He leans over and kisses my cheek with a bright smile. “Surprise, sweetie! I finalized everything over the weekend.”
“What?” I wish we didn’t have company. Why would he spring this on me? No wonder Winnie needed to be paid right away, and she was all over my ass to pick out all the details. All the pieces are finally clicking together, which has me fuming inside.
He flashes me a wink. “Can’t wait to make you my wife, darling. We’ll talk about it later. Tonight, we have some serious business to discuss.” He gives me a smile and another kiss. “Oh, I almost forgot to introduce you two.”
My blood boils, and I can’t focus as Robert speaks.
“Gemma. This is Ms. O’Leary.”
A devilish smile meets her lips. She holds out her dainty hand, and that’s when I notice the gigantic diamond on her left ring finger. “It’s really nice toofficiallymeet you. I’m Victoria.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
TYLER
Two gruelinghours of being drilled by lawyers over my past wasn’t an enjoyable experience, but now it’s over. I’m dismissed, and my head pounds when I exit the conference room. I suck in a deep breath and try to calm down while burying the memories of Victoria. As I stand in the hallway, Eric walks up to me.
He holds out his hand, and when I take it, he pulls me into a tight hug.
“Thank you, man. I know how hard that must’ve been to relive all that.”
“No problem. I just hope it’s enough to help you get the justice you deserve.” When I meet his gaze, I notice the dark circles under his eyes. He looks beat down and exhausted. Helping him makes me feel good, but I won’t assume anything will come of it, considering who’s involved.
“We’ll talk soon, okay?” he says before leaving with his lawyer.
“That went well,” Serena says, tucking her brown hair behind her ears.
“I guess. Do you wanna grab some lunch?”
She checks the time on her phone. “I actually need to be at the airport in an hour.”
“Okay, no problem.” I appreciate that she interrupted her busy schedule for me and flew here.
“What are your plans today?” Serena glances at me as we walk toward the elevator.
I shrug. “Nothing much.”
“And before your flight tomorrow?”
I shake my head.
“You can say no, but you should come to Sacramento with me, then fly home from there instead. Liam and Maddie came home from the hospital with the new baby yesterday, and I know how much they’d love to see you.”
A smile touches my lips at her great idea. “I didn’t think about that. Damn, it’s like you’re a genius lawyer or something with all this amazing logic.”
She snorts and rolls her eyes. “I can drop you off at their house. Check if you can get on my flight. It leaves at noon.”
We walk outside, and I follow her to the rental car as I contact the airline. Serena drives to my hotel, and by the time she parks, I’ve already purchased a flight and rescheduled my departure.
“I’ll wait here while you grab your things and check out of your room.”
“Great,” I say, eager to get out of Vegas.
It takes less than ten minutes to pack my small bag and turn in my hotel key. Even Serena is surprised when I return in record time.
“Damn,” she mutters. “You’re fast.”
We chat as we make our way to the airport, and she updates me on life in California, her son, and how busy the law firm is these days. After we get through security, I watch as tourists feed bills into the slot machines, trying their last chance at winning big. After living in this city for so long, I’m still desensitized to the bright lights and noises of the machines. It brings me back to Liam’s gambling problem and how it brought Victoria into his life. I can’t help but shake my head as we walk toward our gate.