Undeniably Married (Boston’s Irresistible Billionaires Book 4)
Undeniably Married: Chapter 1

I’ve played out today, this moment exactly, in my head so many times, that at this point, I feel like I’m acting out a script. Or perhaps watching from outside of my body, staring down as I see myself in a perfect white gown with my perfect hair and makeup. Maybe it’s that I’ve spent the last year planning this wedding down to the last detail, and so far, it’s everything I’ve dreamed it’d be.

It’s a storybook. A fairy tale.

Too bad the groom is no Prince Charming.

Brody stands across from me, staring adoringly at me, his hands trembling and his eyes glassy as he recites his vows with heartfelt sincerity. He looks incredible in his black tux, and I take a moment to appreciate him like this. I fell in love with him in a tux. We met at an Abbot-Fritz gala I attended, and he was there looking just as handsome as he does now. We sat next to each other at dinner and spent the whole night talking and dancing.

That was it. Love.

Two years later, here we are.

Brody slides the plain gold band on my finger, and I stare plaintively down at it. My engagement ring is platinum, and this is yellow gold. It doesn’t match at all, and it speaks to how thoughtless he is. He didn’t care enough to put energy or effort into picking out my wedding band.

Looking back, that was a common theme in our relationship. One I wish I had spotted earlier on. I was blind. A fool in love. Think of all the orgasms I’ve missed out on by being with him. I nearly snicker aloud at that.

The priest calls my attention, indicating that it’s my turn to state my vows. We each wrote our own, and Brody’s were beautiful. I’m sure part of him even meant them.

I turn around to my maid of honor, my best friend, my ride-or-die, and my twin sister, Serena, and signal her. She smiles knowingly and hands me the iPad she had waiting off to the side of the altar for just this moment. Brody’s curious and surprised, perhaps even a little amused. He thinks I didn’t memorize my vows, which shows how little he knows me.

He once teased me that I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached, and I remember hating the condescending barb. The man caught footballs for a living and barely made it through school. I save lives and graduated top of my class from both college and medical school. Not quite the same thing. Though Brody did recite his vows from memory, and here I am with an iPad. For how many times I’ve read and reread what I’m about to say, you would think I’d have memorized these by now too.

I clear my throat, my heart hammering in my chest as a fresh wave of nerves takes over. This is so not me to do this. I never cause scenes. I never make waves. I stay as far away from the spotlight as possible.

Brody is still holding my hand with the band on it, and he plays with the ring, rolling it a little with his fingers. I hope he’s savoring this moment the way I am.

I smile, but it does little to stop the fluttering in my chest. “Brody, I had so many things I wanted to say to you today. So many heartfelt emotions to express how I felt about you. Then last night you slept at Noah’s while I stayed in our apartment since it was important to us not to see each other before the ceremony. We thought it was bad luck.” Now that laugh escapes, twisted with irony. “I’m not sure if you’re aware that your phone is connected to your iPad.” I hold it up, so he knows I’m referring to the device in my hand. “And with that, every time you get a text message, it also pops up in your messages here.”

He freezes, his hand going still in mine, his face losing its expression and color.

I turn to the priest. “Please forgive me, Father, for I mean no disrespect. I’m simply reading from a text message stream I had the misfortune, or perhaps good fortune, of discovering and reading last night between one of my good friends and bridesmaids, Eloise”—I pan the iPad in her direction—“and my fiancé, Brody.”

I clear my throat again, unlock the iPad, and pull up the text stream.

“Sorel—” Brody starts only for me to cut him off with a sharp shake of my head.

“Shhh, sweetie. It’s my turn to say my vows.”

Another throat clear so I can project this directly across the church, all the way to the cheap seats in the back since it’s a packed house. I wanted a small wedding but Brody wanted a big one. I’m positive he’s about to regret that choice.

“From Brody: Do we need to talk about this? From Eloise: What’s there to say? You’re getting married tomorrow. From Brody: I know, and I love Sorel. I do. But I also love fucking you.”

The loud cry of gasps can be heard throughout the church, echoing off the high ceilings and wood beams.

Brody is fuming—like he has any right to be—with red-hot fury crawling up his face. He’s indignant that I’m so blatantly calling out his affair in front of our family, friends, and the priest.

“Give me the iPad, Sorel. Stop this. It isn’t how it looks. I said it right there. I love you.” He tries to steal the device from me, but I yank it back along with the hand he’s been holding and take a step away from him.

Serena and my other sister, Stella, block Eloise, who isn’t moving and is paler than Snow White after she bit into the poisoned apple, from trying to make a move for me. She’s scrappy like that, so you never know what you’re going to get with her. Obviously. But right now, I think she’s too shocked to move, and I don’t bother sparing her another glance.

It’s not the first time a friend has betrayed me so egregiously.

I continue to walk backward down the steps, which isn’t easy in my long dress. My father meets me halfway and takes me by my upper arm so I don’t fall. He looks just as furious as Brody, but I’m not done with my speech yet.

