“You look tan.” Sasha pressed her cherry red lips together. Her ivory skin was just as even and pale as always.

I nodded, crunching the numbers on the spreadsheet again. I didn’t like the figures she presented.

“How was Tahiti?” she asked.

I pushed back from the conference table. “It was good. I recommend the time off.” I grinned, diving back into the report.

“I don’t take vacations.”

“Neither did I, but things change.”

It was an oversimplification of what the honeymoon had meant. I came back a different man. I left New York, trying to convince the world my marriage with Evie was real. I discovered in Tahiti it was. I didn’t know what other people’s marriages were like, but I knew ours. And I wouldn’t change a damn thing about it.

“No one changes that much.” She cleared her throat. “Enough about your personal life. What do you think about the new investor lineup?”

I caught the dig at my relationship. I had hoped the time away would soften Sasha, but it seemed to only stoke her anger. She was lying through her teeth if she wanted me to believe nothing had changed. She had.

We felt less like business partners and more like rivals. I didn’t like the direction this was headed.

“They look solid, but we both know they can’t affect the bottom line the way they should. They aren’t heavy hitters.”

She jutted her chin forward. It accentuated the sharp lines of her cheeks. “Who did you bring to the table?”

“I don’t bring people to the table. You do that. I close them. You pitch. I close. It’s always worked that way. And it has worked pretty damn well. We’ve built this company together on that practice.”

Sasha rose from the table. Today’s light gray pencil skirt was extremely tight.

“I think you got too much sun. Or had too many fruity drinks.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She started toward me. “It means you haven’t been available for the past two weeks. You left me here to deal with this shit.” She was close to baring her teeth. “You have no idea what I’ve been dealing with, Jeremy. None.”

My phone rang. I looked at it, knowing she was likely to slap me if I picked it up, but I saw Evie’s number and grabbed it.

“Hey,” I answered.

Sasha’s hands went to her thin hips. Her eyes narrowed.

“Oh my God. I don’t know what to do.” Evie sounded out of breath.

“Slow down. What’s wrong?”

“I just got off the phone with my mom and Frannie. We have to go to Newton Hills this weekend.”

“Why? Did something happen?” I asked. I could feel Sasha’s eyes boring holes into my head, but Evie took priority now. Sasha had to learn this was the new normal.

“Everyone is fine. But they are throwing us a reception. My mom says it’s the only way my dad is going to accept our marriage. I told them we’d be there. I didn’t know what else to say. I’m sorry. It’s a total disaster.”

“It’s not. We can go. We can spare a weekend in Newton Hills.”

Sasha moved to open her mouth, but I held up a hand.

“Are you sure? It’s not like it’s going to be a wedding, but they want the full reception. Everything. Apparently, they’ve been planning it the entire time we were in Tahiti. I had no idea. Frannie wanted it to be a surprise, but my mom finally broke down and thought we needed a few days’ notice. It’s only three days away, Jer.”

I hadn’t planned to return to Newton Hills anytime soon, or ever if I could help it. But I couldn’t pretend that Evie’s entire family didn’t live there. It was going to happen eventually. I had hoped that the next time would be with the paternity documents required to collect my inheritance.

“Ok. What do we need to do before then?” I asked. I didn’t know how the fuck to plan a wedding reception. I’d thrown a few bachelor parties. Those I could do. I knew high-end strippers and good liquor.

“I need a dress and maybe you should wear a tux-suit thing.”

I chuckled. “Anything else?”

“We need a first dance song, and I have to tell them what flavors to make the different tiers of the cake. Oh shit. And a wedding party? You know, a few friends to stand in for us.”

“This is starting to sound like a wedding.”

“It’s not, but my very Italian, very traditional family has a lot of opinions on the proper way to do things. This will help to smooth things over.” She sighed. “I don’t think it mattered before…but…”

“I know. It matters now.”

“Yes. I want them to love you, Jer. This party could change things for my dad. It could be a huge step.”

“I’ll pay for everything, ok? Whatever you want. Whatever your mom and your sister want. I’ll cover all the expenses.”

Our wedding had been anything but extravagant. We were married in the middle of the night in a bed and breakfast. There were two witnesses, who had until that point been complete strangers to us. If Evie needed this. If she wanted it. I’d move whatever mountains stood in the way to give it to her.

“No,” she blurted. “Are you crazy? Do you know how offended my father would be?”

Sasha cleared her throat behind me.

“Ok. I take it back?” I was confused. I thought I was helping the man.

She sighed. “Good. Maybe we could pay for things they don’t know about, but he would be insulted if you tried to pay for his daughter’s wedding.”

I was going to have to read up on Italian fathers before the weekend.

“Babe, I’ve got to get to a meeting, but tell them we’ll be there. I’ll have the jet fly us all the way in. Maybe we can stop in Asheville on the way back and drop in on Mrs. Hughes,” I teased.

“Wouldn’t she be surprised? I bet she didn’t think we’d last a week.”

“Probably not. I’ll see you for dinner.”

“Ok. I’m going to the coffee shop to write. It seems like the next few days I’m going to be working on reception plans.”

“Bye.”

I tossed the phone on the table and stared at Sasha. “That was Evie.”

“I know. And you cannot go to Newton Hills this weekend.” She tapped her foot impatiently.

“Why not?”

“I bought our black tie gala tickets months ago. It’s the Sportsman’s Ball.”

“Fuck,” I whispered.

I saw the look of triumph on her face. “See? You can’t go.”

“You bought two tickets? Take someone else.”

“We always go to the Sportsman’s Ball together. Last year we landed our two biggest investors. Or have you forgotten that too?”

“No. I haven’t forgotten, but something has come up. I have to be in Newton Hills.”

“So that’s it? You’re going to choose married life over this company?” Her cold accent was on every syllable.

I closed my eyes. She knew about my contract with Evie. She knew about the inheritance. She knew how important it was to have a baby to secure the long-term success of the company. Yet, she was giving me grief at every fucking turn.

“By putting Evie first, I’m putting the company first.” I folded the pages of the report. “Find new investors.” I slid the file toward her and walked out of the room.