Page 29 of Desperate Measures

His eyes never left mine, not for a second. The weight of his gaze was almost unbearable.

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, my stomach twisting in knots. The silence was getting louder, thick with the things neither of us were saying.

I could feel him waiting, watching, and it was starting to make me feel uncomfortably exposed.

Like he could see through the cracks in my facade, the way I was falling apart inside.

“I know you’re shocked,” he finally said, his voice low and smooth, but with an edge to it.

The kind of edge that made my skin prickle.

I swallowed hard.

“Shocked? Well, a little,” I murmured, trailing off at the end.

I did not know how to finish the sentence, let alone how to explain the thousand things that were running through my mind.

He raised an eyebrow, the barest flicker of a smirk tugging at his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“First, let’s clear the air a bit. I did not know Maggie had all this planned?—”

“You mean you had no idea you’d be marrying me today, either?” I asked, trying to make light even though my stomach twisted at his admission.

“Nope,” he shook his head, “but I see the merit in it.”

I looked away, the weight of his words sinking into my chest.

I was a means to an end for him. Shit. I really wished I didn’t know that, but what did I expect? That my former crush was suddenly going to confess his undying passion for me?

I really have to stop reading Mom’s novels, I thought with a sigh.

I donned my best corporate smile and took a seat opposite where Liam was standing.

“I need your father’s connections to push my company to the next level, and this is the best way to secure his aid. So, you see, when Maggie met me at the hangar today and told me what she had planned, I was intrigued. But I wouldn’t have gone through with it if you said no back there,” he said, and I could tell he was earnest.

I nodded, appreciating his honesty. But I still felt the walls were closing in, and I had no idea what to do next.

“So, what about the marriage? Will it last long?” I asked, clearing my throat.

“I already told you, no take backs,” he growled, emerald eyes glittering.

I swallowed, nodding. I remembered agreeing to that.

“Okay. Um, did you want me to approach my dad for you?”

“No, I’ll approach him when the time is right. What I need from you is to help me make this look real.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Your father is a smart man. He’ll know if we walk into his house or office like strangers.”

His heated gaze raked over me from head to toe. The look was so poignant I felt it in my bones.

“What are you saying?” I asked, licking my lips.

“I’m saying I think we should be partners.”

“Partners?”

---