Page 39 of Bride on the Dotted Line

“So, he’s got a passion.” Lena’s tone is teasing. “Other than making you come in your sleep, that is.”

“Lena.”

She’s right, though.

Nonna used to say that a house speaks more than a mouth ever could. If she were here, she’d say that beneath Nick’s empty, cold, perfectly decorated and wealthy exterior, there’s a real man with a real life. Real dreams. Someone only a few lucky people get to know.

Fuck.

I want to be one of them.

“I’ve literally never had a sex dream that wasn’t about Chris Hemsworth,” I say. “This is probably because I read like eighty articles about Nick giving women the best nights of their lives, only to disappear afterward.”

Lena tuts. “You’ve really got it bad if you’re trusting the tabloids, girl.”

“I’m not, but …” My mind turns those stories over with an intensity that scares even me. “I’ve had crushes before. This is something else.”

There’s a pause. I can almost see Lena thinking, one finger rubbing her chin. “When we were in college,” she says, “you used to walk right up to the hottest guy at the party and ask him if he wanted a date. Remember that?”

“Obviously,” I say. “What’s your point?”

“My point is: this contract is huge. You wouldn’t have taken it if it wasn’t. Get to know Nick professionally all you want, but don’t let this opportunity go to waste just because you’re horny and incapable of following rules.”

Ouch.“Asking a stranger directly for a date isn’t breaking the rules,” I tell her, pulling a pair of deep red stilettos out of the closet and holding them against the ends of my dress. “It’s just skipping all the formal stuff. If anything, it’s a loophole.”

Lena cackles. “And you, Sienna Hayes, are the queen of loopholes. Like how you and Nick texted all weekend before we even finalized his PR plan. If it’s words on a screen, it doesn’t count, right?”

When I don’t say anything, Lena laughs again. “IknewI saw you smiling at your phone, you sneak.”

I don’t have it in me to deny it anymore.

“Get through the charity gala tonight,” she advises me. “It’s the most important night of the contract. Take it one day at a time, and after this is all over, you can work out your frustration on the first stud you meet at the bar. Okay?”

“Okay,” I say, and for a moment, it even feels possible.

Chapter 15

Nick

Sienna’s plan for the charity gala is simple.

“We enter the ballroom arm-in-arm,” she tells me as we take the elevator down from the penthouse. “Get a few drinks, mingle, play it up for the cameras. Then we have a short but meaningful conversation with your dad’s shareholders, emphasizing how happy we are in our new marriage.”

“We’ll approach them together?” I ask.

“I’ll go talk to them first.” She tugs at a curl escaping her updo, pinning it back into place. Tiny pearls dot her hair, making her head look like the night sky. It’s beautiful. I can’t tear my eyes away.

I shouldn’t have kissed her.

“I can prime them,” she says. “By the time you join us, they’ll be prepared to see that we’re a normal, wholesome husband and wife, and that you’re capable of running the company.”

Capable. The last time I came face-to-face with my father’s shareholders, they made me feel anything but capable.

But things are shifting. It’s been a fortnight since Sienna and I’s wedding, and none of the remaining investors have withdrawn from the company. It’s like Harwood Restaurant Group is holding its breath, waiting for me to debut my new personality.

Let’s hope I can play the part.

Our driver takes us to the Aurora Grand, the ritziest hotel in the city. My nerves are on high alert as Sienna and I walk up the steps to the ballroom entrance. If we don’t impress the shareholders tonight, we might not get another chance.

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