Page 57 of The Acquisition

From that day forward I swore to guard my heart and have lived my life with a sort of clinical detachment. Until my logical approach to romantic entanglements landed me married to the one man I was finding it hard to avoid developing feelings for.

I laughed softly to myself and shook my head. Of course this was my fate. Now I understood that saying about making plans, because I was certain God was laughing at me now.

Hope was almost as cruel as love. Both had my heart racing with the possibility that my marriage of convenience might grow into the fairytale I once believed in. It worked out for Evie. Surely the fact Colter wanted to spend time alone with me was a sign we might be more.

It wasn't like he hadn't told me he wanted to stay married. I knew he wanted a family. My fear wasn't that my marriage didn't have a chance to last. It was that it would continue as an arrangement for the rest of our lives. Sure, we could have a family, I'd have a plus one to attend events with, but I wanted more than what my parents had or nothing at all.

The car pulled up in front of the hangar and the driver got out to unload our bags. He passed them off to a member of the flight crew, then he opened our door.

Colt hesitated near the door and held out his hand to me. I took it and let him help me out of the car even though I didn't need the assistance. The chance to touch him again was too enticing to pass up.

"You've been quiet. Are you angry at me?"

I shook my head. "Maybe I'm tired, but I'm not mad."

His lips curled up in a lascivious half smile. "I did wear you out earlier."

I rolled my eyes. "You're giving yourself too much credit, old man. I spent the day running around, remember?"

A shriek escaped my throat as he hoisted me up and threw me over his shoulder. I squirmed to get down, afraid my skirt would fly up and expose the fact that I wasn't wearing underwear since Colt destroyed them earlier.

Colt swatted my ass, and I shrieked again. "If you're going to be a brat, you're going to get spanked."

The flight attendant's eyes popped open wide before she averted her gaze. Once we were on the plane Colt set me on my feet.

"You get a reprieve for now," he whispered in my ear.

I took a step away from him, but he took my hand and pulled me back to his side. Even knowing we needed to keep our relationship a secret, I didn't pull away. I knew all the reasons I should be holding back from Colt. My best friend could get hurt, andImost certainly would. And yet, fighting the feelings growing between us was just a different kind of pain.

The flight to Berlin was long, about fourteen hours with a layover in Ireland. I tried to stay awake with Colt, but he settled in with his financial documents. My eyes drooped closed somewhere over the Midwest.

I felt fingers rake through my hair and blunt nails scrape against my scalp. "Wake up, sleepy head," Colt greeted me.

My eyes cracked open, and the first thing I noticed was the bright light spilling in through the windows. The next thing I noticed was that we weren't moving. "Are we in Berlin?" My voice was still rough from sleep.

"Yes. We landed a few minutes ago. We're taxying to the hangar."

I sat up and pushed the blanket off my lap. "Did you sleep at all?" I asked while I stretched my tight muscles.

Colt's eyes dropped to my breasts as they strained against the wrinkled dress I'd been wearing for about twenty-four hours.

I cleared my throat. He blinked and lifted his eyes to mine. "I got a few hours. You hogged most of the couch."

My mouth popped open. Worry about him being exhausted warred with annoyance for him saying I hogged the couch. I started to speak, but he put his finger against my lips.

"I'm teasing you. I don't need much sleep. I joined you on the couch after I was done going over the financials for the auto manufacturer we're meeting with. You snuggled up to my side when I slipped in behind you, and I slept like a baby for as long as I needed to."

"So what's next? Is there an itinerary?" I asked.

"We're going to go check in to our room so we can freshen up, then we're set to meet the CEO. There's a business dinner the next evening. We need to hang around for a few days to finalize any lingering details, but it will give us some time to do some sightseeing."

I shook my head trying to get rid of the last dregs of sleep. "We flew to Germany to meet with the CEO of a car manufacturer? I'm no stranger to international corporations. I worked for my family's company for four years. I understand how a diversified company works, but for the life of me I can't figure out what Anderson Global actually does."

Colt chuckled. "A little of everything. Mostly tech stuff. I can show you our product development lab when we get back home if you want. I know you're interested in technology."

I smiled at him. "I'd like that. Maybe I'll show you some of the apps I've developed. I think you'd like my virtual assistant."

"Like Siri?" he asked.

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