My Unexpected Vow: California Billionaires Book 2 Harlow James (scary books to read txt) 📖

the console as if he were searching for my hand, but then retracted it on second thought.

I turn to him, registering his calm reaction when I was sure he’d blame the disaster earlier all on me. “What?”

“Wes and I are meeting up on Monday. I told him I’d explain everything to him then.”

“You’re… not mad at me for forgetting to take off my ring?”

He scoffs. “Oh, I’m not happy about it, but it is what it is. I practically forget I’m wearing mine anymore too,” he adds, holding up his left hand where his titanium ring resides on his left ring finger. He went out and bought it once we got home from Vegas so the ruse looked real.

“I’m sorry, really. This is the last way I wanted him to find out.”

“I know.” He looks over his shoulder and offers me a tight-lipped smile before returning his eyes to the road in front of him.

And at that moment, he surprises me yet again. For a man that I claimed to be one of the most selfish people on the planet, I’m beginning to see what my brother assured me of months ago when I asked why he was best friends with Hayes—that he’s one of the most loyal people he’s ever known, and always puts those close to him first.

I may not be his wife in the traditional sense of the word, but today I felt like he thought of us as a team in this for the first time, and maybe knowing that will help us navigate this obstacle course together.

But no matter how sweet he might be or how much he may surprise me, I have to remind myself that it’s all an act. Hayes and I will move on with our lives by the end of June, and my marriage to Hayes Weston will be nothing more than a Vegas story I share for the rest of my life—a memory to reminisce on when I laugh about how young and stupid I was to get drunk and married in Vegas to my brother’s best friend.

Chapter 5

Hayes

“How’s it going brother from another mother?”

Wes stares at me from across the table, squinting at me with such intensity, it’s making my butthole pucker. “Don’t try to be all chummy with me right now, Hayes. You have a lot of explaining to do.”

I chuckle, more out of nervousness than the fact that I find this funny, unclench my butt cheeks, and then get comfortable in my seat as the waitress comes by with our waters.

It’s been a few days since the opening of the Wings & Wheels Facility and I’m currently sitting opposite my best friend at a small bistro in Santa Barbara. Wes insisted I come to him because his schedule didn’t allow for him to travel down to me, and I only had one in-person meeting this morning, which made the drive up here possible.

“I know. I just thought at least I could butter you up a bit first,” I tease on a half-grin, but Wes’s demeanor doesn’t change.

“I wanna know how you ended up marrying my sister, Hayes. Surely you can understand how I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this.”

I’m sitting here debating whether telling Wes is going to be worse than telling my parents, but my money is banking on the conversation I’m currently a part of as Wes’s tone is making me wish I’d worn a cup to this lunch.

I take a deep breath and then opt for honesty. I know I won’t be able to hide the truth from my best friend like I’ve done with my mom and dad, but Wes needs to know that I’m aware of the mistake I’ve made and am doing what I can to rectify it.

“I ran into your sister on New Year’s Eve in Vegas,” I start as the waitress reappears and asks if we’re ready to order. She’s tall, has long red hair, and a nice rack from what I can tell by the way her shirt clings to her breasts. By now, I’d be flirting up a storm, asking for her number, and then meeting up with her later this evening.

But I’m married now, which means reeling in the habits I’ve developed over the years to flirt with any attractive woman I see. And I know if I did that with Wes in front of me right now, he’d decapitate me in my chair.

We place our orders, I keep my eyes safely away from the waitress, and then I pick back up in my story once she leaves. “I had no idea she’d be there, but she was, and naturally, I decided to look after her.”

“Looking after her doesn’t mean marrying her, Hayes. Jesus Christ,” he grates out, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Were you two dating, and I didn’t know about it?”

I wince, knowing that what I’m about to tell him could surely make matters worse. “No.”

“Then why is she your wife now?”

I sigh in defeat and then mutter the truth. “We were drunk.”

His face falls as he gazes over at me again. “What?”

I settle into my chair more, fighting the itching feeling that’s crawling up my spine as I watch my best friend plot my murder in his eyes. “We were wasted, Wes, alright? I don’t even know how the idea came up because I can’t remember!”

“Why the hell was the idea even in your brain to begin with?” he practically shouts before remembering that we’re in a public place. And yes, part of my reason for asking him to lunch at a restaurant was so he would have to rein in his reaction and I could most likely walk away without a black eye.

“Fuck,” I mumble, reaching for my glass of water to take a sip. I set the glass back down and then level with him. “Again, I’m not exactly sure, but something tells me it had to do with the conversation