Page 24 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bride

Not for anyone.

The only way this works is to put as much distance between us as possible while maintaining the necessary façade for as long as needed. Once Uncle Marty is gone for good, Lyla can get back to herreallife.

But until then, whatdowe do next?

Definitelynotjust stare at the beautiful woman in front of me. Yet, I find it impossible to look away. Her vulnerability draws me in, makes me want to offer her comfort I can’t possibly supply another human being anymore.

Instead of giving in to that desire, I shrug because I only have one answer to give. “I guess we figure out a way to live together for the rest of our lives.”

Though I leave out the “without hating each other,” she still knows what I mean. Neither one of us really wants this. Whatever she needs $50,000 for must be important, as important as taking down Uncle Marty and protecting Bolton Steel has apparently become to me because I’m willing to do this despite a thousand reasons not to.

Neither of us is looking for more, which should make all of this that much easier.

And it would be, if she stopped staring at me with those sad eyes.

It’s fucking worse than when Whiskey gives them to me. Any longer stuck looking at her, and I’ll be liable to say or do something that will make her run after that car that just pulled away without her.

That can’t happen.

We need her for this to work.

Which means I need to get thefuckaway from Lyla Sinclair.

I push off the counter and storm past her toward the door, Whiskey hot on my heels.

Lyla tries to follow me but stops short when I whirl back to face. Her wide eyes watch me, her deep fear coming to the surface. “Where are you going?”

I open the door. “None of your business.” I step out but pause halfway on the porch. Eyes locked on the forest outside, I inhale a deep breath of fresh mountain air before saying what I have to. “I want to make something very clear. You will be my wife on paper and in name only. I will continue to live my life exactly as I have been here—alone. If we’re really doing this tomorrow, you better figure out what you’re going to do up here because you are about to have a lot of fucking free time on your hands.”

For years, I’ve had no one to answer to, no one questioning what I do or why. It’s the only way I’ve managed to survive what happened to me. And I can’t let this woman unravel that.

I jog down the steps, some of the tension instantly melting from my body being out here. The cabin always felt right for me—the right size, the perfect space, my own little sanctuary in the mountains. But now, it’s filled with her light, citrusy scent, and her voice already rings in my ears.

And she’s going to be here for the indefinite future.

Fucking hell.

Whiskey trots after me, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth, bright eyes watching me.

“You like her, don’t you? Youarea fucking traitor.”

He bounds ahead to grab a stick, then runs it back to me as I approach the edge of the clearing where the woods start to thicken. I take the stick from him and toss it. He bolts after it, scoops it up, and returns it to me quickly.

I kneel and take his face between my palms. “You better not get any ideas with her.”

He tilts his head sideways like he’s trying to process what I said to him.

“We can’t like her, Whiskey. We just can’t. But we need to figure out a way to keep her content because if what Ronald said is true, this marriage has to last at least until Uncle Marty is taken care of, potentially forever if we can’t get the terms of the trust amended.”

Forever.

Tomorrow, I’m going to stand in front of the justice of the peace and say “I do” to a woman I just met, one who was shaking, terrified, and full of tears the entire time.

I drop my head back and stare up at the last light of day creating a brilliant orangey-pink sky.

It’s too clear and bright. Too beautiful. Utterly wrong for the moment. It should be dark and foreboding, full of storm clouds signaling the approaching tempest. It’s almost as if God is trying to force the sunshine onto me and into my life at the worst possible time.

I just can’t let it blind me.

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