Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 60711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
“Her husband was my mentor,” Paul interrupted her coolly, “and she was a good wife to him. If not for those two things, I would rather not have anything to do with her.”
Oh.
That was...not what she’d expected. She’d braced herself for some declaration of lingering feelings, some complicated history that would make this whole situation even messier than it already was.
Instead, she got dismissal.
Complete and utter dismissal of Joyce Bernard as anything other than a social obligation.
“Then is it alright if I call her—”
“If you let her know about us, she’ll fly back immediately.”
Right.
Joyce would not take kindly to discovering that her plain little niece had somehow captured the attention of the man she wanted for herself. However—
“You won’t have to lie to her if you don’t answer her calls. Matters like this are best discussed in person, don’t you agree?”
Andie could only look at him, wide-eyed. Was this how he was as a litigator? Not only had he correctly guessed her misgivings, but he was also terribly good at convincing her to see things his way.
“Is there anything else?” Paul asked.
Oh, right.
There was one last thing, but...
“There is,” she confessed awkwardly, “but it’s a pretty big one.”
“I’m sure it’s not—”
“I want you to marry me.”
Paul ended up choking, and she looked at him in concern. “Are you okay?”
“You...”
She looked at him hopefully.
“You...”
Was he about to say ‘yes’?
“You’ll need to give me a really good reason for that.”
Oh.
Right.
Fair enough.
She looked at him apologetically. “I can’t act like I’m in love with you if I’m not your wife.”
He stared at her.
She stared back.
The fire crackled softly in its glass enclosure. Somewhere in the house, a clock chimed—eleven, she counted, each note low and sonorous.
“Is that one of your non-negotiables?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Should she explain how the Bible in his room was the reason she had a change of heart, and—
“I see.”
Never mind.
“I know this makes me sound like a gold digger—”
“It does.”
Andie choked back a laugh. At least he was being honest, and since she truly did appreciate he was so—
“I’m totally okay with signing any kind of prenup if that can help ease your concerns. An NDA, too, and maybe also a preemptive TRO—”
“Since when did you become fluent in legalese?”
“Sorry.” A sheepish smile touched her lips. “I like to offer suggestions when I’m nervous. And, um, in case you also want some character references—”
He held one hand up, and Andie fell silent.
“If I agree to your terms—”
Relief flooded her being, but Andie refused to let herself dwell on this.
Paul had moved closer still. Close enough now that she could feel the heat radiating from his body, could see the individual lashes framing those devastating gray eyes. The firelight caught the copper in his hair, turning him into something almost otherworldly.
An angel, she thought again.
Or a devil.
She still couldn’t decide which.
“Can I take you to bed tonight—”
Andie’s jaw dropped.
“—and marry you tomorrow?”
Chapter Six
“JUST BREATHE, ANDIE. In and out. That’s it.”
Andie tried her best to focus on Star’s voice.
But failed.
Every breath felt like trying to inhale through a straw that someone had pinched shut.
“You’re okay. It’s alright. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Andie repeated Harry’s words to herself.
She’s okay.
I mean, I’m okay.
I’m alright.
I...I have nothing to worry about because it’s totally normal for brides to hyperventilate on their wedding day.
Right?
Wedding jitters. Cold feet. Do-a-Julia-Roberts-in-Runaway-Wedding.
It had many names because It was normal. And so common and...and expected even that It was probably mentioned in every wedding magazine, brochure, and manual there was. It was—
You just stop right there, Andromeda Jackson!
Can’t you see you’re just making things worse?
Your bridal nerves are NOT another form of Pennywise.
Got that?
Harry bit her lip upon seeing how Andie’s fingers were shaking nonstop as she tried to reapply her lipstick for the fifth time. She wished there was something else she could say or do, but an hour simply wasn’t enough time to know a person, much less know how to comfort them when they were about to marry a man they had only known for days.
Not that she was judging either Andie or Paul.
Been there, done that, but God was just so amazing that He had made her marriage work despite her billionaire husband initially marrying Harry under false pretenses.
So, really...
Harry closed her eyes to whisper a silent prayer in her heart. Dear God, if it’s Your will, may this marriage change both of their lives completely, and have them not just fall in love with each other, but may they fall in love with You, too.
“Talk to us, Andie. Is there any way we can help?”
Star’s gently spoken words had Andie swallowing hard. A part of her still couldn’t believe that the lovely woman in front of her was really that Star. The woman who wrote that even lovelier note on the Bible, and the reason she had found the courage to knock on Paul’s door.