The Breaking Season: An Arranged Marriage Romance

by K. A. Linde

  “This about Katherine moving back in?”

  I hadn’t told him that. Which meant that Katherine must have told the girls. Which meant all the guys would know when they showed up.

  “English told you, I presume?”

  He scoffed. “Give me some credit.”

  “Hardly.”

  “All right, yeah, English told me. But hey, I’m happy for you, man. You’ve wanted this for a long time. You both were too fucking stubborn to actually acknowledge that you liked each other.”

  “Is that what you think?” I asked in the bored, detached voice I used for Court’s musings.

  “Don’t do that shit,” he said, pointing his finger at me. “I know you.”

  “We’re working it out.”

  Court nodded enthusiastically. “Good.”

  The elevator dinged then, announcing the rest of the party. Sam and Gavin strode into the penthouse. Gavin gave a quick salute, and Sam just nodded his head. They took two of the remaining chairs.

  “Waiting on one more,” I said.

  “Nah,” Gavin said, glancing toward the wet bar. “Robert’s not showing tonight. He’s with Whitley.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “He didn’t tell me that.”

  Gavin shrugged. “It’s Whit.” He looked over at Court. “Hey, Kensington, you playing bartender?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled and got out of his chair.

  “So, Whitley got back together with Robert,” Sam said thoughtfully. “How do you feel about that?”

  Gavin looked at him in confusion. “What do my feelings have to do with anything?”

  Sam gave him a perfectly measured look that said, Confess all your sins.

  I nearly laughed at it. He was so good at getting people to talk. Just one look, and he ensnared them.

  “I don’t know why you’re looking at me like that,” Gavin said.

  Court dropped a drink in front of him. “Probably because you two were all over each other in Puerto Rico.”

  “Yeah, so? That was, like, a month ago, and we’re both always all over someone.”

  I methodically shuffled the cards, waiting for one of the guys to get it out of him. I already had my suspicions, but usually, I didn’t have to say much to get to the truth of the matter.

  “Uh-huh,” Court said.

  “What?” Gavin grumbled.

  Sam gave him an incredulous look. “You’ve been mooning over Whitley for at least the last six months. I thought you’d have made your move while we were gone.”

  “Me?” he gasped. “Mooning over someone? Have you met me?”

  “Yeah,” Sam said.

  Finally, I set the cards aside and leaned forward. “You two had sex while we were on vacation.”

  “I didn’t say that,” Gavin said, looking between us all as if he were caught in a trap. Then he sagged. “But… yeah.”

  Sam chuckled. “Knew it.”

  “Did you already know?” Court asked me.

  I shrugged. “When have you ever seen Gavin babble this much? Let alone deny his conquests?”

  “I’m not… denying shit,” Gavin growled. “But Robert’s my buddy. I wouldn’t have done anything if I’d known they were going to get back together. We were both single at the time. Now, they’re together. So, I was trying to keep it on the down-low. I don’t want him to think I’m moving in on his girl.”

  “That’s awful gallant of you,” Court drawled.

  “Just deal the cards,” Gavin muttered.

  I set to dealing for the table as they continued to bicker. I suspected that Gavin was lying. I’d seen the way that he’d been looking at Whitley for months. And it hadn’t been until we were all on vacation that Whitley started looking at him like that, too. He hadn’t just stumbled into her bed for a one-night stand. He’d premeditated that shit. And now, he was backing down because he didn’t want to hurt his friend. It was… nice of him, but it didn’t sound like Gavin King. What was it about Whitley that kept the compulsive flirt at bay? And when it would all irrevocably boil over?

  We let him be and returned to the cards. As usual, Sam swept the table over and over again. I swore that he could count cards. I’d never caught him at it, but it didn’t make sense that he kept hustling us. It was like when I went to Hank’s. I could crush everyone in that place with how good I was at pool, and it defied logic that I would win time and time again. That was Sam at poker. I didn’t know why I kept inviting him. Except that he was one of the guys now. Not that any of us liked losing to him every week.

