Page 68 of All In

“Josh is a pretty good-looking guy, and you know… You were set to marry him. Just seems a little odd.”

“How is it odd?” I ask, my heart beating faster.

She shrugs. “You get left at the altar.” I shoot her a glare because it’s not like I need a reminder. She taps her temple. “You run off to Vegas with your best friend, who I’ve heard about for years, by the way, and you end up married right after. I’m just saying, it’s a little sus. Almost feels like maybe things aren’t what they seem.”

Fuck. “Can I tell you something?”

Her deep brown eyes light up. “Yes.”

“And it won’t go anywhere but us?”

She nods. “Not a word to anyone.”

“You have to swear. Secrets to the grave type shit.”

God, I can’t believe I’m even about to do this, but I like Aaliyah, and I trust her. We’ll see if I live to regret that.

“Swear.” She crosses her finger over her heart. “I won’t say a single word.”

I blow out a deep breath. “The marriage is fake.” Her eyes widen, but before she can say anything, I’m rambling on. “We were drunk, and I don’t even remember it—the getting married part—but there was this video of us kissing, and it, like… awakened something in me, and now I just want to fuck my husband, like, all the time. And Gray put this time limit on it, and so I told him if we had a time limit, I wanted to do it all. I wanted a real marriage. With sex and shit.”

“And?”

“And? What do you mean, and? What else do you want?”

She smirks. “So, are you doing the real marriage? With sex and shit? Or are those hickeys from someone else?”

I groan, resisting the urge to cover my throat. “They’re from Gray.”

Leaning closer, she lowers her voice. “Is he good in bed?”

“Fuck.” I laugh. “Best I’ve ever had. Fucks like a damn god.”

Aaliyah laughs. “Wow, and he’s hot as fuck, so I’m sure that helps.”

That gives me pause, something icky and uncomfortable burning in my stomach. Feels a lot like jealousy. “He is.” I wave my hand in front of her face, flashing her my ring. “And he’s… you know, gay. And also mine.”

Rolling her eyes, she nods. “I’m fully aware. I’m just saying. So before this?”

“Before this, what?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.

“You never wanted to sleep with him before this?”

I shake my head. “No. It never even crossed my mind.” She shoots me a look like she doesn’t quite believe me. I’m not sure why. “I’m serious.”

“We need to get back to work.”

“Aaliyah, I’m serious.”

She shrugs. “Doesn’t matter to me either way,” she says in a sing-songy voice.

Fucking menace. “You swear you won’t tell anyone?”

“Swear.” She mimes zipping her lips. “How long is the marriage supposed to last?”

I grimace. “Three months. We have like two and a half left.”

“That’s not a lot of time,” she says, mirroring my exact thoughts.