King's Treasure (Oil Kings Book 3) by Marie Johnston (great novels .TXT) 📗

the meeting wasn’t a jeans and hoodie type of place. I gulped. I could do this. It was present Xander as my husband, or get set up with Lex in front of an oil CEO I respected.

Xander lifted his pants off the ground. I watched every ripple and flex of his muscles, enjoying the distraction. Digging his phone out, he frowned at the screen.

“Is everything okay?” I forced myself to quit staring at him and grab my clothes.

“No, it’s all working out. My dad had to cancel lunch today. He ended up having a business meeting. So I’m not missing anything.”

I got my bra on and stepped into my organic cotton underwear. We were going to show up like we’d never slept last night and I’d tell Chief that I was married. Butterflies exploded in my stomach. Chief was going to lose his ever-loving shit.

His reaction would be worse than when I’d told him I didn’t want to go to Georgetown. He’d withheld my college fund, and now I lived with my own debt and was stuck under their roof so I could make my monthly student loan payments.

So, yeah. Maybe I’d enjoy today and think about what the rest of being married meant later.

I yanked my silk shirt over my shoulders and scurried to the bathroom. I cleaned up the best I could. Xander’s toiletry bag was on the counter. He took the minimalist approach. Toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, razor, shaving cream, deodorant, and not much else. I used the toothpaste and did what I could with the comb, eventually giving up and twisting my long hair into a messy bun secured by my own hair.

I rushed out of the bathroom and dove for my pants. Xander had a half smile when he disappeared into the bathroom. Less than five minutes later, he was out. I doubted it ever took him longer than that in the morning.

“Ready?” he asked. His hair was combed off his face, but it was already falling over his forehead. I wanted to run my hand through it. I loved the way it slid through my fingers. I also loved that it was exactly the style that annoyed the crap out of my father.

“Let me see where we’re going.” When I pulled up the place in Chief’s message on my phone, I was dismayed to see it wasn’t far. “We can walk.”

My poor feet. I’m never wearing heels again.

We could catch a cab, but I tried to walk whenever possible, which in DC wasn’t always a valid option. Then there was my mother’s insistence on having me use our driver. Public transportation wasn’t something I’d grown up with and had yet to learn to navigate. I was free to walk here, so that was what I’d do.

Xander faced me, looking like an urban cowboy, utterly relaxed and unconcerned. “Whenever you’re ready.”

My stomach fluttered and I pressed my hand to my belly. This was going to be ugly, but I could get through it. That didn’t stop the impending conflict from dominating my thoughts.

Xander attempted small talk on the way to the restaurant, about the weather, how many people were on the Strip, and how hungry he was, but eventually he grasped my hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “It’s going to be fine.”

My smile was hesitant. It wasn’t going to be fine. At best, it’d be tense. At worst, explosive.

How would Xander’s family take the news? He’d said he wasn’t as close to them as he used to be. There was the brother in Montana. Then another whose anniversary he was in town celebrating, but I couldn’t remember where that brother lived, or why they’d been in Vegas for the anniversary. And he had another successful brother who worked for a large company.

I knew a lot about Xander, but I came up short on specifics. The butterflies in my belly gained in momentum.

How bad of an idea was this?

As we approached the place, my body vibrated with tension. On top of my major announcement was the fact that we were late. Chief abhorred tardiness—and I was perpetually time challenged.

Xander ushered me into the casino first. A sign pointed us to the restaurant. Chief roamed outside the entrance. Tight shoulders, a scowl that could clear a room, and ruddy skin growing more red. He was livid.

Then he glanced up and his hard gaze jumped from me to Xander and then to our linked hands.

“Sapphire Jewel Abbot. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Xander gripped my hand tighter as humiliation crashed over me. Chief spoke to me as if I were fifteen, not twenty-five.

Did fifteen-year-olds get married whenever the hell they wanted?

“Chief,” I said lightly. “Sorry I’m late.”

Irritation flashed across his face. “For once, I’d like for that not to be your greeting.” He spared Xander a glance. “What’s this?”

“I, um . . .”

“For God’s sake, Sapphire,” he hissed and leaned closer, acting like Xander didn’t exist. “This is an important business meeting, and you show up looking like you haven’t been to bed yet.”

Oh, I’d been to bed. I’d been to bed hard. “Actually, Chief. I want to introduce you to Xander. My husband.”

The silence that fell between us was glacial. I was surprised the ground and walls didn’t crystallize with frost.

“What?” His voice was barely loud enough to reach me. My late arrival had made him angry, but this announcement morphed him into a nuclear warhead. No doubt his mind was working on all the ways to mitigate the damage.

“Xander and I got married last night. Xander. This is my dad. Walter Abbot.”

Xander released my hand to hold his out. “Nice to meet you.” He was so steady, not at all intimidated.

Chief continued to pretend Xander didn’t exist. “I would’ve thought you were smarter than being taken by a guy who’s after your money.”

“Like you often tell me, I have no money, and I never told him that my family is wealthy.” I chanced a glance at Xander. His brows were only slightly lifted. He was