  “Hey,” Gavin said near the end of the night, “I heard another piece of juicy gossip.” He looked up at me and then down at his cards.

  I knew what he was going to say before it was out of his mouth. I braced myself.

  “I heard Fiona’s pregnant.”

  Everyone’s gaze snapped to mine. I kept my face perfectly blank. At least I’d prepared for neutrality or else I might have scowled.

  “Why are you all looking at me?” I asked.

  “Camden,” Sam began.

  But Court cut him off, “You asshole, you didn’t tell me!”

  “So,” Gavin asked, leaning in, “is it yours?”

  “No way Katherine would have moved back in if it were his,” Court snapped.

  “You’re not that stupid,” Sam said.

  At least someone believed that. Christ.

  “I was already aware,” I said, laying down my cards.

  Sam revealed his cards, too. Beat me again. Motherfucker. He cleared out the pot, and I resumed shuffling.

  “And?” Court prodded. “If it’s not yours, whose is it?”

  “Don’t you dipshits pay attention?” Gavin asked.

  Court raised an eyebrow. I actually hadn’t been paying much attention. My days and nights had been filled with nothing but Katherine.

  “Harmony and Kurt broke up,” Gavin explained.

  Sam shrugged. “So?”

  He didn’t understand the dynamics happening here, but Court did. “Wait, are you saying Kurt knocked up Fiona?”

  “That’s what’s going around. That someone strong-armed him into helping Fiona.” Gavin’s gaze stayed on mine, but I refused to confirm or deny a thing. “Wonder who has enough power to get Kurt Mitchell to take responsibility for anything.”

  “Huh,” Sam muttered.

  “Well, shit,” Court breathed.

  I dealt the cards. Nothing else needed to be said. They all knew what I’d done. What I always did when confronted with a problem. I solved it. And Kurt Mitchell had been an easy mark. It had barely taken any pressure to get him to sing to my tune.

  “You’re a scary motherfucker sometimes, Camden,” Gavin said.

  I smiled. And we continued to play.

  By the time I called last hand, I’d managed to keep about half of what I’d put in. Sam had most everything else. He looked satisfied. Bastard could earn enough every game to keep him happily living on the Upper East Side without his billionaire girlfriend. I really needed to figure out how he fucking did it every time.

  Sam cleared his throat. “Before we all go, I wanted to say one more thing.”

  We all looked at him expectantly, but instead of speaking, he removed a small blue box from his suit coat. He opened it and placed it on the table. Inside was a glittering diamond ring the size of a dime. Fuck.

  “I accept,” Gavin said with a laugh.

  “You’re proposing?” Court said with wide eyes.

  I stood and held my hand out. Sam took it warily at first and then enthusiastically. “Congratulations, man.”

  “Thanks. I thought it was about time to right all those wrongs. She’s the only one I’ve ever wanted, and I’m not ever going to let her get away again,” Sam told us.

  Gavin called for congratulatory shots, and he and Court hustled to the wet bar to round up some tequila shots. They brought them back over and settled them around the table. We lifted them in the air.

  “To bagging Larkin St. Vinc
ent,” Gavin said with a cheer.

  We all just shook our heads at him.

  “To Sam and Lark,” Court said.

  “To a happy union,” I added with a tip of my head at Sam.

  Then we downed the shots and dropped them back on the table. We laughed and sat back into our seats. This was good. Another one of my friends getting married to the woman of his dreams. Just as it should be.

  A woman cleared her throat behind us. As Katherine’s sweaty body came into focus, Sam snatched up the ring and stuffed it out of view. My eyes crawled her lithe form as the clothes clung to her body. My cock jerked painfully at the sight of her.

  “Hey, boys,” she trilled.

  All four of us stared at her. Even the ones presently attached and soon-to-be engaged. My wife was a sight.

  “Katherine,” I said.

  “Always a pleasure, Ren,” Court said.

  She narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t comment on the nickname his brother used for her.

  “I was just… going up for a shower,” she said. Her tongue flicked out to lick her bottom lip. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  She winked at me and then disappeared upstairs.

