Yeah, well… this sneak has nothing on Vivien, Tess had said as she’d pushed her glasses up her nose.
I watched Vivien now as she made the rounds as hostess on Devereaux’s arm. It was still hard to believe, to be honest. But I supposed maybe that plastic mask of hers made the perfect disguise.
See, it turned out that while the world believed that Vivien was Devereaux’s latest trophy wife, it was actually the other way around.
Apparently, Tess had caught Vivien after one of Devereaux’s infamous “ragefests” as Lila put it, and Vivien had spilled the beans. Vivien was rich. Like, filthy rich. But her ex-husband had made a fool of her when he’d dumped her for a younger model, and she’d been cast out of her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills-type circle of friends.
And so, when Devereaux came sniffing around, cash poor but with the power of a king in this town—she snatched him up. It was her money that was funding Love on the Range.
It was her money that was keeping Grayson Devereaux afloat.
But while Vivien might sound like a pull-string baby doll and look like a mannequin, Tess swore that she had brains. Or her lawyer did, at least.
She didn’t sign that marriage license without a prenup. And for the first time in Devereaux’s string of marriages, he’d actually gotten the raw end of the deal.
The prenup wouldn’t be such a big deal if Devereaux was a decent guy. The clauses were the usual, apparently—if he was caught cheating, he’d forfeit her money. That sort of thing.
But for a guy like Devereaux, who was used to taking who and what he wanted whenever he wanted, one misstep could mean the end of his cash flow from his new sugar momma.
The only problem, Tess had said with evident frustration—he’d been on his best behavior. At least, where his wife was concerned. So good, in fact, that Tess was starting to think he knew that his wife was having him watched by private investigators.
So, we just have to wait and hope he messes up? Lila had asked in obvious dismay.
Tess had given us the most cryptic look of all time as she’d said, There might be another way...
Lila fidgeted beside me as a waiter came by with a tray filled with something I couldn’t even begin to identify. “She still hasn’t told me what she’s found on my mom’s computer,” she said under her breath.
I gave in to temptation and squeezed her hand again under the table. That was the one part that was still a mystery. With Vivien’s help—and by that, Lila and I assumed Tess meant ‘with Vivien’s money and resources’—Tess had gotten even more inside information on the shadier transactions being moved around in their dad’s accounts.
One payment, in particular. It came out of his account every month like clockwork. It looked like another alimony payment, except that it didn’t go to any of the obvious accounts. Tess had been working like mad to figure out where it was going and what it was for—if he and the person being paid were being so secretive about it, then she reasoned it had to be something that could be used against him.
Long story short, Tess suspected it was going to one of his old mistresses or wives. She’d ruled out any number of women before going to Lila and asking for her help.
Apparently, Lila’s mom was the only one who was super secretive with her accounts, and that was why Lila had her install the spyware on her home computer. But even if Jeanine was receiving the payments, that still didn’t tell us why.
A fact which was obviously driving Lila crazy.
For my part, it was the fact that I couldn’t so much as touch my girl in public that was driving me nuts. “So, how long do you think this ruse has to go on?” I asked, glancing meaningfully over at Brandon, who was smiling just a little too broadly at the guy beside him.
Lila sighed. “I should never have let him invite Richard.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I said.
She turned to me with a knowing smile. “You’re just trying to distract me from all this spy business.”
I laughed. “Is it that obvious?”
She nodded. “You’re like an open book, Jack.” She patted my cheek. “But that’s what I like about you. No secrets.”
“No secrets,” I echoed. This was our promise. And with her, I meant to keep it. With Brandon… I glanced over at my best friend, who looked so absurdly happy it made my heart swell.
Guilt gnawed at me. He’d already been hurt once when I hadn’t told him that his father had attempted suicide. But to tell him that his mother was a murderer…
I looked back to Lila, who was gazing at me so sweetly. An open book, she’d called me.
My stomach churned with acid. Yup. This guilt was going to swallow me whole.
“You okay?” she asked.
Just wondering how to tell you and Brandon that his mother’s a murderer, that’s all.
“Fine,” I said. “Just fine.” I leaned over slightly and lowered my voice. “But I’d be better if I could have some alone time with you.”
She groaned, and I saw the same desire I’d been battling all night clear as day in her eyes. “I wish we could. Actually…” She glanced around as if someone was waiting to jump out of the bushes behind us. “Maybe we can slip away. Just for a little while.”
“Yeah?” I tried not to look too hopeful… too pathetically eager.
I failed if her answering smug chuckle was anything to go by. “Let me go work the room for a bit, make sure Brandon doesn’t accidentally give us away.” She reached under the table and touched my arm. “I’ll text you when the coast is clear.”
“I’ll be waiting,” I said.
We both saw Tess slip out a side door. She looked so different from the shy, nerdy girl I’d met in Pinedale. Different from the super secretive spy I’d seen the other day.
“She cleans up good, right?” Lila said, like she could read my mind.
Maybe she could. Sometimes I was convinced Lila and I had some sort of ESP.
“If only she’d make an effort more often.”
I shot her a sidelong look that made her laugh.
“What?” she said, all mock innocence.
I shook my head teasingly. “You can take the catty diva out of Hollywood, but…”
Her head fell back with a laugh that made my whole body feel like it was on fire. “You love me for it,” she said with a wink. “And so does Tess.”
She reached for her ridiculously tiny little clutch that she assured me held ‘the whole world.’ I had to assume that meant her phone. “I’ll text you soon.”
I nodded, hating the fact that my entire body seemed to sink into despair just because this girl was going to be on the other side of the party. Clearly I had it bad. Love had made me one hundred percent pathetic. I forced a smile and nodded toward Tess. “I’ll see what I can find out from your sister while you make Brandon look like a guy in love.”
She winked. “It’s a deal.”
Eleven
Lila
“There you are, sweetie,” I crooned in a sing-song voice as I wrapped an arm around Brandon’s and planted a big, wet kiss on his cheek.
He turned to me with a dazed blink, and I just narrowly bit back a sigh.