Page 36 of Fake Married to the Grumps

“They are,” he answers stiffly. “But the man has a personal dislike for me after I ended the engagement. He believes I embarrassed him and his granddaughter by canceling the engagement, as well as every high-profile invitation that was already sent.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” I defend. “Come on, Ethan, he can’t hold you to that … She cheated on you. No one deserves to spend the rest of their life with someone unfaithful.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t know that.”

“What do you mean?”

Ethan walks over to the sink to splash cold water on his face before he turns to me again. He runs a wet hand over his hair, looking even more handsome as he fixes his brown eyes on mine.

“I never told anyone besides Tom why I called off the engagement. I did it to protect her image. It didn’t matter, anyway. I made sure not to give anyone the chance to get that close and hurt me again.”

His words sink in, and a subtle shift inside me makes me realize just how much I misunderstood Ethan before now.

I didn’t know him well at all.

He’s more than the self-centered playboy I judged him to be.He’s been hurt and I couldn’t see that.This is a man with a genuine heart, and he’s shown me his selflessness many times.

He was hurt by her, yet he still protected her.

I envied Ethan a little. His selflessness and huge heart. He doesn’t know it, but he is a man capable of loving someone in a huge way.

And that makes him even more desirable.

Chapter 14

Ethan

Nelly’s hug offered far more comfort than she would have realized. We stayed in the living room for most of the night, trying to figure out the best way out of my dilemma.

She lets out a massive, jaw-stretching yawn, and I glance at my watch. “It’s almost 3 am. You should go get some sleep.”

Nelly covers her mouth with one hand and shakes her head. “I’m not leaving till we figure out what to do.” Tears moisten her eyes from her yawn.

I want to go to her and wrap my arms around her for another hug. I love having her close, and the soft feel of her lush body pressed into mine causes the sweetest sensations to run through me.

These feelings will be the death of me.

“I can’t sleep if I don’t figure out a way out of this. There has to be someone who’ll vote for you, right? I mean, you know these guys. Would Greer selling out impact any other shareholders?? Does Joe have something against anyone else? I wish there was a way I could look into him financially, you know.”

She looks so desirable when she’s worrying, but I don’t want her to stress too much. With a deep sigh, I get on my feet and walk to her.

Nelly frowns when I take her hands and gently lift her to her feet.

“I’ll figure out a way around this. You have nothing to worry about.”

Nelly’s brows stay furrowed as she stares back at me.

“But …”

“Don’t worry, just take a breather and get some sleep.”

She looks like she’s about to protest, but she finally presses her lips into a thin line and nods. “Fine.”

“Goodnight,” I whisper, resisting the urge to hug her one last time. After Nelly closes her door, I return to the couch and stare at the ceiling for a long time.

There’s only one way out I can think of right now, and it involves Julia Brene. As much as I hate the idea of going to her for help, she’s the only one who can convince her grandfather to speak for me.

And he’s the only one the other board members would be willing to listen to.

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