I have to pick up my jaw off the sidewalk. “You have a private plane?”
“I have several.”
“So you’re a millionaire? I married a millionaire?” I give him a pointed look up and down, raising one eyebrow.
One side of his mouth curls up. “I’ve been lucky enough to be successful.”
“Seriously though, tell me.”
“I will,” he says, laughing, “but at the moment your friends have spotted us, and from the looks on their faces they expected you to be alone.”
I follow his gaze, and I see Anna, Elizabeth, and Naomi, all frozen mid-conversation. They’re not looking at me, they’re looking at Will. Not that I blame them in the least. In the light of day and not the dark atmosphere of the club he’s almost too perfect to be believed. A sudden prick of pride appears in my chest that he’s holding my hand, that he chose me. Where did that come from?
Their silence continues while we approach the table, and I sit down in the seat they saved for me while Will swipes a chair from a nearby table and sits beside me. “Morning, ladies,” he says, the perfect gentleman. All three of their gazes switch to me, and then Naomi bursts out laughing. “Damn, girl.”
Anna is laughing too. “I guess I understand why you woke up so late.”
I blush. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Though I feel a burst of moisture between my legs as I remember him holding me against his mouth. If I get up from this table and there’s a wet spot on the back of this new dress, I will never live it down. “Maybe Will was just being a gentleman and let me sleep in.”
“Oh,” Anna says. “Will. I thought it was Wilcox? Or is he so good that you can’t bring yourself to talk about his cock? I’m sorry, I mean his Cox.”
Totally surprising me, Will bursts out laughing. “I’ve actually never heard that one before. Congratulations.”
Anna makes a mock bow in her chair. Elizabeth still hasn’t said anything. She’s by far the shyest of us, even though we all know she can be wild when she has a few drinks. I know the idea of even having a one-night stand would be the farthest thing from her mind. Showing up to breakfast with him in tow, basically proving that you had sex, must be mildly mortifying. “You okay, Lizzie?” I ask, reaching for the glass in front of my plate, and she gasps.
Shit. I forgot that I had the ring on, and now her eyes are locked on it, and I hear the echoing gasps from my other friends. Not exactly the way I was planning on telling them.
Will takes my left hand and weaves his fingers through mine, keeping my hand, and the ring, face up and visible. “I suppose you can be the first to congratulate us.”
Naomi’s mouth is wide open. “Is that—”
“A wedding ring, yes,” Will finishes her question. “It happened last night.”
Anna looks at me, clearly wanting to ask what the hell is going on, but not wanting to in front of Will. He’s gone from being the object of teasing to an object of suspicion, and the atmosphere clearly indicates that.
Will clears his throat. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He presses a kiss to my cheek and leaves, wandering toward the rest room at the back of the restaurant.
As soon as he’s out of earshot, Naomi pounces. “When I said I wanted you to have a good time, this isn’t what I meant.”
“I know, I know,” I say. “I don’t remember it happening. I woke up and the ring was on my finger.”
“So why aren’t you at the chapel undoing it?” Anna asks, still unable to take her eyes off the ring.
I look at the ring too, sparkling bright like both a beacon and a warning. There’s a damn lighthouse on my finger. “He says he doesn’t want to fix it. He wants to stay married.”
“If he’s pressuring you to do that, I swear to god, Sandy—”
“He’s not, Anna,” I say, even though I can’t even believe I’m saying it. “He’s so sure, that I’m…intrigued.”
Naomi doesn’t look impressed. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” I say. “He asked that we put the whole being married thing aside and just see how it goes. Like…dating, I guess.”
“But you stay married while you do it?”
I nod, taking a sip of water. There’s a growing confidence in my voice, and I suddenly feel more comfortable. Talking it out with my friends, I can suddenly see the benefits. “Honestly, would it really be so bad?”
“It could be,” Elizabeth chimes in softly.
“Maybe,” I admit, I push through the anger that bubbles up at my next thought. “But it could also be great. I was with Wyatt for two years and I got blindsided. Maybe there’s something about gut instinct here that’s worth paying attention to you. And besides, even staying married for just the sex would be tempting.”