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“But you lied to me.”
He raised one brow. “Can you blame me?”
“Yes, I can! I can’t do it today! Nothing’s ready! Rami and Lyle aren’t in town. I can’t get married without them there. You wanted us to look like a big, happy family. Well, if they’re not there, people will wonder—”
“Rami flew in this morning, and Lyle caught a ride back with me last night.”
Her mouth dropped. Lyle and Roth? Hell had just frozen over. That feeling of impending doom was getting stronger. “You’re buddies now?”
“We’re civil.”
This couldn’t be happening. “What about the photographer? What about Kaia? I want her there.”
“Everybody knew the real date except you, including Daiyu. I contacted her to make sure she finished the dress on time. The only thing that wasn’t settled was this prenup.”
Her eyes went to the papers under his arm. “And if I hadn’t signed?”
“You’ll never know.”
Fuck! “I-I think we should do this on another day.”
“No.”
He had deliberately kept the wedding date from her, knowing she would freak out. It was one thing to agree, another thing to sign the prenup, and quite another to go through with the sham of a wedding. “I need more time.”
“You don’t.”
“What about my hair? Look at my face! My eyes are swollen!”
“Colette’s bringing someone to get your hair and makeup done.”
He’d taken care of everything with her family’s help and blocked every excuse she could think of.
“We’ll leave in an hour. Pack a bag. We’ll spend the weekend there,” he said as he left her standing there in complete shock.
She should have stayed in bed today. She should have claimed she was deathly ill, but nooooo, she got dressed, and started working, showing him that she was a fully functioning human being, which she wasn’t. Her mind skittered in a million different directions, but it was no use. She had signed the prenup. All that was left was the ceremony, but it was what she had been dreading the most. If a judge married them, it would be all business, but dressing up as a bride and having her family involved made it personal. Seven years ago, she would have done anything to have her family and Roth together in the same room, but now the thought of everyone coming together to witness their sham of a wedding made her sick.
She saved her manuscript before she cleaned up the kitchen. It was a beautiful day in New York without a cloud in the sky. She wished it was fucking storming. As she left the kitchen, she heard the rumble of Roth’s voice as he talked on the phone. How did he have the time to run an empire and box her in so neatly? Fucker.
The only thing she needed to pack was her toiletries since she had clothes at Tuxedo Park. She focused on the positive. This was the beginning of the end. The sooner this shit went down, the sooner it would end. She was happy to take a break from the city and stay in the country for a while. She was going to see Kaia. It would be great to see her recovered from her surgery.
She was on her knees in the closet fussing with her toiletry bag when Roth walked in.
“Why is your stuff on the ground?”
“I haven’t had time to sort through everything,” she muttered as he stripped off his sweatpants and reached for his slacks. Out of the corner of her eye, she admired his sculpted ass.
“You don’t have to do it. That’s the housekeeper’s job.”
“I…” To keep herself occupied, she started making sure all the lids of her products were on extra tight. “I didn’t want anyone coming in while I’m working. It’s distracting.”
“She can unpack while we’re gone,” he said as he zipped up his pants.
“I’d rather do it myself.”
“You’re still resisting,” he said quietly.
She waved her hand at her toiletries. “Does it look like I’m resisting?”
