Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
I hummed in thought, watching her stuff another bite of food in her mouth but with much less joy. “Why is that?” I finally asked.
Her eyes raised with a look that questioned if I was an idiot. “Because talking to him will eventually lead to questions that will then lead to trying to explain…” She faded off and gestured to us and our surroundings. “This.”
“I can imagine that would be difficult considering you’ve managed to avoid discussing anything about this with me too.” I couldn’t lay the blame completely at her feet. Between being out of town for work and her own stubbornness, I’d allowed her to avoid discussing more details beyond what we covered the first morning after she agreed to be my wife.
My wife.
Something predatorial unfurled from the dark corner of my mind and basked in the title. I jolted at the sensation I hadn’t felt since I’d married Daria—a sensation I thought I’d buried after she’d killed it. My pulse thundered a frantic beat, and I rushed to shove it back where it came from.
With a deep breath, I locked down all emotions to be safe and decided it was time to stop letting Aspen control the conversation. Despite our relaxing evening and shift to playful banter, I needed to remember that Aspen begrudgingly agreed and to keep my guard up.
“Mainly because every time I think about this situation, I’m met with dumbfounded, deafening silence, followed by a mind-numbing explosion of reasons why marrying you is insane.”
Her words pierced my chest and yanked my brows together. “You don’t think your father would be happy to hear you’re marrying a successful businessman who understands your passion for work?” I asked, hating how sullen the question sounded, hinting to a hurt that I should be unable to feel no matter what she said.
Her brows rose to her hairline and again she leveled me with a look that questioned if my brain worked at all. The scoff tinged with hilarity continued to add salt in the wound that I didn’t know existed.
“I highly doubt my father is going to blindly accept me marrying you. Especially after hearing us bicker over the past few months. Add in that I’m not one to make rash decisions in my life, and he’s going to see right through me. He’ll push and push and push until he figures out the real reason why I’m agreeing to this marriage. And who knows what he’ll do with that information.”
Anxiety slid through the unhealed lesion she’d uncovered and bloomed throughout my chest. Her explanation fueled its growth until my lungs ached under the pressure.
Would her father figure out she agreed to enter a loveless marriage and step in to find a way for Aspen to abandon our agreement and still get the majority of the company? Would he lean away from the astute businessman I’d originally met and become the protective father? Would he take one look at his princess and do anything he could to ensure she received the fairytale marriage she wanted?
The doubt twisted through my stomach and pulled more familiar emotions from the shadows I ignored. It latched on to my past and reminded me that people you trust could stab you in the back because they wanted something. Something they didn’t deserve and would go about getting it any way they could, even though you were the one who busted your ass for it.
Maybe Aspen would talk to her father and realize all she had to do was bat her lashes and ask Daddy to please give her what she wanted. Maybe he’d give in and snatch the opportune project I’d worked months for from me. Maybe she’d add some tears and ask him to find a way to change the contract and cut me out altogether. Leaving me with nothing but a broken promise to my godfather.
A knot coiled around my throat. I struggled to swallow. I—
I cut off all thoughts and centered myself in the moment. I forced myself to swallow and suck down a deep breath, pushing out the tension.
Clearing my mind, I dismissed the useless doubts, leaving room to think clearly. In that space, I realized just how far I’d let my walls drop around Aspen since she arrived and made room for more than a few emotions to escape.
I hadn’t had a woman live with me since Daria and watching Aspen sit so casually in the kitchen like it was home made me aware of a weak spot I didn’t know I had. But she’d shined a light on it in a big way, whether she meant to or not. It was time I took back control and stopped giving into curiosity spurred on by some dead fantasy I didn’t want anymore.
A warning sounded from the back of my mind, whispering the reminder that I’d wanted her to feel comfortable, that I wanted to create a relationship with her beyond being at each other’s throats so we could settle into a simple marriage of respect.