Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“I do. I’m sure he’ll take me, even though I couldn’t care—” Fuck. Why had I said that?
“I see.” She went stiff. “Well, I’d love to go, but we can’t all find a Hale to take us.”
I slammed shut my suitcase, wishing I could stuff myself inside and get away from her.
But she couldn’t leave it be. “Think about how it’s going to look if people find out we’re in a tough spot, and you’re suddenly getting fancy jewelry and expensive trips from Royce.”
Tough spot? We weren’t just broke, we were in serious debt. I tried to stay calm. “Expensive trips?” I said flatly. “You just said it wasn’t that much.”
“They’ll think you’re only after his money.”
I zipped the suitcase closed, set it on its wheels, and gave her a cold look. “I am only after his money.”
It had been true once.
Now it tasted like a lie.
Royce said everyone in his house had an agenda, and I was bringing my own, but as I pushed past my mother and headed for the stairs, I wondered when mine had shifted. Because saving my family was no longer my primary objective.
Getting a chance to have more with him was.
I was given the guest bedroom sandwiched between Royce’s room and the library. It was decorated in white and slate blue with mirrored furniture, and like his, there was a small sitting area opposite the king-sized bed.
Unpacking didn’t take long, and once I’d finished, I curled up on one of the chairs with a book, trying to pretend this was all normal and my home now.
It didn’t work.
A little after six o’clock, Royce knocked on my door. He’d loosened his tie and undone the top button of his dress shirt, and although he had relaxed his clothes, he looked anything but comfortable as he stood in my doorway.
I felt it too. Awareness that there’d be something buried in this prenuptial agreement that neither of us were going to like.
He surveyed the room, noting the large stack of books I’d put on the dresser, held up by my Pegasus bookends.
“Hey.” He delivered the news in a solemn tone. “He’s waiting for us in the library.”
I hated the tension hanging in the air. I closed my book, climbed to my feet, and marched toward Royce. His lips pressed to mine, and for once, our kiss had nothing to do with desire. It was about connection. Partnership. Like the ring on my finger, it was a wordless promise we were together.
Lucifer was a black shadow in the hallway, and when he saw Royce, he issued a soft meow and brushed against his master’s legs. But as we approached the library, the cat stopped and sat on the carpet. His wary green eyes regarded Macalister, who sat behind the desk and glared back at the cat with a similar sentiment.
It was overcast this evening and the curtains overwhelmed the window, so only a slice of light penetrated the library.
“Shut the door,” Macalister said, presumably to keep the cat out, although Lucifer looked like he’d abstain anyway. Cats liked warm things, and the man behind the desk wasn’t.
Once the door was closed, he didn’t tell us to sit. Royce took a chair, so I followed suit and sat on the edge of the other. Once again, Alice’s reminder about my posture flitted through my head, and I pulled my shoulders back.
Everything was so different than the last time Royce and I had been in this room. It still smelled like books, but the magic was gone. Nothing was cozy or inviting, and all the power radiated from the man in the suit who’d ordered this meeting.
“This is the first draft of the prenuptial agreement.” Macalister rested his spread fingertips on a pale blue folder in front of him. “However, after our discussion, we’ll need to make a few addendums.”
My stomach clenched. There was a gleam in his eyes that didn’t bode well.
Royce didn’t notice, or he was playing his role. He settled into his chair with an air of indifference. “What kind of addendums?”
“I am concerned about the relationship forming between the two of you.” Macalister’s hand on the folder curled into a loose fist. “When you fall in love so quickly, it’s guaranteed to end just as fast, and it will destroy the partnership we’ve been working toward.”
Royce scoffed and sounded disgusted. “Nobody’s falling in love.”
I tried to mimic the same confidence when Macalister’s gaze slithered over to me, but I must have failed, because the side of his mouth quirked.
“What is it, then?” he asked his son. “Lust?”
“Yeah. I’m only interested in fucking her.”
The cruel, easy way it rolled off his tongue filled my stomach with stones. I reminded myself this was a lie. Not just because his father was sitting across from us, either. Royce wanted more with me. The way we’d been together in the wine cellar showed that.