Page 15 of Finding Forever

“I just flew halfway across the world with a couple of strange men, fully intending to marry one of them. Why would I change my mind now?”

Her exhaustion and relief were making her feel giddy and euphoric, and she knew she wasn’t behaving in an appropriately somber manner. Cade probably believed the mood should be slightly more funereal, but Fern was happy and she was optimistic. And she couldn’t suppress either of those emotions.

He sighed heavily and handed her the papers. She took her time flipping through this one, stopping to read all the highlighted clauses that required her initials.

“And this is final, right?” she asked when she’d reached the last page. “He can’t undo this? He can’t take it away from you again?”

“I’d like to see him try,” Cade said with a calm confidence that made Fern’s stomach flip. Who knew self-confidence could be so sexy? It must be nice to be so brilliant at something that it left you in absolutely no doubt of your own competence and capability.

“My son does love a good fight,” James Hawthorne said, his voice brimming with pride. “Gets that from his da, he does.”

“I’m sure he does,” Fern said, levelling a wide smile at her future father-in-law.

Fuck.

Cade had never seen her smile like that before and it transformed her face from plain into something else. Somethingenthralling and hard to look away from. The way her eyes lit up, and her expression softened. Like she cared deeply about the person she was smiling at, like he meant something to her…

Suddenly Cade resented the hell out of the fact that all of that warmth and—yes—beauty was aimed at his dad. He wanted her to look athimlike that. He wanted her to smile at him like he was her entire fucking world. And that freaked him the hell out because he shouldn’t want that.

Realistically he knew that hedidn’twant that. But that smile was doing really fucked up things to his body and mind and he resented the hell out of it, while simultaneously craving it with every fiber of his being.

He was glaring at her. He couldn’t control it—he knew he was being an utter twat—and both Fern and his dad became aware of his glowering at the same time. She turned her head to fully face him, and the smile he’d so coveted disappeared in an instant. His dad meanwhile stared at him with raised brows, as if to ask what the hell his problem was.

Cade wished he knew.

He wet his lips and her eyes dropped to follow the movement. Cade found that he liked that,likedher gaze on his mouth. And he couldn’t understand this unforeseen bizarre possessiveness he felt over her. Maybe it was due to the fact that she would be his wife in a matter of mere minutes. Perhaps it went with the territory. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it confused him and Cade did not like being confused.

This was still the same woman with whom he’d had the worst sex of his life, the same woman who’dliedabout a pregnancy to get her way. The same woman who’d allowed her family to treat her like a doormat for a decade and a half. This was not anyone he wanted to get to know, or spend time with.

And yet, as she lowered her eyes back to the contract in her hands, he found himself holding his breath when she lifted hispen to her mouth and tapped it to her lush upper lip while she studied the document.

And he couldn’t stop his filthy fucking mind from imagining his cock tapping against that gorgeous mouth in the same intriguing rhythm.

Christ Almighty,he lamented to himself, as he fought down the surging arousal that accompanied the intrusive thought.Fuck my life! What the hell isthisnow?

Cade had thought of everything.

Fern stared down at the engagement and wedding rings now adorning her finger in bemusement. The engagement ring which featured a round cut diamond solitaire on a twisted platinum band, was both delicate and beautiful. And the wedding ring, a twisted, diamond encrusted band, slotted seamlessly in beside the engagement ring. To her surprise—Cade had opted for a ring for himself as well, a matching brushed platinum ring with a similarly twisted band.

The twisted bands reminded her of the eternity symbol and she wondered why he’d chosen this particular design. Then again, it was highly unlikely that he’d chosen them himself. He’d probably delegated the task to some hapless, overly romantic assistant, who’d mistakenly believed he was marrying for love or something.

She ran her thumb over the rings, unable to quite fathom that she was now married. They’d been in Denmark for little under five hours, and were now back on the plane heading God knows where. The wedding itself had been brief and to the point, a quick civil ceremony conducted in English by a tall, imposing man with a thick accent.

James Hawthorne had been their only witness.

But the older man, and his entourage of nameless flunkies,had all remained behind in Copenhagen. Cade and Fern were the only people on this flight. And he’d descended into grim silence, staring moodily out at the clouds below. He hadn’t spoken a word to her since the wedding, nearly three hours ago.

Fern was seated across from him, with her legs folded beneath her butt, and after listlessly flipping through a really,reallyboring financial magazine, she’d switched to scrolling through Instagram until her phone died on her.

She found a charging port under the little coffee table between her seat and Cade’s, and set the phone aside, before resting an elbow on the padded armrest and dropping her cheek into the palm of her hand.

She then openly watched her new husband, as he glowered out at the passing puffy clouds.

“What?” He broke the silence curtly a few minutes later.

“Where are we going?”

“Back to Cape Town. I have an apartment there. We’ll spend some time with my sister and brother, putting up a united front for the world to see.”

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