Page 11 of Marcel

He had been preparedto hate her on principle, but she was turning out to be someone hehad started to like - he shook his head. Perhaps it was too tame aword, and he was not prepared to exchange it for something else, atleast not yet.

She made him laugh,and whenever she was discussing her clients, she did it in such a waythat made the wealthy's ludicrous and sometimes unreasonable demandsseem petty and amusing.

She was not afraid ofanyone or anything. He had seen the way she handled herself duringmeetings. She was not intimidated, not even by his father, who tendedto come across as forceful.

The only thing thatstopped him from being wholly captivated was that she was marryingfor what his family offered her and the irritating and troublingreminder that his father had forced him into marriage.

Those two thingswould forever deter them from having a romance or a regular marriage.

“Marcel?”

He had been so miredin thought that he had forgotten the woman on the line.

“I apologize,”he said perfunctory, preparing to wrap up the conversation. “Iwill be there for you as a friend, but as of tomorrow, we will bothbe married. Goodnight, Simone.” Hanging up from her, he turnedoff the phone and shoved it into the pocket of his khaki pants.

He was leaning onthe railing, staring at the ripples of the dark blue water of thepool, when he heard the glass doors being pulled open. Realizing thathis peace was about to end, he turned in readiness to return when hesaw his brother coming forward with two glasses of brandy.

“You aremissing your bachelor’s party.” Matthew handed him theglass and stood beside him, his back to the railing.

“I had to takea call.”

His brother sent hima speculative look. “Let me guess, Simone is hoping to persuadeyou to jilt your bride at the altar.”

“Somethinglike that.” Marcel lifted the drink to his lips and took a fewsips. “Did Dad send you out here to check on me? Is he afraidthat I am going to bolt?”

“Something likethat.” Matthew parroted his phrase with a smile. “Wereyou thinking of doing so?”

“No. I amgetting married tomorrow, whether I like it or not.” A cynicalsmile twisted his lips. “It might not be so bad.”

“It might notbe. She is exquisitely beautiful.”

“And she ismarrying me for my money.” He shrugged. “At least we bothknow the truth of the entire thing. I am marrying her to quell thevicious rumors about me and Simone, and she is doing it so that hermother gets to be in the finest nursing home money can buy.”

Matthew turned aroundto face him. “You might end up falling for her.”

“No.” Heshook his head decisively. “Too many odds are against us. Shenever liked me in the first place. I overheard her telling someonethat I was arrogant and entitled.”

“Aren’tyou?” Matthew cocked a brow at him.

Ignoring the teasinginflection in his brother’s tone, Marcel added. “And Ithink she is opinionated and too ambitious.”

“Ambitious? Isthat a character flaw?”

“I said ‘tooambitious. She has her eyes set on becoming a senior partner.”

“Nothing iswrong with that. She is a brilliant lawyer, and her strategies areexcellent. The way she handled the Richardson’s merger iscommendable.”

“She iscareer-driven,” Marcel argued.

“And you wantsomeone plain and complaisant. She will never allow you to get awaywith anything.”

Marcel shrugged,taking another sip of his drink.

“Are youattracted to her?”

The blunt questioncaused him to almost spill his drink, and he studiously avoided hisbrother’s gaze.

“What the hellare you asking me that?”

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