Married to My Ex's Billionaire Brother

I woke up alone.

The sheets beside me were cold. The bathroom door stood open, dark and empty. For a second I thought I'd dreamed the whole night.

Then I saw the watch.

It sat on the nightstand, black face, black steel band. Heavy. Expensive. The kind of thing a man doesn't forget unless he means to come back for it.

My head pounded. My thighs ached. My dress lay crumpled by the door like a shed skin.

*He's coming back.*

I dressed so fast I put my heels on the wrong feet. I dug through my wallet, pulled out every bill I had, and fanned them across the nightstand next to his watch.

Two hundred and forty dollars.

I didn't know what it was for. Room service. An apology. Proof that I'd been the one to walk away this time.

I didn't wait for the elevator. I took the stairs.

---

Rhys Vale came back with two coffees and found the room empty.

He set the cups down. He looked at the cash beside his watch and laughed once, under his breath.

Then he pulled back the blanket.

A small rust-colored stain marked the white sheet.

He stood very still.

*Enough to be brave. Not enough to be stupid.*

She'd said it like a woman who'd done this before. She'd touched his thigh like she knew exactly what she wanted. And she'd never been touched at all.

He picked up the money and folded it slowly.

A woman who just happened to sit down next to him, on his first night back in the country. A woman who didn't want his name.

He took out his phone. "The bar on Fifth. Last night. I want to know who she is."

---

My parents were waiting in the front room when I got home.

My father didn't stand. My mother set down her tea.

"Kieran called," she said. "Twice."

"Did he tell you why I ended it?"

"He told us you two had a disagreement."

"I walked in on him with another woman, Mom. He was inside her."

My father's jaw shifted. He looked at the window, not at me.

"Men make mistakes before they settle down," he said. "That doesn't change the merger."

"Dad."

"The Vales have invited us to lunch." My mother stood and smoothed her skirt. "You'll change into something decent. You'll apologize for the text."

"*I'll* apologize?"

"You embarrassed him in front of his family, Ivy." Her voice stayed soft. That was always the worst part. "Go upstairs. The car leaves in forty minutes."

---

The Vale house smelled like lilies and money.

Kieran rose when we walked into the dining room. He wore a pale blue shirt and a wounded face, like he'd practiced it in a mirror.

"Ivy." He kissed my cheek before I could turn away. "I'm glad you came."

His mother squeezed my hand. "Sweetheart, sit. Sit."

I sat. Kieran took the chair beside me and laid his napkin across his lap.

"I want everyone to know I'm not angry," he said to the table. "Ivy's been under so much pressure with the wedding. She hasn't been sleeping. She's been... emotional."

I stared at him. "Emotional."

"It's okay." He patted my wrist. "Nobody's blaming you."

Mr. Vale nodded slowly. My mother nodded faster.

I opened my mouth to tell them all exactly what I'd seen.

Then footsteps came down the staircase behind me.

"Ah," Mr. Vale said. "There he is. Ivy, you haven't met my eldest. Rhys just got back from London."

I turned.

Dark suit. No tie. Collar open.

Gray eyes.

The glass of water in my hand tipped. Ice spilled across the tablecloth.

"Oh, honey." My mother dabbed at it. "Clumsy."

Rhys walked around the table and offered his hand. "Ivy. Nice to meet you."

His voice was polite. Flat. A stranger's voice.

But his eyes stayed on mine one beat too long.

I took his hand. His thumb pressed once into the center of my palm, right where a pulse would be.

"Nice to meet you," I whispered.

He sat directly across from me.

---

The soup came. I couldn't taste it.

"So, Ivy." Rhys broke a piece of bread. "Kieran tells me you're the planner in the relationship."

"Was," I said.

Kieran laughed too loudly. "She's joking."

Something slid against my ankle under the table.

A shoe. Smooth leather, cool through my stockings. It moved up slowly, over my calf, to the soft hollow behind my knee.

My spoon clattered against the bowl.

"You okay?" Kieran asked.

"Fine."

Rhys sipped his wine. "You seem tense."

"I'm not."

The shoe pressed higher. I locked my knees together. He waited, patient, then nudged them apart one inch.

My mother was talking about seating charts. Mrs. Vale was talking about peonies.

I gripped the edge of the chair until my nails bent.

"Excuse me," I said, standing. "Restroom."

---

The hallway was long and dim. I made it halfway before an arm wrapped around my waist from behind.

I gasped. A hand covered my mouth.

"Don't scream," Rhys murmured against my ear. "My mother hates noise at lunch."

I clawed at his wrist. He let my mouth go but not my waist.

"You knew," I hissed. "Last night. You knew who I was."

"I didn't." His breath stirred my hair. "But I know now. And I'm very curious how my brother's fiancée ended up in my bed on my first night home."

"It was an accident."

"Was it?"

He turned me around and backed me into the wall. Before I could answer, his mouth came down hard on mine. I shoved at his chest. He didn't move. His knee pushed between my legs, pinning me in place.

I tore my face sideways. "Stop. Please."

He stopped. Just barely.

"Don't tell them," I said. My voice cracked. "My parents. Your parents. If they find out, they'll—"

"They'll what?"

"They'll say I did it on purpose. They'll ruin me."

He studied me the way he had at the bar. Measuring.

Then he stepped back.

"I won't say a word," he said. "On one condition."

He reached into his jacket and took out something small and pink, smooth as a pebble. Then a slim black remote.

My stomach dropped.

He slid the little toy into the pocket of my dress, flat against my hip. He held up the remote.

"Keep it there. Through dessert. If I hear you've taken it out, I start talking."

"You're insane."

"I'm back." He smoothed my collar like a gentleman. "Come on. They'll wonder."

---

He pulled out my chair for me. Kieran smiled. My mother smiled.

Rhys sat down and set the remote beside his wineglass, next to the salt.

Nobody looked at it.

"Ivy," Mrs. Vale said warmly, "we were just saying you two should set the date again. Kieran, ask her."

Kieran turned to me, all teeth. "What do you say, babe?"

Across the table, Rhys rested two fingers on the remote.

He met my eyes.

And pressed.