Chapter 40 The Things I'm Into The photo on Dean’s phone felt like a sucker punch to the gut. It was not even a photo. This was worse. Way fucking worse. At the top of the glaring white webpage: VIP Guest List— The Velvet Desires. My eyes darted over the names, my pulse hammering. Roman’s full name was right there in black text. No mistaking it. No alias. Roman Nicholas Blackwood. Below his name was a glittering parade of scandal waiting to happen. Oil tycoons, tech billionaires, heirs to conglomerates, political leaders, CEOs of corporations that had their own skyscrapers. Even two prominent pastors whose smiles I’d seen plastered on TV every Sunday morning. My stomach churned. How did Dean get access to this? “I take it you’re just finding out about your fiancé’s double life now.” Dean’s voice was all smug satisfaction as he slipped the phone back toward himself. “I warned you about this dude. Rich guys like this have crazy kinks.” My fingers twitched, wanting to slap that smug look right off him. My heart was still racing so fast it made my vision feel too bright, too sharp. Even the fucking grass was rotating— vertigo was definitely working overtime. This couldn’t be real. It couldn’t. Because if it was… Dean now had a nuclear bomb in his hands. One he’d happily drop right into Chloe’s gossip-hungry lap. And Chloe? She couldn’t keep a secret to save her designer handbag collection. Her mouth was like her legs— always open. Dean leaned back in his folding chair with the air of a priest about to bless a congregation of sinners. “I even did a little further digging for you. Turns out,”— he looked at me like he was savoring the moment— “he placed his last order just two days before you guys got here.” He dropped what was obviously top secret information. That word. Order. It made my skin crawl. I felt it in my teeth. I had two seconds to think. Two seconds to save Roman. To save myself. To keep Dean’s venom from spilling into Chloe’s ears, because once she hears something like this, she’d have it broadcast across the barbecue before the ribs even finished smoking. Then I'd be the laughingstock again. Dean kept talking, his voice dripping with the kind of self-satisfaction only a man who thought he’d just won could manage. “This guy, Sav. He’s nothing like the boys you used to date. I mean, I know the whole thing’s fake—some kind of… charade to get to me—but still. You? Him? Two different worlds colliding. It doesn’t add up.” Oh, it added up. It added up in ways Dean’s little brain would never understand. My brain sprinted through possible way outs. Deny it? Too weak. Pretend shock? Too risky— Dean would smell blood and push harder. No, the only way to beat a man like Dean was to lean so far into the lie he didn’t know which way was up. I let my gaze drift past him, just for a heartbeat. Roman was across the yard with my sister and her daughter. Emily tugged at his sleeve and giggled about something, her gap-toothed smile flashing in the sun. Alyssa was laughing too, relaxed, almost glowing. They looked like a tiny little family unit, and for one sharp, disloyal second, something in my chest twisted. I felt the pang. Roman caught my eye from across the yard. “You okay?” he mouthed. I forced a smile and nodded. He didn’t look convinced, but Emily pulled his attention back, chattering in her small, bright voice. But suddenly I remembered something. Or someone. Chloe. Oh my God. My head snapped in her direction. She was chatting away with her mother-in-law about an expensive bracelet Dean got for her that suddenly went missing after her last yoga training class ended. And how she suspects her students stole it. I turned back to Dean. My tone was crisp. “Did you tell my sister about this?” “Who, Chloe? Not yet.” “Good.” I leaned in just slightly. “And it should stay that way.” He smirked. “What? You scared she’s gonna find out?”I gave myself a mental warm-up. It's showtime, Savannah. I barked out a laugh so loud it made him flinch. “Find out? About that? Please. Don’t make me laugh, Dean. This isn’t the Stone Ages.” The smirk slid right off his face, confusion rushing in to take its place. “You mean you're aware… you know what he—” “Aware?” I cut in. “Dean, I was a participant.” His expression flickered from shock to horror to something else entirely. Something that shouldn't be there. “Oh, and that last order?” I leaned closer, just enough for my voice to be private. “That was my idea. We were celebrating a succesful merger.” Dean’s mouth actually dropped open. “You’re serious.” I laughed again, this one lower and darker. “Dead serious. We like to have fun. Crazy, wild fun. Something you upright ones frown upon. It’s not a crime to experiment, you know. You should try it sometime.” The change in him was almost comical. Shock melted into intrigue, intrigue bled into fascination, and then fascination curled into something sleazy before shamelessly giving way to lust. His gaze swept over me in a way that made my skin crawl. I can't believe I used to love that look. “Holy shit,” he breathed, shaking his head slowly. “I can’t believe you’re into that.” “You can’t even imagine the things I’m into,” I murmured. He grinned now, full teeth, eyes bright with something dangerous and hungry. “You don’t know how fucking hot that is. Damn.” Bingo. Hook, line, and dumbass. “You should always pick the well-stacked ones,” I said lightly, flicking a glance at his chest as if I were giving him a personal tip. “That’s where the real fun is.” Dean actually leaned forward like he wanted to take notes. “You should tell me more. Hell, we should… hang out sometime. Just you and me, Sav. You could, you know…” His hand slid onto my thigh, just above the hem of my dress. “…show me.” Ew. “I don’t think so,” I said sweetly. “Roman’s a little possessive. He gets all feral when any man glances more than three seconds in my direction.” “Babe?” The word hit like a much needed dose of reality. Dean’s hand jerked back so fast it might as well have been burned. We both looked up. Chloe stood over us, arms crossed, frown sharp enough to cut glass. Dean popped to his feet, brushing imaginary grass from his shorts. “Just catching up with Sav. Clearing some bad blood. Wouldn’t be nice if the groom and maid of honor avoided each other on the wedding day. It's gonna ruin the photograph.” “True,” I echoed with a smile so fake it could’ve been molded from plastic. Chloe eyed me for a second, then seemed to dismiss it. “Come on. Mom’s asking if that island we vacationed on two months ago is good enough for a family trip because—” Her voice faded as she hooked her arm through Dean’s and towed him away toward his mother. But not before pulling one last stunt. She caught me watching their retreating backs and her smile sharpened in a catlike way. Then she tilted her head just enough to flash the diamond on her finger in the sun. Subtle as a brick.I got the warning loud and clear. ‘He's mine, stay away.’ Noted. He's all yours, Chloe. I stood there a second longer, my fake smile melting as soon as her back was turned again. Then I tossed the crushed soda can into the recycling bin and headed straight for Roman. He was still with Alyssa, talking quietly. They both stopped when I approached, their expressions shifting in a way I didn’t like. Curiosity sparked at what the context of their conversation might have been. “I need a word with you,” I said. “Now.”