Ruby covered her mouth with her hand, her face turning crimson. It took even longer for Yvonne to register what Ruby had said. Not her.

You.

“I didn’t-” The blush on Ruby’s face deepened. “It was a slip of the tongue.”

Yvonne stared at her. “Ruby…”

Yvonne was cut off by a voice calling her name. Her blood turned to ice. It was a familiar voice, but one she hadn’t expected to hear at Madison’s wedding.

She turned to see a man standing nearby, tall with sandy blond hair. Like everyone else in Yvonne’s family, he looked nothing like her, save for the hazel color of his eyes.

“It is you,” Yvonne’s brother said.

“Nicholas.” Yvonne couldn’t hide her displeasure. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here with a date.” He cocked his head toward a woman standing nearby, texting on her phone. “Jane Porter. We just started seeing each other. She needed a plus one for the wedding, so I volunteered.”

The woman looked vaguely familiar. She must have been one of Madison’s friends. Did Madison know the woman had brought Yvonne’s brother as a date? Probably not, or Madison would have warned Yvonne.

“I had no idea this was your friend Madison’s wedding,” Nicholas said. “What a coincidence.”

“It’s a small world.” Yvonne didn’t know whether to believe him or not. Even if he had known Yvonne was coming to the wedding, he wouldn’t have told her that he was coming. He would have jumped on an opportunity to catch Yvonne off guard.

“Well?” Nicholas looked pointedly at Ruby. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your date?”

Yvonne had been dreading this moment. “Ruby, this is my brother, Nicholas. Nicholas, this is Ruby. She’s my wife.”

Ruby couldn’t hide her surprise that the man before her was Yvonne’s brother, but she pulled herself together quickly. “Nice to meet you.”

Nicholas looked Ruby up and down. “Likewise. I’d heard rumors of your marriage, Yvonne, but I couldn’t believe it.” He scoffed. “My sister? Married?”

Yvonne spoke through gritted teeth. “The rumors are true. Ruby and I are married, and happily so.”

“You misunderstand me. I was simply surprised that my sister got married and I didn’t get an invitation to the wedding.”

Sure, that was what he meant. “It was a spontaneous decision. There was no real wedding.” Yvonne didn’t elaborate. She hadn’t told Nicholas about her marriage for a good reason. He knew all about the conditions of Yvonne’s inheritance. She was certain that he already considered the money his, since Yvonne had shown no signs of getting married in the past.

Now that things had changed, Nicholas wouldn’t be happy.

“Well, congratulations to the both of you,” Nicholas said. “I trust you’re bringing Ruby to our family dinner?”

“I wasn’t planning to.” Yvonne had no intention of subjecting Ruby to her family’s general unpleasantness, let alone a full-on interrogation.

“You must bring her,” Nicholas said. “Mother will insist. Besides, she’s family now, remember?”

Yvonne held back a curse. Her annual family dinner was more than just a dinner. It had been her father’s wish for his wife and children to get together once a year, along with both his children’s future children and spouses. Just to drive the point home, he’d written it into his will. Yvonne’s inheritance was dependent on it. Yvonne had forgotten all about the ‘spouses and children’ clause.