Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 142976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 477(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 477(@300wpm)
And yet, as she lowered her eyes back to the contract in her hands, he found himself holding his breath when she lifted his pen to her mouth and tapped it to her lush upper lip while she studied the document.
And he couldn’t stop his filthy fucking mind from imagining his cock tapping against that gorgeous mouth in the same intriguing rhythm.
Christ Almighty, he lamented to himself, as he fought down the surging arousal that accompanied the intrusive thought. Fuck my life! What the hell is this now?
Cade had thought of everything.
Fern stared down at the engagement and wedding rings now adorning her finger in bemusement. The engagement ring which featured a round cut diamond solitaire on a twisted platinum band, was both delicate and beautiful. And the wedding ring, a twisted, diamond encrusted band, slotted seamlessly in beside the engagement ring. To her surprise—Cade had opted for a ring for himself as well, a matching brushed platinum ring with a similarly twisted band.
The twisted bands reminded her of the eternity symbol and she wondered why he’d chosen this particular design. Then again, it was highly unlikely that he’d chosen them himself. He’d probably delegated the task to some hapless, overly romantic assistant, who’d mistakenly believed he was marrying for love or something.
She ran her thumb over the rings, unable to quite fathom that she was now married. They’d been in Denmark for little under five hours, and were now back on the plane heading God knows where. The wedding itself had been brief and to the point, a quick civil ceremony conducted in English by a tall, imposing man with a thick accent.
James Hawthorne had been their only witness.
But the older man, and his entourage of nameless flunkies, had all remained behind in Copenhagen. Cade and Fern were the only people on this flight. And he’d descended into grim silence, staring moodily out at the clouds below. He hadn’t spoken a word to her since the wedding, nearly three hours ago.
Fern was seated across from him, with her legs folded beneath her butt, and after listlessly flipping through a really, really boring financial magazine, she’d switched to scrolling through Instagram until her phone died on her.
She found a charging port under the little coffee table between her seat and Cade’s, and set the phone aside, before resting an elbow on the padded armrest and dropping her cheek into the palm of her hand.
She then openly watched her new husband, as he glowered out at the passing puffy clouds.
“What?” He broke the silence curtly a few minutes later.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to Cape Town. I have an apartment there. We’ll spend some time with my sister and brother, putting up a united front for the world to see.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re going to make this look like a love match. We met at the gala, fell in love, and—when we reunited at your stepfather’s house—realized that we couldn’t live without each other and we eloped. That’s what the papers will be reporting in the morning.”
Her mouth fell open in a silent oh.
“But why such an elaborate story?”
“Makes it harder for your stepfather to cry foul and make it seem like I somehow took advantage of his sweet, naïve stepdaughter. If we sell it as a fairytale romance—and we’re convincing about it—it’ll be a PR nightmare for him if he tries to discredit our relationship.”
“Can he do that? And will it damage your reputation? I don’t want that. I don’t want to cause that kind of trouble for you.”
“Look, we have to prepare ourselves for the reality that he’ll likely try. He’s probably going to claim that you’re emotionally and mentally vulnerable and that I used those vulnerabilities to further my own ends. Especially since we’re gaining Lambecrete, a company we’ve very openly been attempting to buy.”
“What would spending time with your siblings achieve?” Fern was reluctant to involve even more people in this deception.
“It’ll demonstrate that you’ve been accepted as part of the family already. Abernathy can’t touch you when you’re with us, Fern. I promise you that.”
“And a few family get togethers will prove that I’m now a much-loved, valuable member of the Hawthorne clan?” The words sent a pang of longing through her. She hadn’t been a much-loved, valuable part of any family since she was twelve, and she found herself wishing she was indeed treasured—for more than her financial assets—by this man and his family.
“Well no. But it can’t hurt. And I haven’t spent much time with my siblings over the last year or so—it’s hard when we live on different continents—I might as well get in some quality time with them while I’m wasting precious time taking a forced vacation with my temporary wife.”
So much for that naïve hope of being treasured by a husband. It certainly wasn’t going to be by this particular husband. She swallowed down her irrational shaft of hurt and sternly reminded herself to be realistic about her situation.