“Well, we need to figure it out,” Gavin grumbled. “And we need to get it annulled, ideally. Clean this up as quietly as possible.”
Although Cade desperately hoped he could get back the engagement ring he’d thought was lost forever, and I hated the idea of disappointing my mother if she found out about the drunk wedding of it all, Gavin had stronger convictions about the need for discretion than any of us. He was the new CEO and public face of his late father’s record label, and since the world had regarded Richard Ratliff as a saint in a notoriously shady industry, his son had no interest in tarnishing that reputationafter his death. A reckless, drunken marriage wasn’t exactly Gavin’s ideal first act as the new king of the castle. He’d been the one to decide we’d hunt down Allie and sort this out.
I knew too, though Gavin would never admit it, that part of his urgency came from his grief. He’d worshiped his father as much as the rest of the world had, and he worried about disappointing him as a son as well as a successor. Not that I was about to reveal any of that to Allie or anyone else. That was Gavin’s story to tell.
Allie’s next question broke me out of my thoughts—and swiftly replaced them with raunchier ones. She looked between the three of us. “I’m not a lawyer, but…I think I’ve heard something about marriages needing to be, um,unconsummatedin order to be annulled. Right?”
Heat seared over my skin at the sly reference to the way we’d all met her. Unwanted images of her spread out naked on hotel sheets, of her body bucking with pleasure from Cade’s mouth on her breast, Gavin fucking her. The completion of the scene was too much to bear—Allie’s sweet lips spread wide around my cock, her blue eyes gazing up at me as she gave me indescribable pleasure.
It was quiet at our little café table for a long moment, and I knew that all of our minds had gone directly down the gutter. Allie’s fair skin was flushed under her freckles, spelling out her embarrassment and her arousal all at once. I watched, transfixed, as she bit her lip, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her mouth when she voiced another, unrelated question.
“Never mind. How did you guys even find me in the first place? We weren’t exactly friends on social media.”
“It’s not that hard to track someone down these days,” Gavin said flippantly, “last name or not.”
Allie raised an eyebrow, but she let the issue drop, which was just as well. Because Cade and I knew that Gavin had actuallyhired a private investigator to track down our maybe-wife. Somehow, I doubted Allie would react well if she knew that fact—and if Gavin wasn’t going to cop to it, I wasn’t about to bring it up either.
I definitely didn’t love being the unwillingly appointed secret keeper in this interaction.
“I’ll help you with whatever I need to do. With ending the marriage, I mean,” Allie told us at last. But she took us all by surprise when her eyes landed squarely on Gavin, twinkling as she said, “But I kind of feel like there should be something in it for me too.”
4
GAVIN
It was the least surprising thing in the world to me. This girl—alright, she was decidedly a woman, her once-trim body having filled out to something curvier and undeniably sensual in the years since Vegas—wanted something from me, and my bank account was practically sighing in anticipation of what her ask would be.
“Go on, then,” I drawled, hoping the edge of annoyance in my voice would come across just a touch. “Tell us your demands.”
Though her confidence had been impressive the moment before, now she seemed to falter, her expressive face falling a little. Like she hadn’t thought far enough ahead to have decidedwhatshe wanted out of this. That same impulsive spirit she’d shown us all in Vegas was still intact despite time and…whatever else she’d been through that gave her a more mature, less carefree air about her.
It was usually money that people wanted. From me, but also just in general in this world. That was my guess in the case of Allie Tate too. And yet here she was, struggling to think of something she could get from me, despite her having noticed my Cartier watch and Dolce loafers with a glint of awe in her eyes.
It was a risk that frequently resulted in people trying to take advantage of me, but I didn’t exactly know how tonotcome off rich. I’d been born into a record label empire, had always enjoyed paying for trips I took with friends and buying lavish gifts for anyone and everyone in my life. I especially liked to spoil the women I slept with, giving them a full boyfriend experience even as I kept my distance from them emotionally. It had taken a lot of broken hearts along the way to get good at establishing that no matter how fun I found it to buy my bedmates flowers and jewelry and lingerie, I just wasn’t a relationship guy. I’d mastered it by now, but the real difficulty had shown itself once that issue was cleared. It was hard to find women who’d appreciate the princess treatment but didn’t only like me because I could give that to them. Rich or not, I wasn’t comfortable being anyone’s sentient wallet.
There was an added layer of complication to my wealth now that I wasn’t just the heir to the Ratliff fortune but the owner of it. Gone was all of the fun of throwing money around, replaced instead with the heavy weight of responsibility on my shoulders. I was in charge of a whole company of people’s livelihoods, not to mention all of the artists who were signed to Ratliff Records, and that wasn’t something I took for granted. Dad hadn’t either.
“I think it might be best if you owe me a favor I can cash in later,” Allie finally mused aloud. So she could think about it, not waste her last genie wish on something silly. A smart move, even if she’d only made it because of her prior thoughtlessness. “So I guess you guys will just have to stick around to find out what that favor might be.”
Was I imagining the hint of flirtation in her tone? Either way, it was a good thing we were already staying in her town indefinitely. Allie’s neck of the woods wasn’t too far from LA, where Cade, Luca, and I all had lived the majority of our lives, but it was a longer drive to and from the city than I wanted tomake all the time, so I’d gotten us a temporary rental by the beach while we worked on our mission. It was convenient, the proximity to this woman who wasn’t as devious as she thought—I’d always learned to keep your friends close and your enemies even closer, and I didn’t know yet which category she’d fall into, no matter how chummy we’d gotten back in Vegas.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it from my jacket pocket to check the screen. It was just Henry, one of my business associates who was constantly calling with every little detail since I took over after my father died. I decided the call could wait. I sent Henry to voicemail, and when I looked back up to Allie, I noticed her eyes were locked on the table in front of me.
A business card had fallen out of my pocket as I grabbed my phone, landing face down on the table. There was the fancy R logo for Ratliff Records on the back of it, embossed in gold. Allie’s mouth was agape as she took in the card, surprising me.
“Wait. You’re … you’reGavin Ratliff?”
I blinked at her. Despite my proximity to the rich and famous, I was decidedlynotone of the latter. I’d never been recognized outside of industry events. “I am.”
“Of Ratliff Records,” Allie clarified slowly, pointing to the distinctive logo again. I nodded just as slowly, and she let out a surprised laugh.
“Wow. I’m sorry, I—well, I used to be pretty into the music industry. Or I once hoped to get into it, I guess. So I’ve heard of you,” she explained. “Outside of…well, the obvious, I guess.” She paused, then her eyes grew more serious, her lips tipping down at the corners. “I was sorry to hear about your dad.”
I didn’t expect that bombshell, nor did I expect the punch to the gut it seemed to deal upon me. All I could do to respond was give her a curt, stone-faced nod.
Allie seemed to sense that I didn’t want to linger on that subject. I was almost grateful when she spoke next, until I processed what she said.
“So…that’s my favor, then. I cooperate with this whole annulment thing, andyouuse your industry connections to help me get started on my music career.”