  Gavin cleared his throat. “Well, fuck.”

  “Yeah,” Court agreed. “I think that’s our cue.”

  I rose to my feet, my gaze tracking her as she disappeared upstairs. “I do think that’s the end of our game. You’ll see yourselves out.”

  Gavin snickered. Court smacked him on the back of his head. Sam just laughed. I left the three stooges to figure it out. I couldn’t stay here another moment with my aching cock and my naked wife upstairs.

  I took the stairs two at a time and strode into my mammoth-sized bathroom. I could hear the shower was running. A trail of workout clothes revealed the way to me. And there she was, stripped naked and soaking wet. Her eyes closed. Her dark hair a fountain down her back. Her ass on full display.

  I shucked off all of my clothing and then stepped in after her. She turned around to face me with a smirk on her full lips.

  “You tease,” I warned.

  “Me?” she asked innocently. “I was sweaty. I needed a shower. Rodrigo worked me real hard today. I’m going to be sore for days.”

  My hands came to her sides, pushing her through the spray and against the tiled wall. “I don’t like another man’s name in your mouth.”

  She smiled wider. “He’s just my trainer.”

  “I’ll make you sore for days.”

  “Please,” she murmured.

  I grasped her shoulder, turned her around, and bent her at the waist. Her hands clasped the bench. I spread her cheeks wide, palming them in my hands. She moaned as I slicked my thumb down her crack from one hole to another, slicking myself through her wetness. She squirmed, aching for me to take her.

  So, I did, thrusting deep into her pussy. My thumb pressed against the pucker of her asshole, and she tightened like a snake, trying to constrict the life out of me. I pressed deeper, a full digit, and she did nothing but groan and tighten further.

  “My filthy wife,” I said, keeping up a pace against her. “You’re going to come for me just from one digit.”

  “Yes,” she whimpered.

  It only took a few thrusts before she cried out and came all over me. I tried to keep it together, but the way she was bucking and writhing did me in. I came long and hard deep inside of her. My fingers bruising her hips. My cock doing the same to her pussy.

  When I withdrew, she collapsed onto the floor. Her eyes glazed and happy. I gently lifted her to her feet and began soaping her body, cleaning away all the filth I loved so much from her.

  “Camden,” she murmured as I finished and gestured for her to get under the water. I made a questioning noise. “Will you come with me to the children’s hospital tomorrow?”

  “What for?”

  “I’m throwing a party, and there’s… there’s someone I’d like you to meet there.”

  I knew that she’d been going to the children’s hospital regularly, but I hadn’t asked any questions. I’d let her have her time. Figured she would tell me when she was ready.

  I turned her to face me. “It’s important to you?” She nodded. “Then I’ll be there.”

  27

  Katherine

  I stood before an assembly for my first official event for ChildrensOne. Nerves bit into me, even as I saw a sea of familiar faces. So many of my friends had volunteered to come help, bringing with them makeup artists, hairdressers with collections of wigs, and nail artists. Someone had even gotten a children’s designer to donate a whole rack of sparkly dresses and fanciful dress-up clothes. I couldn’t believe we’d gotten this all together so fast. It really was the power of our collective connections. Now, I could bring a full-fledged makeover party to kids on the cancer ward.

  Jem had no idea what she was in for.

  “Welcome, everyone, to the first ever ChildrensOne Dress-Up Party,” I said with a smile. “I’ve already separated you all out into teams. Let’s try and get to as many children as we can in the two hours that we have. We want to make every child feel like a prince or princess.”

  Deborah fluttered at my sight with excitement. Her eyes were wide. “Thank you all so much for coming. You have no idea what this will mean to the kids. Not all of them will be able to get out of their beds, but as long as the door is open, you can go room to room to help out. There will be refreshments provided by ChildrensOne as well.”

  “Let’s get in there,” I said as I turned with Deborah to escort the group to the cancer ward.

  Lark and English had been able to take off work to help out, and they entered the first set of elevators with me.

  “This is so amazing,” Lark told me.

