The Billionaire’s Secret Wife(52)
“Why not?” Justin asked, eyeing the tuna.
“Specials generally mean ‘old but not yet bad’ stuff we’re trying to unload. The lobsters are good today,” Mark said.
And most likely the most expensive item. The menu didn’t have prices on it, but Justin could play this. “Then we’ll have lobsters.”
“An excellent choice!” Jane said. “André is a genius with lobsters.”
“Didn’t you say that about him and lamb last time?” Iain asked.
She looked up at him adoringly. “He’s a genius with anything related to food.”
Justin watched the lovebirds in front of him chatting and smiling. There was something about them that made his chest ache. Maybe it was the total intimacy and easy way the couples interacted. Justin didn’t know how long they’d been together, but it couldn’t have been more than a few months.
He wished he and Vanessa had the same kind of easy rapport, but things had been tense between them for the past few months. Right now she was staring at the menu without really reading anything. “What’s wrong?” he whispered. “Don’t you see anything you like?”
“No. I’m sure everything’s great.”
A sheen of sweat glistened along her hairline. “Too warm in here?” Justin asked, but she shook her head.
“So, tell us how he proposed,” Hilary said. “I think it’s awesome that you couldn’t wait to get married. So romantic.”
“We can elope if you want,” Mark said, and she slapped his arm with a laugh.
“I proposed on my plane. With that ring right there.”
Vanessa tilted her hand so everyone could see it.
“So simple but so elegant,” Hilary breathed.
“Classy,” Jane said. “I love it.” She smiled at Justin. “You have great taste.”
“True,” Justin said. “I—”
Vanessa bolted to her feet, her face paper-white.
“What’s wrong?” Mark asked.
She ran out.
Hilary watched the direction Vanessa was running toward, then said, “Oh.”
“What?” Mark said.
She turned to Justin. “She’s pregnant. Isn’t she?”
No way to hide it now. Justin nodded.
She got up. “I’ll go see if she needs any help.”
“How far along is she?” Jane asked as Hilary left.
“About eight weeks, I guess.”
“Son of a bitch,” Iain muttered, and she put a hand on his sleeve. He glared at Justin. “I asked you to watch my sister, and you got her pregnant instead?” Then he stopped. “Wait, is that why she married you? Because you guys had a one-night stand and she felt like she had to get married or something?”
“For your information, we’ve never had one-night stand. We’ve been dating since she was in college and law school.”
Iain and Mark stared like he’d just told them Martians had landed in West Hollywood.
“Ten years? No way. We would’ve known about it,” Iain said.
“No offense, man, but you need better intel.”
“So what happened after law school?” Iain demanded.
Justin shrugged. How much to tell his irate friend? “We sort of went our separate ways, with her in L.A. and me in various cities for Sterling & Wilson. Sometimes we saw each other when it made sense.”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this. You had, like, a decade of booty calls with my sister?”
“Uh, I wouldn’t put it quite that way.”
Jane cleared her throat. “Iain, if Vanessa didn’t want to marry him, she wouldn’t have. It’s not like she lacks options.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right,” Iain said. “But that doesn’t mean I’m okay with it.” He scowled at Justin. “Do you love her?”
Did he? Justin wanted her and wanted to spoil her and spend his life with her, but he wasn’t sure if it was the same thing as the kind of love Iain wanted to hear. Besides, he hadn’t even told Vanessa he loved her, and he wasn’t going to tell Iain anything first. So he merely cocked an eyebrow. “Why else would I have married her? I could’ve always just offered to pay child support instead.”
“And I would’ve kicked your ass,” Iain said.
Vanessa came back with Hilary. Her face was flushed, but otherwise she looked all right. “What are you guys talking about?” she asked, taking her seat next to Justin.
“Whether or not to kill Justin,” Iain said at the same time Mark said, “Dinner.” Mark signaled the waiter, and two baskets of warm bread appeared on the table. “You know it’s been a while since we had a big family dinner. Can we try to have a good one?”