anything else, let me know.” She handed me the key.
“Thank you.”
She left us and we stood for a moment like neither of us could believe we were in this situation.
“I’ll get our bags,” Pax said, walking back out the door.
I went to the large window overlooking the lake. It was cold today, but the sun was out, shining in a blue sky.
“Jesus, Dane, we just got here,” Pax was saying into his phone as he brought in my bag. He set it down and walked back out. I got my bag and took it to the master bedroom. If Pax wanted it, I’d move. “It’s not going to be a problem,” he was saying as he came back into the house. He set his bag down and then sank onto the couch. He looked like a man getting a lecture. “Fine. Send it on. I’ll look at it.” He glanced at me and then looked away.
I got the feeling whatever was going on, it wasn’t good for me.
He hung up and tossed his phone aside. He dropped his head back on the couch and scraped his hands over his face.
“What did Dane want? Has he changed his mind and wants us to go back and annul the marriage?” I walked to the kitchen, deciding to make lunch and find out what kind of booze was stocked.
“No.”
I found a bottle of wine and corkscrew. It’s five o’clock somewhere, right? I set it on the island and looked over at Pax, wondering why he wasn’t elaborating.
“What, then?” I prodded.
He kept his face looking out toward the lake. “He wants me to get a prenup.”
I didn’t know why, but my stomach dropped. “You think I’m going to try and take your fortune.”
He stood and turned, making his way to me. “No.” I raised my brow. “I don’t. But he wants me to protect my assets-”
“Prenups are done before, not after a wedding.” I had a thought to take some of his assets just to spite him for thinking I was the type to take advantage. I might not have been rock-star rich, but my business did very well.
He looked completely lost. “I’m just trying to get us through this.”
“Good. Fine. I’ll have my attorney draw up a prenup too. You’re not the only one with assets to protect.”
He set his hands on the island and looked down. A part of me felt bad for him, but then I realized he was feeling like this because he was married to me, and I didn’t like that he seemed to think being married to me was the end of the world.
“Are you going to pour some of that?” he asked with a nod to the wine.
“This is mine. Get your own.” I forwent the glass, pulling the cork and drinking straight from the bottle as I made my way to my room.
12
Married Life
Pax
Married life wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. My wife mostly hid from me, although I couldn’t blame her. She was here to protect my image. She’d signed the prenup Dane had sent over, and I signed hers. We’d each walk away with what we had when this marriage started.
The lake was quiet and with Victoria spending most of her day at the little desk by the window in the living room working, I had time to work on my music or watch European Football on cable in the TV room.
The hardest part of this arrangement was how much I wanted to play house with Victoria. Some days, I felt like I spent the whole time just watching her. I didn’t think I ever saw her without thinking, “God damn, she’s beautiful.” Not in the morning when she’d come to the kitchen, her hair a wanton mess and no makeup on. Not after her workouts on the exercise bike in the TV room when she was damp with perspiration. Not after her walks by the lake when she’d arrive back out of the cold with her blue eyes clear and a lovely pink hue to her cheeks. It all made me long to get her naked and writhing underneath me again because she’d been so fucking beautiful then too.
However, I kept all that to myself because we were friends. All my troubles started when I crossed the line beyond friendship, not once but twice. I was smart enough to learn my lesson. And yet, if she’d give me a sign, I was dumb enough to have her all over again. Thank goodness she was smart enough to avoid me.
It helped that Lily was away and I didn’t have to deal with her. As it turned out, my father was away too. I suspected he’d gone off with my mother which was always weird. I never understood how they could love each other but not make a marriage work, and yet whenever they saw each other, always ended up having a little fling. It was just weird.
Nearly a week into our accidental marriage, I was making lunch for both of us, watching her as she sat back in her chair and stretched.
“Down, boy,” I murmured to my dick that twitched as the sight of her long neck as she lifted her hair and twisted it up. “Ready for lunch?” I called to her.
She turned to me. “It’s lunchtime already?” She checked her watch. “Wow. Yes. Let me clean up.” She stood and headed down the hall to the bathroom.
