Page 3 of Loving Her Enemy

Reece chuckled. “Months ago, when they first reached out to us, I might’ve let it slip you had secretly gotten married last year. You know how family oriented Watanebe is. You’ll have a better chance of landing this deal with him if you’re married.” Reece shrugged. “So, I started planting the seed.”

Seconds ticked by as Sloane stared at his friend. He should be pissed, but it was actually a brilliant idea. Negotiations hadn’t started yet since Watanebe was still in the planning stages, but he was considering several people to work with, Sloane being one.

Still, who was going to believe he was married?

Sloane thought about the interview and photo shoot he’d done months ago for a national magazine, which had dubbed him as one of the world’s sexiest men. Once again, it had been something he’d let Reece talk him into doing. In hindsight, he feared that, once the feature hit the newsstands, his privacy would be a thing of the past. That’s what happened years ago after a different article hinted at him being a most eligible bachelor.

“Surely, Watanebe’s assistant doesn’t believe I’m married,” Sloane finally said as he took another sip of his drink. “And if they do, where do they think this wife of mine is hiding? Haven’t they been curious as to why they haven’t seen her in tabloids or on social media?”

Before he could respond, the flight attendant returned with Reece’s beer as well as a shot of tequila and a bowl of trail mix. How the guy could eat anything else after the meal they’d just consumed was a mystery to Sloane.

“They…” Sloane started but stopped when the pilot’s voice came through the speakers. He informed them of the flight time, the weather in London, and he let them know they’d be taking off shortly.

“Getting back to your question,” Reece said. “It’s a good thing you’re great at keeping your professional and personal life separate. It also helps you haven’t taken a date to a function or gala in over a year. I just played off that, saying your wife doesn’t like public attention.”

“And they believe that?”

Reece shrugged again. “Apparently, but I’m sure, at some point, your wife is going to need to make an appearance. Maybe around the time the magazine article is scheduled to be released. So, you need to get on that.” Then he snapped his fingers. “Shit, that might not work. The media knows you wouldn’t have said you were still a bachelor during that interview if you had a wife hidden away.”

Sloane glared at his friend. Since they were kids, Reece had jammed him up more times than he could count. But this little stunt could affect his reputation.

“Okay, change of plans,” his friend said, his tone upbeat as if he just figured out how to solve world hunger. “You need to get married either right before that article drops or right after. From there, we can control the narrative. If questioned, I can easily say there’d been a language breakdown with Watanebe’s assistant.”

“Dammit, Reece! I get why you set this wife nonsense in motion, but how the hell am I—”

“Dude! Just find a wife. You’re rich, intelligent, and some would even consider you good-looking. Besides, you’re Sloane Motherfucking Davidson. How hard can it be to find a wife?”

Chapter Two

Halayna sipped her lemonade as she lay stretched out on a lounger near the Olympic-size pool. Some of the tension she’d been carrying around for months had finally started falling away. She had only been in Atlanta a few days, but the move was proving to be exactly what she needed. Especially today—the second anniversary of her father’s death.

She set the pool-friendly cup on the small table next to her and stared at the clear blue sky. If her parents were looking down on her, she hoped they weren’t too disappointed in how her life had turned out.

The last two years had been one heartbreak after another, and it had started with the death of her papa, her dad. He’d been working late, and on his way home from work, a truck had sideswiped him, forcing his car into a light pole. He had died on the spot.

Halayna didn’t think she’d ever recover from the loss because now both her parents were gone. Growing up with her Japanese father after her mother, a first responder who was killed on September 11, 2001, had been difficult for both of them. Halayna had only been five, and her dad had to learn to be a single parent after losing the love of his life.

The only thing that gave her a little peace since losing her father was knowing he and her mother were reunited in heaven. Still, she missed him terribly, especially over the last eight months.

“Stay in the present,” she murmured under her breath, reminding herself not to dwell on a past she couldn’t change.

Reaching over to the small table, she grabbed a few grapes from the bowl. Bristol had been on her about eating more, and for Halayna, it felt like a chore? Some people stress ate, not her. Usually, her appetite fled the moment stress crept in, and now she was struggling to get it back.

If her dad could see her, he’d be concerned. Not just with her weight loss, but everything going on with her. She normally maintained a positive attitude, and whenever life knocked her down, she’d get back up. But this time, it had been impossible to stay optimistic. Especially since she didn’t have her father to talk to, and these days, it had been as if a dark cloud was following her around. She couldn’t seem to shake the bad luck that had come with it. Which was partly how she’d ended up in Atlanta.

After her ex-fiancé, Owen, had not only broken off their engagement days before the wedding via text, but he had lost her inheritance. As a hedge fund manager, she had trusted him to invest a large portion of her money. At first, she was making an incredible return on the funds. She thought that was still the case until a few months ago, after the wedding was canceled. He had left her with the wedding debt, as well as a negative investment balance.

Devastated and betrayed weren’t strong enough words to describe what she had felt, and the worst part? Owen had disappeared off the face of the earth. She couldn’t find him. She would hire a P.I. if she could afford it, but months after he disappeared, the company she worked for got bought out, and she lost her job.

Halayna shook her head. How was this her life? How had she gone from living a comfortable, fulfilling existence to barely having enough money to buy groceries?

Losing that job had been the final nail in her proverbial coffin. She no longer had the desire to care about anything, and instead of building her career, she had settled for part-time gigs. She hadn’t been mentally ready to commit to long-term employment but needed something to help keep the lights on at her apartment until she got herself together. But then, she was hit by a car, and that brought her to her knees, literally.

The memory had her shivering, and her gaze dropped to the brace on her left wrist. Though the last few months had felt hopeless, the accident might’ve been a blessing in disguise. Had she not been on the verge of giving up, she might not have let Bristol talk her into moving to Atlanta.

If Halayna was honest with herself, she could admit her friend had saved her life. She wasn’t sure what she would’ve done if she had left the hospital and gone back to her lonely apartment.

“Okay, enough.” She had to stop this. No more looking back. Only forward.