“From Eloise: I love fucking you too, but I also love Sorel. She’s been my best friend since college. Plus, I’m in love with James.” James is her fiancé. He’s standing now, and while I feel bad about hurting him, he needs to know. “From Brody: I don’t want to stop. We’ve gone this long. Hell, we’ve been screwing each other all this time without an issue, so I don’t see why we need to stop now. From Eloise: Good. Because that’s what I want too. I love our dirty secret, lol. I love feeling you inside of me. I always need more. Like right now. From Brody: FaceTime me then. Show me your tits and pussy.”

“Fuck,” Brody hisses, scrubbing his hands up and down his face. “Sorel, I swear, I love you. I love you so much. I meant everything I just said to you. Every word of my vows. It’s you I want to marry. It’s you I want to be with. Eloise and I…” He trails off in frustration, his hands on top of his head as if he doesn’t know what to say to make this better. “Please, stop this. It didn’t mean anything. Not to either of us. It was a fling. A stupid, meaningless fling. It’s over now, okay? I swear. It’ll only be you from now on.”

I snicker. That’s so ridiculous and insulting, I can’t believe he even has the nerve to say it. “A little late for that don’t you think considering you were both dating other people and it shouldn’t have ever started. I suppose once a player, always a player. Even in retirement. Though you did me a big solid by being a cheating asshole last night. Imagine if I had gone through with our wedding and then found out?”

I fake shudder and shrug off my father, who lets me go, even as he stands in the aisle. My brothers join him along with a few of my male cousins. Brody is a big guy, but if he makes it out of this church without someone kicking his ass, I’d be shocked. I have a lot of uncles and cousins. They’re big too.

I continue backward down the aisle, staring at Brody. I can’t help my smile. I’m riding some sort of crazy adrenaline wave, and it’s making me a little high. No one knows what to do. Everyone is frozen. Everyone except for me.

“From Eloise: Will you make me come? From Brody: Don’t I always?” I laugh. It’s kind of loud and a lot bitter. I meet his enraged eyes. “You see, and this is the sad part for me—and again, I apologize to my family and you, Father, for having to hear all of this—but you never cared if I got off. You always made it feel like an extra chore you didn’t want to be bothered with. Why did she get all the special attention?”

Speaking of… I yank off my yellow gold ring and chuck it at him. I do the same with my engagement ring. Now he’s even more pissed. Still, as a former wide receiver, you’d think he’d have better hands and try to catch them instead of letting them clatter to the floor. I’ve learned firsthand—pun intended—that he doesn’t.

“Anyway, this whole awesome text stream ends with Eloise FaceTiming my fiancé for what I assume is video sex.”

I throw his iPad on the ground, and it makes a delightful crunching sound.

“Even though I’m an avid lover of ’90s music, I was never into NSYNC, but you just became one of their titles. ‘Bye Bye Bye.’ She’s all yours now. I wish you both a lifetime of misery and hateful children.”

With that, I turn and race out of the church, ignoring the cries from my family and friends and even Brody. I don’t turn to see if he’s chasing me or if he gets a fist or ten to the face. I’m a bride on the run.

I fly out of the church and slam the doors behind me. Ah, freedom. I suck in a breath of hot summer air and glance around at the world before me, unsure where I should go or how I should get there when someone comes straight into my sightline. I recognize him instantly, and relief swarms me like a pack of honeybees.

Mason Reyes. The hot, cocky, young quarterback for the Boston Rebels. He’s Brody’s former teammate, but he’s been one of my closest friends since I moved back to Boston last year. He’s also best friends with some of my cousins and friends. Cousins and friends who are still inside the church, hopefully severing Brody’s spleen from his body.

He takes me in from head to toe, and I rip off the veil from the back of my head and toss it along with the comb to the ground. He frowns as it scatters away in the July wind and turns back to me.

“Is it over? Did I miss the ceremony?”

“Oh, it’s over all right.” The church door shakes as if it’s about to open. Hmm. Time to go. “Can you do me a favor?”

He blinks at me, but the flash in his green eyes tells me exactly what his words confirm. “Anything.”

“Can you get me out of here?”

A smile breaks free across his lips. “You’ve got it.” He reaches out for my hand, and the moment our palms meet, a fresh shiver of warm tingles skates up my spine. It brings the first smile I’ve had all day to my lips and has me holding on tighter.

Without another word, we race down the steps and around a corner. He opens the door to a large SUV and helps me up while making sure my dress and train don’t get caught. Then he scoots around to his side and starts the car, turning on the AC, which is nothing short of heavenly on my overheated skin.

“I feel like that scene from The Graduate.” I look at him. “Where Benjamin comes in and steals Elaine from her wedding. Only this is so much better than that.”

“Where can I take you, Mrs. Robinson?”

I snort-laugh at him calling me Mrs. Robinson. “I have no idea. I can’t go to my place, and I don’t want to go to my parents. I need to get away, you know?” I turn to face him. “Where would you go if you discovered the night before your wedding that your fiancé was cheating on you with your friend, and it seems had been for a while?”

He stares at me as his fists ball up, his jaw locks and twitches, and he shifts away from me, over toward his window, where he curses low and angry under his breath. He moves to get out of the car, and I grab his suit-clad arm to stop him.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“To kill Brody,” he states as if the answer should be obvious.

