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)
“She supports me with whatever decisions I make. She’s not one to comment on how I run my business, which is how I prefer it.”
My godmother frowned, catching the bitterness in my answer.
I never pictured a specific woman as my imaginary girlfriend, but I ensured my explanations of her were what I expected her to be if she were real. One of those expectations was for her not to fuck with what was mine—especially my business. Other than that, I kept the descriptions vague. Even in my mind, she remained a faceless blur.
At least, she usually did. This time, the blur sharpened, and Aspen’s caramel eyes stared back. The undefined features shaped into dark hair, sharp cheekbones, full lips, and the most delicious ass. Heat bloomed through my chest, sank down to my balls, and surprisingly, didn’t incite the need to jerk away from a clear picture of my made-up girlfriend I pretended I wanted to marry.
“Well, maybe this elusive girlfriend of yours can come to the next dinner, and we can finally meet her.”
“Or maybe he made her up to make an old man happy before he dies, like he promised,” Felix joked.
A sharp jolt expelled the warmth in my chest.
“That’s enough talk about dying,” Grace admonished, saving me from having to respond to his accurate guess.
“I agree. No more talk of death,” I said, latching onto Grace’s direction. “And I will talk to my girlfriend later about possibly coming to the next dinner. Unfortunately, she’s just as busy with her business as I am with mine.”
The lie rolled off my tongue like it always did, leaving behind the same bitter aftertaste. However, placing Aspen within the lie added a sweet undertone that hadn’t been there before.
“Speaking of busy women,” my godmother started. “I saw Daria at the clubhouse the other day. She was coming out of a charity meeting she is heading up.”
Just hearing my ex-wife’s name pulled my lip in disgust. After all these years, her actions still pissed me off as much as they had when she first pulled her shit. “I didn’t realize there was a clubhouse in hell or that you were a member.”
“Lucian,” she gasped. “Don’t be rude.”
“It’s not like she deserves anything else from me,” I grunted. “Hell, she already took all I had when she cheated on me and filed for divorce. I have nothing but rudeness left.”
“See, this is why I made you promise to get married as repayment,” Felix gloated. “I knew that without motivation, you’d wallow in your bitterness for the rest of your life. Also, I know you’re just as stubborn as your father was.”
I couldn’t count the number of times my stubbornness had been compared to my father’s. My mother used to throw her hands up in frustration and grumble about how it wasn’t fair I got so much attitude from my father when she was the one that carried me for nine months. I used to sulk when she said it because, as a mama’s boy, I never wanted to frustrate her, but now I’d give anything to hear her angry growl one more time.
“And it’s because of that promise you’re with a wonderful woman that you surely plan to propose to and not be alone and angry,” Grace suggested with a proud smile.
“It also helps that I’ll have an airtight prenup.”
Grace shook her head with pinched brows. “It’s hard to reconcile you now with the young man who idolized his parents’ marriage and dreamed of one of his own.”
Felix laughed softly. “I remember a Christmas when you asked that instead of gifts, your parents set aside money for a down payment on a house big enough to hold the four kids you planned on having. One with a luxurious master suite for you to pamper your future wife in.”
“Oh, gosh,” Graced chuckled. “I thought your mom’s jaw would hit the floor. When she sputtered, asking if you were sure you wanted so many kids, you proclaimed you wanted a big family to love like they loved you.”
Hearing the reminder of everything I’d lost beyond the physical assets pierced a softer part of myself that remained despite all my efforts to shut it down and entomb behind a cold wall of stone.
Taking in my pinched lips, she sighed. “I hate that you feel like you have to go into a marriage with some contract protecting you. But I understand why you do.”
I nodded, appreciating her understanding. If anyone knew where my cynical doubts came from, it was Felix and Grace. They were the ones to bail me out.
I’d asked Daria to marry me when we were seniors in college. I was young and dumb and had just lost both my parents in a car accident. I’d been a little desperate to replace the family I missed, and she was the closest thing I had left. We’d been early college sweethearts. With my rose-colored glasses firmly in place, I assumed that since she stood by me through my parents’ death, she’d stand by me through anything.