Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“She did, as a matter of fact. A signed photo of her at the Oscars on the red carpet,” I deadpanned.
He whistled. “What’s the plan?”
“As of right now? I have no idea. But considering her donation sparked an increase in ticket sales for the event, I know I’ll need to come up with something equally as extravagant to replace it.”
“Let me know if you need help. We can always ask other employees to reach out to their contacts.”
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to keep you updated.”
With that assurance, the business side of our conversation faded, leaving nothing but the real reason he came to see me.
And here we go…
“We didn’t get a chance to finish our conversation on Monday.” He huffed a laugh. “Or, really, not even have a conversation about it.”
“Yeah,” I said, dragging the word out.
“So…Lucian?”
I nodded, unable to speak around the ball of nerves crawling up my throat.
“I assumed you two had too much animosity for each other ever to guess you’d become a couple—let alone engaged.”
A high-pitched laugh bubbled over before I could stop it. I dropped my gaze and brushed my hair behind my ear, hoping he took the laugh as one of excitement rather than panic—time to put on the act of my life as a woman in love. If anyone would see past my lie, it would be my dad.
Swallowing past the knot, I held my smile and met his gaze head-on. “It started that way, but we realized our bickering came from having similar, passionate personalities. Over time of working closely together, we discovered how much we had in common. It didn’t take long for us to grow close.”
His brow furrowed. “But you’ve only known each other for a few months. How can you be ready to get married?”
“You only knew Mom for a few months before you married her,” I accused.
“That was different,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Your mother’s family wanted her to move back to Puerto Rico.”
“And she already planned to stay because of a job after college.”
“We didn’t want to take the risk. Marriage was easier.”
I raised a brow over my sardonic stare. We both knew they married for love, and nothing would’ve made them wait. They’d shared how quickly and deeply they fell in love all my life. Their love was one for the ages—one I could only dream of.
One I would never get.
At least not for the next five years.
“Fine. You’re right,” he conceded, throwing his hands up. “Nothing would have made me wait a second longer to marry your mother. Trust me, Aspen, I understand passion and falling in love quickly. I also understand how rare it is. I understand how passion fools people into thinking it’s love when in reality it’s a fleeting illusion that can lead to fast decisions and long consequences.”
“Dad, it’s not like that. I’m not like that.”
Lies filled our conversation, but that statement was true. I had no illusions of believing my arrangement with Lucian had anything to do with love. Passion ignited between us, but never love.
“I know I haven’t been around for the interviews much, but I watch you two bicker at meetings. I know a lot of that comes from your anger at how I allowed Lucian to invest in the company. I also know you.” He took a deep breath and leveled his deep green eyes at me across the desk. The depths swirled with a combination of my dad and the businessman who built this company. The mixture dug deep and prodded for a crack in my lies. “You’re my daughter—with the same stubbornness as me. Add in your mother’s determination and fiery, fighting spirit, and it makes me wonder if maybe this is some wild plan you’ve concocted that you think will allow you to work around the stipulations in the contract.”
Tingling numbness crept along my limbs with each passing second of his accusation until the air froze in my lungs. Desperate to mask my shock over how close he’d guessed to the truth, I scoffed and tilted my head back with a laugh. Anything to excuse looking away from his penetrating stare. “That’s insane, Dad. There’s no way I could find a way to defy a contract that you had lawyers create with every attention to detail. You were very thorough in ensuring I had no option beyond what was laid out for me.” I finished with hints of irritation to make my lie more believable.
He winced, but nodded. “I had to ask because I know that when you set your mind to something, you stick with it, getting lost in whatever it takes to reach your goal. Even if it means sacrificing more of yourself than you intended.”
My heart stuttered. Was that what I was doing? Sacrificing too much? The question pierced my chest, pulling me from my performance of being a happily engaged woman.