Page 24 of The Billionaire's Last-Minute Marriage
It wasn’t long before the Tanaka family arrived, finally gracing them with their presence with their usual lack of fanfare, and he was swept into conversation after conversation about the deal they had just made.
‘My congratulations again on your excellent choice of bride,’ Ran said quietly, drawing him to one side as they watched the festivities. ‘I truly believed that you would never find another woman to live up to me.’
‘Our time together never leaves my thoughts.’ Xander smiled at his own joke, enjoying Ran’s sly reference to their single, solitary date a couple of years previously. ‘If you ever need my assistance again in that regard, you have my number.’
‘You’re a married man, behave yourself.’ She laughed, smacking at his arm.
A small shuffle sounded from behind them, derailing their conversation while a waiter cleared up someone’s spilled drink. Xander took the opportunity to scan the area, finally finding his wife on the path ahead, Hari Tanaka chatting away happily by her side.
‘You’re happy with her.’ Ran smiled. ‘I suppose it was a good thing that your brother stole your first bride.’
His gaze snapped up. ‘You know about that, then?’
‘Everyone knows about that. Their marriage is public knowledge, is it not?’
Xander froze. Eros and Priya had got married? It hadn’t been public knowledge last time he’d checked in with his team in New York, but with the time difference, perhaps he’d been off his game. Ran moved away to chat with other guests but Xander stayed put, brooding.
Being made a fool of was the one certain way to strike through his infamous glacial control. And even now, surrounded by the elite of Japanese society, he felt his boyhood temper flare, the old talk of sibling rivalry drawing him down into the primal core of himself that he had fought for years to suppress.
Pandora’s stomach clenched, cold seeping into her bones as she moved quickly away from the private conversation between Xander and Ran that she’d accidentally overheard. She swept through the gardens, her polite smile in place as she inspected the exterior of the shrine, finally coming to a stop on a beautiful red bridge surrounded by tall maple trees. It was quieter here, with most guests mingling nearer to where a fire show was being set up for the evening’s entertainment.
Her thoughts swirled darkly as she thought of Xander with the beautiful Tanaka heiress, imagining them together. Why hadn’t he told her that they had been an item? Why hadn’t Ran told her?
A dark echo of some painful emotion bobbed to the surface within her as she wondered...had they agreed to keep her in the dark together? An uncomfortable emotion made her insides prick up in a strange way, one that in all the months they had known one another she had never felt before. Xander had hurt her.
And for all the giddy excitement she had felt being in this beautiful place, surrounded by such affluence and history, she suddenly felt like the small child at the playground who had absolutely no idea what was going on but was fairly sure that she was the butt of the joke.
It wasn’t long before she heard footsteps intruding on her solitude; she turned and found Xander looking painfully handsome.
She tensed, immediately moving a scant few inches away from him. She couldn’t think with him touching her. She couldn’t breathe.
Suddenly, she felt utterly ridiculous.
‘You and Ran seem to be hitting it off nicely,’ she said evenly, hoping that her voice held none of the tight emotion that had begun to creep into her chest. They might not have discussed dating other people as part of their marriage agreement, but she was under no illusion that a man like Xander wouldn’t be flooded with attention from potential suitors.
Plus, she liked Ran.
‘Is that a problem?’ He was assessing her face curiously, tension tightening the hand now curved around her elbow.
‘Of course not,’ she blurted. ‘You’re a very popular, handsome man in your prime.’
‘And you deem that relevant to our current situation, how?’
‘Xander, I would simply rather know when you would prefer me to slip away. For appearances’ sake, perhaps a higher level of discretion may be needed, but we can always arrange for separate rooms if you’re...entertaining someone.’
His eyes widened, a sudden flaring of his nostrils that startled her. Again, his fingers flexed against her bare skin, and her treacherous body responded with an equally sudden shiver of pleasure at the firm contact and she pulled away. She really needed to stop doing that.
Someone touched her elbow unexpectedly and she turned to see Ran smiling by her side. Reflexively she took a step back, her balance shifting unexpectedly. For a long moment, the swathe of beautiful red and orange maples surrounding them seemed to tip and she felt herself falling.
Strong arms caught her and she looked up into Xander’s serious gaze. How on earth had he moved so quickly?
Ran’s worried voice came from nearby. ‘Are you okay?’
Great, Pandora thought wryly, if she hadn’t already been the object of their pity before she certainly was now. She could feel the familiar sensation of her social battery beginning to crash, and like Cinderella she suddenly needed to run away, she needed to get out of here before her internal clock struck midnight and she made an even bigger fool of herself than she already had.
But just as she was poised to make some dull excuse and leave her husband to enjoy the rest of the event without her, she felt a familiar warmth settle around her waist. Almost like a dream, she heard Xander make a polite excuse to Ran that they would be leaving early and, just like that, he began propelling her towards the exit.
Pandora followed in a daze until they stood at the bottom of the steep stairs and Xander dipped his head towards her.