Just then I spot Brody sporting a red face and a swollen eye, turning the corner and looking for me. Shit! I don’t think he’s spotted us yet.

“Go!” I plead with urgency. “Please, go. I don’t want you to fight him. I just want to get out of here.”

Mason grunts, not happy about that at all. Without skipping a beat, he floors it, pulling seamlessly away from the curb and right into moving traffic. Brody completely misses us, which is a huge relief. I feel bad for dragging Mason along, and I’d hate for him to have to deal with Brody after being my getaway car, but there was never a lot of love between them, and neither was shy about letting me know it.

“What happened?” Mason asks softly after we’re away from the church and my wedding which never happened. I’m so glad he was late. It was like fate doing me yet another solid.

I didn’t know him all that well until I moved back to Boston last year. He was nice, and we hit it off instantly. Plus, his people are my people, which made me trust him when I don’t always trust others so easily.

Then again, I trusted Brody and Eloise.

Mason is cute too. I mean, Mason Reyes is fucking gorgeous, young, but fucking gorgeous. But he’s so cute when he smiles like this. Almost like he’s innocent when you know he secretly plays with the devil. You can’t help but be endeared with him.

“I discovered last night that Brody has been screwing my college bestie, Eloise, for a long time. Probably before I started dating him since she introduced me to him. I thought about calling off the wedding this morning, but as the hours passed and the day progressed, I was a bit shell-shocked and knew I wasn’t going to have a chance to see him until the ceremony. Serena and Stella suggested that I call him out on what a bastard he is in public. They said it was nothing short of what he and Eloise deserved, so I went with it because I didn’t have a better idea.”

“Call him out how?”

“I read aloud their sexting from his iPad—which is how I discovered their cheating in the first place—when it was my turn to say my vows.”

Mason laughs. Like head thrown back, full-on belly laughs as he drives us around the city.

“That’s seriously brilliant and badass. Shit, now I’m pissed I was late and missed it.” He shakes his head incredulously. “God, he’s the dumbest motherfucker I’ve ever met.” He sobers quickly. “How could anyone ever cheat on you?” He shakes his head again as if such a thing is impossible. “You’re a dream girl.” He rubs his hand across his jaw but quickly returns it to the wheel, but if I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was blushing.

“A dream girl?” Now it’s my turn to be incredulous.

He shrugs. “All I’m saying is, he’s a fool and doesn’t deserve you. I’m sorry if that hurts to hear or isn’t what you want me to say. I don’t mean to sound trite or throw platitudes at you about what you’re going through. But…” He stops. Shifts. Turns back to me as we approach a red light. “He’s a fool. You’re smart, beautiful, and insanely sexy. Any man would kill for his shot with you.”

My brows scrunch. “I’m seven years older than you.”

He shrugs. “Doesn’t make it less true.” He drives us through the light and takes a random right, curling us around Back Bay. “Besides, I was speaking about men in general. Not necessarily me. Where am I taking you?”

“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly, shifting away from him toward my window. I didn’t mean to drag him into this, but here we are. “I’m not sure where to go. I don’t want to be anywhere he can find me.”

“Do you just want a place to hide out, or do you want to get out of the city for a while?”

Good question. “Out of the city, maybe.” I scrunch my nose as I think about it. “We were set to go on our honeymoon tomorrow, which I’m obviously not going on, but the last thing I want to do is sit around and mope or feel sorry for myself, and I don’t have to be back to work for more than a week.”

“I know a place we could go. It’s perfect for this sort of thing.”

“We?”

He shoots me an impish grin. “I’m in this now too. Your accomplice. And I have a way out if you want it.”

Huh. A way out if I want one. That sounds pretty good. Possibly even great. I should say no, but find myself asking, “Where?” I’m far too curious about what he has in mind, and so very tempted to say fuck you to Brody and the world for a bit.

His lips twitch as he answers, “Vegas.” Almost as if he knows how ridiculous that idea is.

I laugh. “Vegas? I haven’t been to Vegas… well… ever.”

“It’s the perfect place to get over your heartache,” he continues. “Fun hotels and casinos, spas, the Strip, great shopping, amazing shows, restaurants, and bars. I’d love to help you get over Brody, and I know a way to keep it quiet if that’s what you want. What do you say? As luck would have it, I have a week with not a whole lot planned either.”

“You want to come away for a week with me?”

“I never thought you’d ask. Sure, I’d be happy to go away for a week with you.”

I roll my eyes with a smile. “I’m serious.”

“I am too. If you want to go, I’d love to go with you.”

Vegas. I play that over in my head, going through his list item by item, and yeah, it sounds perfect. Like a hell of a lot of carefree, careless fun. With Mason, whom I adore and trust. But still… Vegas. Oh my god, this is crazy. I can’t believe I’m entertaining this.

“Vegas,” I repeat, this time with a bit more inflection and thought.

I’m jilted. I’m a mess. None of this has even sunk in for me yet. I mean, hell, I’m a runaway bride. This is so not me. None of this is. But maybe getting away for a bit is exactly what I need. A change of scenery. A way to clear my head.

I grin at him, excited. “Screw it. I’m in. Let’s do it.”