I set our plates of grilled cheese and tomato soup, a perfect winter honeymoon retreat lunch, on the table. I’d found a box of mini-chocolates earlier, and I decided to leave her a little treat for later, on her desk. I was a doofus and a glutton for
punishment, but she was doing me a favor so I wanted to do something nice. I put a couple of chocolates on a saucer with a scrap of paper saying, “All work and no play makes Victoria very rich.” It was a wonder I made money in music with dumbass words like that.
I set the plate on the desk, careful to avoid her paperwork. I noted some spreadsheets and took a glance, because apparently, I was also a snoop. I let out a small whistle when I saw her most recent numbers. Perhaps I was doing her a favor too. Her sales skyrocketed since our marriage had jumped.
I headed back to the kitchen to get us some water to drink when Victoria joined me.
“All is well in Victoria’s kingdom?” I asked as I set a glass next to her plate.
“Queendom,” she said. She smiled, and like always, it made my heart stutter in my chest. “But yes, things are going well. I’ve got some new marketing concepts we’re working on that I’m excited about. And I’ve sent paperwork to Lisbeth and if she doesn’t sign it, I will strangle her.”
I laughed. “Get in line.”
We sat at the table to eat. The first few days we were together was the hardest because I kept putting my foot in my mouth around this marriage and inadvertently hurting Victoria. But over the last couple of days, we fell into our old friendship. I planned to keep it that way, despite what my dick wanted.
“How about you? How’s the music coming?”
I shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m hoping when we’re done here I’ll have enough new stuff that I feel is worthy for an album.”
“Will you play some for me some time?”
I stopped mid-bite of my sandwich. “You can’t hear me in the other room?”
She shrugged. “A little. But not a whole song. Will you be doing one about accidental marriages?”
I laughed. “No. I don’t think so.” I took another bite of my sandwich.
We ate in silence for a minute, then I asked, “Do you have plans for this afternoon?”
“I was thinking of a walk. It’s supposed to snow again soon so I thought it would be nice to get out before that. How about you?”
“A walk would be nice. Can I come with you?”
She looked at me a little surprised but then gave me a friendly smile. “Sure.”
One of the housemate situations we’d set up was that whoever made the meal, the other person had to clean up. So while Victoria did the lunch dishes, I went to work on a song I’d started earlier that morning.
I finished figuring out the bridge of the song when she said, “That’s pretty.”
I looked up to see her leaning against the entryway to the TV room.
“Thanks. It’s coming along.”
“I was thinking of taking that walk. Do you still want to come?” she asked.
I didn’t normally like to stop in the middle of songwriting, but I nodded and set my guitar down. “Sure.”
Five minutes later, we were bundled in our coats and heading out the back-sliding door to the path along the lake. We walked in the direction away from the lodge to better ensure our privacy.
As we walked, Victoria tilted her head up, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. It was crazy how beguiling something like that was.
When she opened her eyes, she caught me looking at her. Her cheeks flushed. “It smells so good up here.”
I copied what she did, closing my eyes, looking up and inhaling. She was right. “It smells like nature.”
We started walking again, and Victoria said, “When Allie first moved here, I thought she was nuts. I admired her for beating her own drum, forging her own life with her yoga studio, but to my mind, she’d be so much more successful in Malibu or Beverly Hills or something.”
I nodded my understanding.
“But no, she wanted to come here and I think she was right. First of all, the Malibu and Beverly Hills crowd is often out here, but also, there’s something special out here.”
“You sound like you’d like to live here too,” I said.
“I don’t know. I worry it would start to feel too small. Or boring.”
“Are you bored?”
She stopped and looked out over the lake. “No. I never have been either.”
“So what’s keeping you away?” I asked, standing next to her.
“My business is in L.A.”
“Except you’re running it now from the honeymoon cabin,” I pointed out. “And we’re what, two hours or so from Los Angeles?”
She seemed to consider that. “I suppose I am, but I don’t know that I could work from home full-time.”
She turned up the path again. “What about you? You’ve lived in London for what? Ten years now?”
“Almost ten.”
“Have you ever thought of returning to the U.S.?” she asked.
I considered her question for a moment. “Not really. I’ve sometimes thought about going to other places, like Italy, but I’ve never really thought about moving back here.”
She didn’t say anything as we kept walking. We reached an area with rocks jutting out into the water. We tentatively walked out and sat on them. “I guess you have your whole life in London. Friends…girlfriends.”
