Page 5 of Fake Married to the Grumps

Something terrifying enough to make me withdraw.

I feared my feelings would grow out of control and so I had to remind myself that Nelly was off limits.

She had to be!She’s not the kind of woman I’m used to, either.I like simple and easy. Nothing about the brewing passion I saw in Nelly’s eyes, or the storm she created inside me back then would have been easy.And so, I blanked her out.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers again. “This is just too much, all of this.” She shakes her head and turns to her brother. “It’s not what I can handle, Tommy. We’ll need to find some other solution that works. I’ll go over a few banks we can get a loan from to settle our debts. We can find another way.”

Her gaze shifts to me again, and she presses her lips together. “I’m sorry, Ethan, but I can’t help you.”

Her gaze lingers and makes my breath hitch in my throat. I should back off and say I understand, but something about themagnetic pull of her gaze makes my brain frizzle. “I’ll make you change your mind.”

I smirk, and Tommy clears his throat.

“If you two do this, then you should know it has to be based solely on agreed terms and rules. I mean, it could end in a whole mess if one of you gets hurt or one falls for the other, or any of that stuff we see in the Hollywood movies that start out this way.”

Nelly scoffs. “Well, this isn’t a movie and even if I agreed to this stunt, I wouldn’t fall for him.”

The egotistical part of me that likes to tease Nelly swoops in, and I lift a challenging brow. “You think so?” She angles her body towards me as I stride towards her slowly, and her chin hikes up defiantly. “Come on, we both know you’ll melt if I decide I want you.”

Her gaze turns icy, but instead of sending a chill right through me, it burns and shocks me. I drag a finger down her cheek to her chin. I lift it a little, and those lush lips part in a gasp. “You’d melt.”

“In your dreams, Casanova,” she remarks, her eyes never leaving mine, a brief connection of madness.

“Okay, cut it out, you two,” Tom says, and we jerk apart with ease. I suppress a smile as she sharply draws a breath.

She felt something, too.

It felt good to know that the warmth that spread through me when I touched her skin didn’t happen to just me.

“If you decide to do this, Nelly, then you’ll have your terms, and he will have his.”

“You’re considering this?” Nelly asks Tom, then releases an exasperated sigh.

“It’s totally your decision. It has nothing to do with what I think anymore.”

“You say you want to help, but now you give these ridiculous terms?” Nelly shoots at me, and the fire in her eyes burns through the coldest recesses of my heart.

“It’s not a term. I need your help, and you need mine. If you decide you don’t want to help, then I won’t be able to help your company. My position is being threatened. My grandfather is retiring in a month, and if I don't prove to him that I'm serious about getting married by then, I might lose my chance at becoming CEO.”

“He believes that being married and in love is a sign of maturity. In his eyes, marriage would be good for me, so I need to tie the knot within a month. If I don't, he'll cut me off, and I can't let that happen.”

When she still doesn’t say anything, I draw in a deep breath and turn to Tommy. “You both know I’m your best shot here. You can try to find someone else to merge with, but you’ll need to have something solid to back your bargaining. Otherwise, they’ll rip you to shreds and take your company away from you.”

“If you don’t get a good deal, then someone else will buy you out. I’m sure you don’t want a hostile takeover or a shake-down.”

“He’s right,” Nelly mutters. “I hate it when you’re right,” she murmurs, but I hear those words too.

“Think about it, okay?”

When she turns away from me again, I glance at Tommy.

“Should have discussed this with you, buddy, but Grandpops just sprung this on me last night, and I spent the past few hours trying to come up with a solution.”

Tommy sighs calmly. He always maintains a calm exterior, and I suspect it has to do with his job. As a prosecutor, he’s trained to not let people under his skin easily or give away his thoughts through his expressions.

“I understand,” he says to me, then we shake hands. Tom stiffens his hold on mine. “But if Nelly decides to do this to save the company, then you should know that she mustn’t get hurt in all of this. If she does, then you and I will have a lot to contend with, got it? You keep things strictly on paper. I know you well, Ethan, and I don’t trust that you won’t try to charm your way into herheart and then leave her hanging. You keep things strictly on paper and don’t play with my sister’s heart at all, or else you’ll have me to contend with. Got it?”

I gently laugh and shake my head as my friend releases my grip. “I’m not stupid enough to try.”Besides, Nelly’s like ice, and melting her would not be easy.

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