Page 26 of Falling for the Forward

“Don’t worry about that,” she finally says, wiping a corner of her eye.

I sit up straight, unbuttoning a cuff of my shirt. “I’m trying to be a good guy, Suki. I don’t want you to end up...hurt and disappointed.”

She huffs out a single note of unamused laughter. “Thanks, but I’d rather walk naked down on the side of a busy highway than be in another relationship. I’m doing this for the girls and the money. Full stop.”

“You don’t have to be so dramatic. I’m not that bad.”

“It’s not about you. I know you aren’t used to hearing that.”

I keep my cool as I unbutton my other cuff and roll up the sleeve of my shirt. “I just wanted to be a clear communicator. Your friends are all really happy for you and I thought you might be having some feelings.”

Another laugh. Honestly, I’m offended by the laughing at this point. “Oh, I’m having some feelings, all right. But not like you’re thinking. And my friends are happy for me because of the money. They know this is all fake and they’re just playing their parts.”

“You told them?”

She wrinkles her nose, confused. “Yeah, I had to. They wouldn’t have believed I was marrying you because I just wanted to.”

I stand up, a muscle in my jaw ticcing with annoyance. “I’m done with this conversation. I’m going back downstairs.”

“Okay, I’ll be down soon. I’m going to change out of this dress. I don’t want to get food on it because I’m planning to sell it.”

I guess that’s that. I’ll admit to some brooding as I leave the room. Apparently, my flicker of attraction toward her was a one-sided thing. It’s for the best. This fake marriage is going to be complicated enough without feelings for each other in the mix.

CHAPTER NINE

Suki

“I think that went well.How about you?”

Carter gives me a questioning look after closing the door to his--now our--bedroom. I nod, the day catching up with me all at once as I slide out of the heels I wore with the casual dress I changed into after the ceremony.

“About as well as it could have,” I agree absently.

“Other than Darling shitting in the middle of the dining room three times. And you telling everyone the marriage isn’t real.”

I sigh softly, flexing my sore feet. “You know, if you could make shitty comments like fifty or sixty percent of the time instead of a hundred, that would be really nice.”

He scoffs as he unbuttons his dress shirt. “I’m not being shitty. I told you how important it is that we sell this as a real relationship. If it gets out that I’m trying to play games with the judge in the custody case, that’ll be a big fucking problem. Michelle was clear about that.”

“I only told my three closest friends in the world. They probably would’ve had me involuntarily committed if I toldthem I was marrying a man I hardly knew. All I’ve said to them about you before this is that you’re kind of cold and selfish.”

His jaw drops as he takes off his dress shirt and walks over to the massive walk-in closet. “What the fuck, Suki? That’s what you think of me?”

Yikes. Probably shouldn’t have told him that. “Only sometimes. And you’ve gotten better. But let’s stay on topic. I’m not telling my family or anyone else the truth. So don’t worry. I won’t do anything to put the custody case in jeopardy. I want the best for the girls.”

He walks into the closet, leaving me in silence. I glance around the room, which is dimly lit by built-in sconces over each bedside table and ceiling lights over the bed. When I was getting ready for the ceremony earlier, I discovered that this bedroom has seven different light switches. The closet has another three and the bathroom has five. That’s more than my entire apartment.

Carter’s house was furnished and decorated by a pro. And his bedroom is more masculine than the rest of it. The furniture is all dark and sturdy, the walls painted a soft gray. A huge, expensive-looking rug covers the dark wood flooring. His king-sized bed has a beautiful arched wood headboard and it’s made neatly with a white duvet and a few decorative pillows.

Did he do that? His house cleaner, Andrea, comes twice a week and cleans for a few hours each time, but today wasn’t one of her days. I can imagine fussy Carter arranging his pillows just so, his brows lowered in judgment of the alignment.

There’s a sitting area with two leather chairs arranged in front of a small fireplace, a small table between the chairs stacked with a few hardback books. I walk over and look at them, wondering if they’re really books he’s read or just decorative.

They’re all biographies. Warren Buffet, George Washington and Billie Jean King.

“You guys should come to the game tomorrow night.” Carter walks out of the closet and I glance over at him as he speaks.

I have to force it to be a glance because he doesn’t have a shirt on. He’s only wearing black athletic shorts. And I’ve never seen a man with a body like his this close up. Tyler’s Cheetos and Fruity Pebbles addictions kept his abs so well hidden I never saw them. Carter, on the other hand, likes to snack on grilled chicken and cucumber.

---