Fuck. I ran a hand through my hair, eyes glued to the ground. Jordan shifted where he stood, as if trying to see around Liam.
“I’m not swinging a sword at him,” Jordan muttered. “But I wish he’d listen to some friendly advice. I can’t help him if he chooses to antagonize the board.”
I closed my eyes and massaged them through my lids. “Understood.” Resisting the urge to reach out and pat Liam on the shoulder, because he didn’t like anyone touching him without a warning. “Thanks, man.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank him for not hitting you,” Liam said. “He has a powerful left hook.”
Jordan laughed. After an awkward-as-hell pause, I finally sucked it up. “Jordan. I’m sorry, man.”
“You’re wound a little tight. Any man facing the impending doom of marriage would be, I’m sure.”
I flipped him the bird, and we both laughed. That wordless gesture signaled that things were going to be okay with us. Eventually.
Liam glanced from me to Jordan, obviously confused. Jordan stepped back and said he needed to go take a walk to unwind. I could have used one, too. I expected Liam to leave and go about his business, but he watched me with open curiosity instead.
I met his gaze, and he didn’t jerk his eyes away as he usually did. He’d been getting much better about eye contact, in fact, though it obviously still wasn’t his favorite thing. I suspected it was Jenna’s influence in his life.
“Why are you and Jordan fighting?”
I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “It’s a long story. Boardroom stuff.”
“Oh. Well, I meant what I said about you two fighting it out with swords if you need to. I can get my sword master to set it up.”
I blew out a breath and turned to walk out of the warehouse. Liam fell into step beside me. “Thanks for the offer. I think we’re good.” I hoped we were good, anyway. That spat had solved exactly nothing.
“Is that how you and Jenna resolve your disputes?” I teased. “Sword fighting?”
“No, of course not.” He shook his head. “When we argue, we each present our side. Somehow, she’s the one who always ends up in the right, or I end up conceding. Then we have sexual intercourse afterward. So I end up not caring who won and who lost.”
I laughed. Someone had discovered the joy of make-up sex.
Later that day, not long before the board meeting, I met with my new lawyer in my office—and made no secret of it. But I didn’t bring him with me to the meeting.
The agenda itself was clear and succinct. They were putting down an ultimatum that I was expecting. But they were going to allow me time to respond.
That may or may not have been a good thing.
Chapter 6
Mia
“There you are.” April answered her door with a big grin. “Long time no see. It’s not like you’re busy or anything.”
I stepped forward to give her a hug. “Yeah, all that partying and drinking I’m doing.” I made a face. “And my wild social life and love affair with medical textbooks.”
“Sounds like my life, only with econ textbooks. We’re living the dream, aren’t we? The Billionaire Girlfriends Club. They should start a reality show about us.” She motioned me into the home she shared with Jordan—a gorgeous beach house that sat right on the Wedge in Newport Beach and, conveniently for me, only a mile and a half down the road from our house.
“Come in. I have your stack of magazines. Not like you could have ordered a ton on your own.”
I shrugged. “The wedding planner offered. But I hate killing trees, and I wasn’t crazy about practically anything she showed me. Someone must have sent her the wrong memo, because she thinks the prince of the United Arab Emirates is getting married or something. I need a handle on a more normal-looking wedding.”
Her dark brown eyebrows arched perfectly over clear blue eyes. She really was stunning. And sweet. And smart. Jordan had done a lot of stupid things in his short life, but April was the clever choice that made up for most of it.
“Sid, my old roomie, passed these along to me. I think she was trying to hint that she doesn’t approve of Jordan and me living in sin. Kids these days!” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Anyway, these were her sister’s. She had a lovely wedding recently, so there might be some good ideas in there.” Then her eyes gleamed with mischief. “I may be keeping those around just to fuck with Jordan, too. It’s kinda fun to start paging through Brides magazine when he’s annoying me.”
“I like how you think. Keep that man in line.” Glancing over at the stack she indicated, I sighed. “I need wedding ideas, stat.”
“It’s getting kind of close to the wire, isn’t it? Doesn’t the resort have a planner? Why not go with what they normally offer? And, by the way, thank you for that. I cannot wait to go to St. Lucia for New Year’s. Best choice ever. I’ve always loved a destination wedding.”
I plopped down on her couch and plucked a magazine from the stack waiting for me on the end table. Idly thumbing through it, I shrugged. “I’ve never been super big on weddings, you know? I have simple tastes. I’m glad we’re having it in St. Lucia. I love the resort, and we have some special memories there, but…I have to confess, I was relieved when he suggested it, mostly because I knew it would limit the guest list.”
“You have your dress picked out, at least?”
I smiled. “Yeah. It’s gorgeous. Wanna see? I have the final fitting in a few weeks.” I pulled out my phone and showed her a shot that I had snapped in the mirror.
“Holy shit. It’s stunning. I love the silver accents on the white.” She looked at me and then the picture several times, her mouth growing round. “Oh em gee. I’m so jealous right now. I can’t wait to see Adam’s face when you walk down the aisle in this.”
“He is being a lot more…detail-oriented…about the whole thing than I am.”
April cocked her head at me as she handed me my phone. “That’s a funny kind of reverse. Usually the guy wants nothing to do with it at all.”
“Yeah. It’s weird. He wasn’t this focused on it until recently. Like, in the last few weeks, he’s gotten kind of…obsessive about it. Says he wants me to have to have the perfect wedding. I keep trying to tell him it’s a party, and as long as we all have fun, who cares what kind of the flowers there are or how tall the cake is. Know what I mean? I want good memories.”