  “It really is, Katherine. I can’t believe you did all of this,” English said.

  “She’s a dream to work with,” Deborah said affectionately. “We’re so lucky to have her.”

  A blush crept into my cheeks. “Thank you. I’m not really doing it for me though. I want the kids to have something in their life other than the hospital.”

  We exited the elevator onto the bustling cancer ward. My eyes lit up. I’d been coming to the ward for two weeks, and I’d hardly seen anyone else but my old friend Melinda and a random pair of parents. I’d never seen it alive.

  More than half of the kids were out in the halls or farther down in the waiting room we had converted for our purposes. Balloons hung throughout the halls. Smiles were on everyone’s faces. And there were parents. So, so many parents. We’d had the hospital staff send out requests for parents to be here for this day. I was delighted that they’d agreed to come. We’d converted this sad wing into something filled with joy.

  I sent my friends onward to meet the kids, and Deborah went to say hello to the parents that she knew. All the volunteers were being filtered through the elevator, so I stood sentinel, giving them directions. Once everyone was where they needed to be, I’d go find Jem. I couldn’t wait to see her transformation.

  The last group came upstairs, and I watched for a few minutes as the crowded hall got louder and louder. Hearts filled with happiness and real smiles on their faces. I knew many of the kids on the hall now. Jem had introduced me to a number of them on my last couple of visits. All these kids were so sick …too sick at such a young age. It wasn’t fair, and I hated it. At least I could bring a modicum of fun to their lives.

  The elevator opened behind me one more time, and I turned to see who else was coming to the event. I knew Camden had promised to show up, but he wouldn’t be here until the end.

  Harmony stood in the elevator. “Hey, Katherine,” she muttered.

  I frowned at her appearance. The usually perfectly put-together model looked like she had been through the wringer. Her platinum hair was up in a messy, high ponytail. Her eyes were puffy and red-rimmed. She didn’t have on a lick of makeup. I was shocked that she was even here.

  “Harmony.”

  �
�Go ahead. Make some quip about my appearance,” she said, gesturing to her workout leggings and long-sleeved shirt.

  I pulled her aside. “Are you doing okay?”

  She warily narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?”

  “Harmony, remember when we went up together against Candice?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Pretend we’re doing that again.”

  Harmony deflated. “Kurt and I broke up.”

  My stomach twisted. I’d heard through the gossip groups that they’d broken up. No one had confirmed why, and only I could make a guess at what had happened. I hadn’t asked Camden what he’d done to Kurt or if he even had. But Harmony didn’t look this rough for no reason.

  “I’m so sorry,” I told her. “What happened?”

  She shook her head. “He was sleeping around with other people.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Yeah, he knocked some bitch up. Wouldn’t even tell me who.”

  I winced. “What a dick. You can do way better than him.”

  “I guess. I mean”—she shook herself out of her stupor—“I know that I can. I thought we had something real. You know?”

  I nodded. I did know. She had been optimistic at Christmas. I’d even wanted it to work out for her.

  “Maybe you should head home. You don’t have to do this today.”

  “No, no, I want to help. I know I look… rough.” She rubbed at her eyes. “Let me put on some makeup. It’ll be good to see the kids. Make me feel less shitty.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah.” She ran a hand back through her hair. “And, hey, uh, thanks for being so nice to me.”

  “You know… I think our whole petty squabble was pretty stupid,” I admitted. “What were we even still arguing about?”

  Harmony laughed softly. “Yeah. All that shit happened in high school. I guess the Upper East Side teaches us to hold on to grudges.”

  “It really does,” I agreed.

  “Well, I’m glad it’s over.”

  She squeezed my hand and then disappeared into the nearest restroom.

  A weight seemed to have lifted off of my shoulders. Harmony and I had been at each other’s throats for so long. I hadn’t even known how heavy the grudge was. Not that I was ready to give up every argument I’d ever had with anyone, but the thing with Harmony was ancient history. She was my sister-in-law now. Wouldn’t it be better to be on good terms with her?