“Gee, thanks, Jaxx. What if I had been naked?”
“What if?” his eyes travel the length of my body before giving me a pointed look, and I realize that my towel is gaping open…again.
“Fuck!” I grab my towel, pulling it closed. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, baby.” He clears his throat. “Are you all right? That was…”
“I’m a horrible person, Jaxx.” My lip trembles.
“No,” he rushes over, holding me as I cry. “You aren’t a horrible person, E. You are just struggling to deal with all of this any way you can. Cut yourself some slack, baby. You have been through so much.”
“Is Costin mad at me?”
“Mad?” He laughs. “No. No, he’s not mad. Seems you two had a pretty good time?”
“Jaxx,” I sigh, “it was wrong. I just… I needed someone to help me block it out. With Jonah-” His whole body stiffens. “Ya know what? Never mind. It was wrong. It won’t happen again.”
Nodding, he says, “Well, for now, I think that’s a good idea. Remember, Eliana, the less we lie about, the less we have to hide, and the better we can play this. Never say never, just not right now.”
“No, Jaxx, never. It can’t happen, not after Joshua. I can’t.” He opens his mouth to speak, and I cut him off. “I can’t handle the guilt, Jaxx. So please, just drop it.”
“Okay. Ready to go shopping?” he squeals.
“Were you attempting to sound like me, fiancée? Because that was shit.” I laugh.
“Oh, I’m your fiancée now?”
Frowning, I step into him. “Jaxx, I really am sorry. Yes, fiancée. That is if you still want me?”
“I’m kidding, E. Of course I still want you.” He tugs my towel closed again. “Now get dress; we’re dress shopping.”
“Dress?”
“Yep, wedding dresses,” he says with wide eyes.
“Oh, my God.” I laugh. “Is it sad that I am ridiculously excited for this?”
“No, it’s not sad at all, fiancée.” He kisses me gently, surprising me. ”Think you can sell this?”
“I… yeah. Yeah, I think I can.” I smile, kissing him back sweetly. “It should be weird, but it’s not. Right?”
“Nope.” He smiles, shrugging.
“It’s because you’re my person, Jaxx. My very best friend. Now get out so I can dress.” I laugh.
“I think your modesty went out the window thirty minutes ago.” He chuckles, walking out the door as I throw my towel at him. Damn, I think he’s right.
Chapter Nine
Costin
“Fucking wedding dresses… we’re stuck here cleaning up, and they are off shopping for wedding dresses?” I kick the bloody chair across the room.
“Yep. Can you not make a bigger mess?” Abel walks over, picking up the chair, and smashes it against the wall, sending wooden pieces all over the floor. “At least make your messes productive. Help me gather this shit and toss it in the bin to be burned.”
“Whatever, man, have you seen Andrew?”
“Yep.”
“And?”
“Basement… high as fuck. Gonna need a crew up there before the night is out. He’s not happy.” Abel stomps to the bin, dumping the wood.
“Fucking fantastic. What girls are with him? Will they be missed?” Fucked question, I know, but the last thing we need is some kindergarten teacher showing up here, thinking she is going to explore light BDSM and then never making it home.
“Richard had them screened.” he shakes his head. “It’s fucked.”
“At least, E is out ’til later tonight. Wedding dress or not, she doesn’t need to be here,” I shoot back.
“About that…”
“About what, Abel?”
“He’s not bringing her back here tonight. They are staying in the penthouse downtown. Jaxx thinks it’s best she not come back to all this tonight, and it helps to sell the engagement.”
“The fuck? He didn’t even tell me.”
“I didn’t want to tell you,” he scoffs.
“We are supposed to be in this together!” I fume. “Why am I being left out of the fucking loop?”
“Why, Costin? Why?” He stomps over to me. “Because you can’t see clearly when she is involved. How many times have I had to tell you this? How many times do you have to be told to take a fucking step back? I heard about what happened when we left her with you. Are you trying to get yourself killed? Are you that stubborn that you can’t let someone else take care of her?”
“No, Abel, I’m not that stubborn, I love her that much. Every time I step back, she gets hurt. I want to wrap her up, take her away from all of this shit, and never fucking look back.”
Deflating, Abel places a hand on my shoulder. “I know you love her, man. You know that isn’t an option right now though, right? She can’t… she won’t walk away. She needs this closure, and Andrew will never let her go. Not to mention we don’t even know who the other enemy is yet. You really want to spend the rest of your lives looking over your shoulders?”
“She really needs this?”
“She does, Costin. We can help her, or we can watch her burn. I am done just watching,” he huffs. “What about you?”
I nod.
“So play the part, Costin.” He walks to the door, calling out to the cleaners. Turning back, he adds, “Worry about the rest later. You have waited this long for her. What’s another few months?”
An eternity when I have to watch her with someone else.
“Uh, Costin? Seems we have a situation. We need to roll.” Abel pokes his head back into the room.
“What? She okay?”
“Ummm, well. Depends,” he says with a grimace.
“Depends? On what?” I look over his shoulder at his cell. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, seems the media found E at the bridal shop, and they are clearly hashtag team Jonah. Let’s roll.” Abel storms from the room, shaking his head. “She couldn’t have picked some nobody to play around with?”
“Princess never does anything small, Abel.” Never.
Eliana
Spinning slowly in a beautiful off-the-shoulder, lace, mermaid, Vera Wang gown, I smile when I hear Jaxx’s quick intake of breath.
“You quite literally took my breath away, baby.”
“You like it?”
“You look stunning, Eliana.” He walks up to me, holding out a hand to help me down from the pedestal.
“It is lovely, isn’t it?” I reach for his hand but gasp when he swoops me up in his arms, spinning me.
“Yes, you are.” He laughs, “We’ll- what the fuck?!”
We turn and are suddenly bombarded with cameras and yelling.
“Eliana, who is this?” one man yells.
“Eliana, where is Jonah? Are you eloping? When is the wedding?” a women shouts from the back.
“You bitch, he’s mine!” A girl shouts from the door.