I wondered if her question should be taken at face value or if she was fishing for information. “You know me, Victoria. I’m a homebody. An introvert. Yes, I have a life in London, but it’s a small one. My bandmates live all over the world and fly in when it’s time to record. I have an elderly neighbor lady who keeps tabs on me. And no, I don’t have girlfriends.”
She cocked her head and studied me. “I don’t believe you live a celibate life.”
I felt my cheeks heat and thought it was strange how she could make me blush. “No. But I’m not your typical musician either.”
She snorted. “Hence this marriage.”
“Right.”
“What about you? Surely you have men clamoring for you.” Shit. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know that.
“I date. Some. The last six months or so I haven’t much because of this new product launch coming up.”
I nodded, ridiculously pleased to hear it. “It’s been about that long for me too. Well, except for the other night with you.”
Her lips twitched upward. “Nothing like a dry spell to make you horny, eh?”
I laughed. “I think it was more than that.”
“Oh?” Her brows furrowed as she looked at me.
I shrugged, not wanting to give too much away. “Sure, a long spell can make things more intense, but I don’t feel like I’d have taken just anyone to my room.”
She leaned over, bumping her shoulder to mine. “Are you saying I’m special, Pax?”
I wanted to say yes. I wanted to tell her that I’d never gotten her out of my system from six years ago. But we were in a precarious spot and every time we crossed the line, bad shit went down. So I tempered my response.
“I never got enough the first time.”
She turned her head to look out over the water and I couldn’t tell if that answer bothered her or not.
“Hey, Victoria.”
I turned to see a redheaded woman walking toward us with a hulk of a man.
“Emma. Tucker.” Victoria stood, so I rose with her.
The woman scanned me and bit her lip. “Wow. Pax Ryder. I saw you at the wedding but didn’t have a chance to say hello. I’m Emma McLean and this is-”
“Everyone knows Tucker McLean,” Victoria said.
I didn’t. Well not really. I knew he played football but living in England, I didn’t follow American football.
Still, I extended my hand. “Good to meet you both.”
“Love your music,” Tucker said.
“He prefers all that classic American rock you play, but I like that slower stuff,” Emma said. “It’s so…sensual.”
“I like the slow stuff too,” Tucker said defensively. “Especially when it puts you in the mood.”
Emma blushed.
Victoria snorted. “I wonder how many children you’re respons
ible for conceiving with your music,” she said to me.
Again, I felt the heat of embarrassment. “I couldn’t tell you.”
“So, married life treating you well?” Tucker asked.
I glanced at Victoria, who then said, “I told Emma about our predicament.”
That didn’t seem wise.
“I know a thing or two about keeping an image,” Tucker said with a grin.
Emma laughed. “Yeah, except you were supposed to stay away from women and not ruin your image.” Emma nodded toward me. “He’s supposed to stay married to protect his good image.”
I glared at Victoria, wondering why she told them all this. Gossip could be like wildfire in a small town. We didn’t need our ploy to get out into common knowledge.
“Hey, how about hot chocolate with a little Irish cream?” Emma suggested. “Come up to the house and visit for a bit.”
“We’d love it,” Victoria replied as she started walking toward a building, just beyond where we were standing. “I thought you’d be in Buffalo or Green Bay or something.”
“I fly out to Detroit tomorrow,” Tucker said.
As we walked up the path, I leaned over. “Why did you tell them so much?”
“Because I trust them. They had to keep secrets and deal with news gossip too,” she said.
Even so. I didn’t know these people and I couldn’t afford to do all this and have it ruined by loose lips.
The house was quaint and cozy, not at all what I’d expect a famous football player to have. But I’d known enough about the place to know that Tucker was from here and so, perhaps he preferred the smaller life of the country town, similar to how Victoria seemed to enjoy it here.
“Have you heard from Lily?” Emma asked as we sat in her living room and Tucker was off making our drinks.
“No,” Victoria said, glancing at me.
Emma’s gaze moved from Victoria to me and back. “Is there something up?”
Victoria shrugged. “We’re just not sure how she’ll take this news.”
That was a lie. We knew exactly how she'd take it.
“Except this is all for show, so why would she take it badly?” Emma asked.