Page 9 of Fake Married to the Grumps

My heart pounds while waiting for his answer. His eyes drift over my body slowly, and my body heats up under his gaze.

“Fine, deal. I’ll do whatever you want, Nelly,” Ethan answers in a voice that sounds almost like a growl, and he steps away from me. The tone sends a shiver up my spine, and I swallow hard.

I can’t tell if it’s the gleam in his eyes or the smirk on his lips, but for reasons I don’t understand, those words sound like a big, fat lie.

Chapter 4

Ethan

No flirting! That should be easy, right? But ever since Nelly gave me that rule, I keep thinking about her and how she’s changed in the five years I spent in Germany. I never had the courage to visit Nelly all these years because I believed staying away was best for us both.

I thought my feelings for her would have vanished in the years of absence, but there's still a warmth that comes to life inside me each time I see her.

I spot Nelly in the conference room before she knows I’m there. She’s wearing a black dress, and leaning over the conference table, discussing something with Tom.

My gaze drifts over the dress sitting snugly on her hips and the sweet curve of her body. Adrenaline shoots right through meas I admire her. The tightening of every muscle in my body is shocking. I’ve never felt anything like it before.

She looks at Tom, says something, and smiles.Boom!My heart smacks against my ribcage and sends my pulse racing.

I’m still staring at her when someone taps my shoulder and smiles. “Miss Sinclair is ready for you, sir,” the secretary says in a smooth tone as her lips widen into a sheepish smile.

“Right.” I exhale and walk into the room.

We’re signing our fake marriage contract today, but we’ll get married at the courthouse after we meet with my grandpa.

I’ve also made arrangements with a friend who works with a popular gossip column to put out some pictures of us together, and my social media handler will do the same after we take a few pictures together at the courthouse.

It should be simple.Once we’re done, we’ll travel anywhere she wants for our honeymoon.

Most importantly, I need to think of a story for my grandpops, who’s the only one that matters.

I’ll tell him we’ve had a thing for each other for years, and I’ve always wanted her. During my time abroad, we kept communicating, and Nelly even visited me a few times over the years. One thing led to another. We started dating, andI fell in love with her. Since then, she’s had my heart, and I didn’t tell you because I wanted to keep things low-key for now and get her brother’s approval before pursuing the relationship officially.

My grandfather should buy that story.I think.The man is smarter than anyone I know, so he’ll look for holes in the tale. We just need to make sure our story matches and fake the chemistry.

How hard can that be?

Nelly smiles at me, and I have the answer to my question.

Not hard at all.

Her eyes light up the room. Their intensity is enough to make me forget everyone else in the room.

She’s never made me feel that way before.

“Let’s get to business, shall we?” Nelly asks, and walks over to me, her heels clicking on the ground as her hips sway from side to side in a mesmerizing way.

I clear my throat, trying to regain my focus. “This business is simple. We have both agreed to the terms and my lawyer has prepared a contract which we would sign before anything else. After that, we’ll meet with Grandpops, get married legally, then travel to anywhere of your choice.”

“St. Barts,” she tilts her head to one side as she looks me in the eye. “We will go to St. Barts for one week. We tell your grandfather that you fell for me hard, and you always had a thing for me. You tell him you’re solely and utterly in love with me and will do anything to be with me, including merging with our company to save my parent’s legacy.”

A tiny laugh sneaks out of me. I find it amusing that she’s dictating terms to me right now. It makes her look …Hot.“Is that all?”

“We’ve agreed on no flirting of any kind, and no actual falling in love, but I also need to add that whatever happens in my personal life is none of your business and likewise. We keep it strictly on paper.”

“Deal. I already had my lawyer add all this to our contract,” I agree with a light shrug, then hand her the envelope of documents with me.

In a few minutes, we wrap it up, and Tom is quiet until Nelly excuses herself for another meeting and heads out of the conference room. It’s not my first time in Sunny Aerospace’s headquarters, but each time I’m here, I’m amazed at the view from the sixteenth floor.

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