Chapter 1
It was the night before our wedding. My fiancé, Logan Miller, had his arm wrapped around his childhood crush when he asked me for a hall pass.
He swore that once the sun rose, he would stay loyal to our marriage until the day he died.
I stared at him for a long moment before I finally nodded.
As he walked past me, Logan acted like he was doing me a huge favor. "Elara, you can go out and find yourself a guy tonight, too. I promise I won't mind."
"Go out? No, I don't have to," I said as I walked straight up to his best friend.
I stared deep into those gorgeous eyes. "Wanna spend the night with me?"
He had his childhood sweetheart. I had my first love.
*****
The private room was full of familiar faces: his closest buddies, my bridesmaids, and my best girls.
After a few rounds of drinks, the mood was getting pretty loose.
I watched as Logan suddenly pulled Bella Manson closer. She'd grown up with him, his childhood crush.
"See, Bella?" He slurred. "Turns out childhood sweethearts can't compete with fate.
"Looks like fate played a cruel joke on you. Elara swooped in and stole me away.
"I'm getting married tomorrow. Do you have any regrets?"
A bitter look washed over Bella's face. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.
She choked out, "What is the point of regret now?
"You fell for her in the end, anyway."
Logan's gaze softened as he looked at Bella's teary eyes. He looked so heartbroken for her.
He said, "Why don't we make up for it tonight?"
Bella looked up at him. "How?"
Logan turned his head and looked right at me.
He shouted over the noise, "Elara, babe.
"We're getting married tomorrow. I promise, I'll stay true to you for the rest of my life. No cheating, ever."
"But tonight is our last night single. Why don't we get a little crazy and give each other a free pass?"
Wolf whistles and cheers erupted around the room.
Then they saw my face. It was stone cold, and the room went dead silent instantly.
Logan wasn't even trying to hide what he was after.
I knew the score. He wanted to get wild for one night with Bella, the girl he spent his entire youth flirting with.
He wanted to scratch that itch. They loved each other but never actually slept together.
He was betting I wouldn't shut him down. He figured a quick apology later would fix everything.
His confidence came from a simple fact.
Even though he chased me, I was the one marrying up.
He thought I was hooked on him, but mostly hooked on the Miller family fortune.
After all, for a regular girl like me, from a working-class background, marrying into a fortune like his was a pipe dream.
Meeting him was supposed to be like winning the lottery.
Logan was right about one thing. A poor girl getting picked by a rich heir and then put through hell by his family wasn't just a story. I had lived through that nightmare myself.
But that rich heir wasn't him.
One of my friends tugged my sleeve. "Elara, don't be an idiot. You can't say yes to this."
I looked at Logan for a long time and saw how stubborn he was. He wouldn't stop until he got his way.
In the end, I nodded. I kept my voice calm and said, "Fine. I agree."
"Hell yeah!" someone shouted.
Laughter and applause exploded in the room.
The tension in the room vanished. Logan's rich buddies started jeering.
"Elara, you are a real class act," one guy mocked loudly. "That is exactly why you made the cut for the Miller family."
Another yelled over the noise, "No wonder Logan fought so hard with his old man just to marry you. He even stopped eating for three days, just to make him agree to accept you, right?"
Someone else sneered, "A woman marrying into a dynasty like ours has to know her place like that."
Logan's tight lips finally relaxed into a casual smile. He pulled Bella even closer against his side.
Then he stood up, keeping her tucked under his arm.
"Alright, guys," he announced, his voice carrying through the room. "It's getting late. I've got a wedding to handle tomorrow, so I can't be out partying all night with you animals. Bella and I are bouncing.
"You guys have fun. Drink whatever you want. Put it all on my tab."
"Damn, Bella's gonna get a workout tonight," someone cracked from the back.
The room exploded with another round of wolf whistles and dirty jokes.
On his way out, Logan stopped next to me. Just to show everyone how fair he was, he lowered his voice. "Elara, babe. Feel free to go out and find yourself a guy tonight, too. I promise I won't mind."
He only said that because he knew I wouldn't do it. He was banking on my pride and my uptight nature to keep me in line.
I looked him in the eye. "For real?"
He cocked an eyebrow. "Of course. I'm a man of my word. You know I always deliver.
"Like how I said I'd marry you, and here we are."
He sounded so damn proud, like marrying me was some huge act of charity.
In his mind, I should be grateful enough to know my place and let him have his fun with Bella.
I tore my eyes away from him and looked toward the shadowed corner of the room. A man had been sitting there all night, silent as a statue and cold as ice.
"I don't think I need to leave the room to find someone," I said calmly.
"What?" Logan asked.
I didn't spare Logan another glance. I stood up and walked straight toward the dark corner.
I stopped in front of the silent man and sank down, resting on my heels, so I had to look up at him. I let my guard down, letting all the hidden emotion flood into my eyes as I locked gazes with him.
I whispered my invitation. "Wanna spend the night with me?"