Sincerely, Your Inconvenient Wife (The Harder They Fall, #2)(71)

My fingers curled tight into my palm. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I’ve always known Miller was an idiot—”

Weston frowned. “He’s your CFO.”

“He’s good with numbers. That, I trust him with.” I dragged my hand down my face, frustrated to be in this position. “I used to think I trusted him with my sister too. Even if he isn’t betraying her, he’s stressing her out, which makes him an idiot.”

“You’re not letting this stand, are you?” Elliot intoned. He didn’t play around when it came to his sister. Elise’s ex-boyfriend had mistreated her, and he’d basically extracted her from her old life without a trace. I was certain he expected my response to be no less mercenary for my sister.

“I won’t. First, I need to gather facts. Once I know for sure, I’ll do what needs to be done.”

Elliot dipped his chin. “I have contacts for that too, if you need them.”

Weston slowly shook his head. “I’ve known you since we were little kids, but in times like these, I question if I even know you at all.”

I chuckled. “Does it really surprise you that Elliot has a contact for every situation that might arise?”

Elliot lifted a shoulder. “It’s simply good planning.”

“For every contingency,” I added.

“Exactly,” he agreed.

Weston let out a sigh. “Is everything else going well? Happy wife, happy life?”

“Yeah, all is well on the marriage front.” I smoothed my tie, only half-guilty at the lie I kept telling these two men. “Being married to Saoirse is easier than I ever expected.”

That part wasn’t a lie.

“I’m glad. There aren’t many women like Saoirse out there.” Weston pointed his chopsticks at me. “But if you could tell your wife to stop poaching my employees, that would be great. I’m already losing Miles to her. She can’t take any others.”

I shot him a bemused grin. “What do you mean?”

He waved me off, picking up a piece of sushi. “I’m only kidding. To be honest, I haven’t seen Miles as enthusiastic and committed to anything since they started planning their business. I don’t want to do anything to dampen that. If they want to take Simon and Rebecca, they can have them. Although, I draw the line at Elise. She’s staying at Andes.”

In the back of my mind, I remembered Saoirse vaguely mentioning working on something with Miles, but that was all it was. Vague.

I worked hard at schooling my expression. If Elliot or Weston had any idea how out of touch I was with my own wife, they would know none of this was real.

But it wasn’t confusion I had to work to fight off. It was disappointment.

Not in Saoirse but in myself.

I shouldn’t have been sitting across from my best friends, learning important information about my wife from them. I obviously hadn’t made it clear to Saoirse that I was interested in more than fucking her.

We were in this thing together.

And what kind of teammate was I to not know what was going on with my other half?

A shit one.

We’d be talking tonight.





Chapter Thirty





Saoirse





I was in the den reading a book when Luca arrived home. Instead of going directly upstairs like he normally did, he startled me by popping his head in.

“Hey.”

I lowered my Kindle. “Hello, you.”

Luca was yanking his tie loose from his throat. With his hair slightly disheveled and the thick stubble lining his jaw, he was a sight for sore eyes. I’d gotten used to our too-brief meetings during the day. He hadn’t been free today, and I’d been surprised at how fiercely disappointed I’d been when he’d told me.

I’d missed him.

“Did you eat dinner?” he asked.

“I did. You?”

“I ate at my desk.” He drummed his fingers on the doorway’s molding. “I’m going to get changed then head down to the studio.”

His usual routine, though stopping to tell me his plans was new. “Okay. Have fun.”

He paused, sweeping his gaze over me. “Join me?”

“In your studio?”

“Yeah. You can bring your Kindle. Hang out with me for a while.”

I hopped up from the couch before he finished asking. “Yes. Yes, I want to.”

He did another sweep of me, and from the way his eyes went heavy-lidded, I remembered I was wearing my pajamas—a tiny pair of shorts and a cami.

I grinned. This man had seen me naked and bent in half, so it both amused and pleased me he was affected by what I wore. “I’ll change too.”

He grunted. “Good idea.”



Luca put me on the love seat in his studio, and he sat on a stool with a big drawing pad in his lap, facing me.

“What are you drawing?” I asked.

“You, so don’t move.”

I burst out laughing. “No, really.”

“Really. I’ve been trying to draw you using a picture, but I haven’t gotten it right. You’re going to be my live model.”

I tilted my head, trying to read how serious he was. “Are you joking?”