Liam scoffed.

“And how much of a hand was that? I mean, aside from the ten minutes you spent making me in a back alley with a girl you got hopped up on drugs and took advantage of?”

Eyes narrowing, his father pointed a finger of warning at him.

“You watch your tone -”

“Nah, I'm not watching, shit. And this little sham of a marriage,” he stopped to give Jackie's mother an apologetic look before returning his eyes to his father. “Sorry Donna. This 'photo op' marriage you're putting together, isn't my problem. And it isn't Jackie's, either. See, we actually want to be together. And we don't require your permission to do that.”

Gritting his teeth, his father sat back, turning his eyes on Jackie.

“Do you know the money we could all make together, young lady? Your mother's company-”

“Our company. My mother and I are partners.”

“Sure, sure. The point I'm making is that you're sitting on a gold mine. I've done the numbers. I have relationships with all of the vendors you need. VitaGourmet doesn't have to sit in a specialty basket for rich bitches to pick up as an afterthought when they're out trying to cram themselves into five-thousand dollar dresses? I envision the next Subway experience, only better. The timing is perfect. And I can make that happen for you. But if you two go through with this.... Everything will fall apart.”

“Honey,” her mother jumped in, turning on full-Donna eyes and using the disarmingly, hypnotic inflection she'd been turning on Jackie for years. “Gary knows how to make us millionaires. I know it must be hard at your age, mistaking attraction for love, but think of your future. In a few years, you might not even want to see Liam's face.”

She stopped to smile at Liam apologetically before returning her attention to her daughter. “Sorry dear. Jackie, you know how your relationships turn out. If you play your cards right, you can have your pick of any man.”

Jackie could feel the flames of hell licking at her gut, and she squeezed the edges of her armrest in a failed effort to restrain herself. Did her mother just so much as say she could “buy a man” when they all made barrels of money from her idea? How utterly fucking cruel. How could she fling that at her so easily?

“Honestly, I can't see how you can do a thing with VitaGourmet without my consent. You might have wanted to ask me before you concocted some fairy tale PR stunt at my expense. For your information, not that you care, I'm happy. And that means way more to me than some potential million dollar pay out.”

Her mother shrunk back, her gaze averting to her fingers.

“That the kind of control you have over your daughter, Donna? Makes sense how this happened then. She's completely off her leash.”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” Liam growled.

His father fixed him with a look that could kill, then downing the rest of his cognac, he nodded to himself, like he was having an internal conversation that had just ended in a conclusion.

“You know what? Fine. None of this is worth it.”

He turned an eye on Donna, and his true face broke through the veneer of charm he usually wore as he scowled at her. “This thing between us is over.”

He rose up from his chair then, taking a hard look at his son and then Jackie, before throwing down his napkin and storming up the ramp.

Jackie drew a stilling breath when she felt Liam's fingers graze hers, and stealing a glance at her mother, she saw a look of recognition from her that was worth its weight in gold. Donna saw, for the first time, what was between them, and if her expression was anything to go on, she was already fighting a twinge of guilt over it. Served her right, but Jackie wasn't one to hold a grudge.

She just wanted this whole circus behind them, as soon as possible.

~

Liam roared at the photographer, chasing him across the front lawn of Jackie's apartment complex with a force more fierce than she'd ever seen in a man. He stomped his way back across the lawn after a quick tumble with the bastard, brandishing the asshole's camera, chucking it on the counter when he made it back upstairs.

“You took his camera?” Jackie asked with a half-laugh.

Eyes blinking up, the flames in them instantly died down, and he cracked a grin.

“Yeah.”

Smiling, Jackie took another sip of her coffee, tapping her fingertips on the surface of the tiled, standing bar.

“Are we, um... gonna read it?”

She was asking about the article. They'd made the papers, and the headline read: “National Ink Host Gets Cozy with New Stepsister.”

Liam ran his fingers through his hair.

“I don't want to read that shit, to tell you the truth. I can force them to print a retraction later. All publicity is good publicity right now.”

“Yeah, but...”

“It'll be fine. There's no marriage coming up, anymore, and you're not my stepsister. Nor will you be.”

Quieting, Jackie averted her gaze and drew another sip of coffee.

“Alright.”

“Besides...”

Her eyes flicking up to Liam, she saw he'd pulled a box out of his pocket. A round, black box that made the butterflies in her belly wake and fly in a cacophony of opposing directions.

“The relationship that deserves the publicity is the one that's real.”

Jackie swallowed her nerves as he made his way over to her.

“Open this box for me, will you?”

“Oh my god, Liam.”

He grinned and rolled his eyes playfully.

“Just open it.”

She did, and when she set eyes to the whomper of a rock tucked into its middle, she flew into his arms, whispering, “Yes. Yes. Yes!” Over and over, until he understood how entirely ready she was to officially be his.

Following that day, everything righted itself. The diva model Liam was having troubling getting in line? Fired. Corey? Hired. He had the face for it, and whatever Liam had said to him to get him to focus his path in a direction opposite the one he'd been errantly walking had worked.

But the family bliss didn't stop there. The silent half-brother who had next to nothing to say at that abysmal family breakfast, Remy, showed up at the shop a few week's after Jackie's and Liam's wedding announcement wanting to get to know the side of the family his father had been keeping him away from.

And he'd fit right in to his father's utter disgust.

He was living with Jackie and Liam now, quite happily, thank you, after dear old dad threw him out for 'going to the other side.'

Oh, and VitaGourmet? Jackie and Mom buried the hatchet, and she signed right off on the new VitaGourmet vending machines Liam put up the money for.

Turned out, she didn't need a marriage to an asshole to increase the size of her net worth. In two months, they'd already tripled their profits. But the most unexpected offer of all came from “Chef Academy,” following a slanderous comment Colin made during one of the interviews that showed the world what an utter asshole he was. A week after they sacked him, they were knocking at her door, ready to give her more money than she'd ever seen to make several, guest appearances next season.

“You gonna take it?”

Jackie flicked her gaze up at him, instantly warming at the charming smile lighting up her gorgeous fiancée’s face.

“Two reality stars in one house? Not sure there's enough room for all that ego.”

Pulling her into his arms, he leaned in to cover her mouth with a long, searching kiss that sent trails of heat reverberating through her body. Then leaning back, he looked at her, studied her, really.

“Plenty of room when the ego comes in a package this stunning.”

Jackie grinned.

“Flatterer.”