Page 4 of Accidentally Marrying the Best Man
Bullshit. I see right through her sarcasm, always could. Charlotte uses humor like armor, and right now she's suiting up for war, strengthening her defenses. She gets up from the chair and smooths down the front of her dress. “Nick, it’s okay. Really. The inheritance was the whole point?—”
“No.” The word comes out rougher than I intended. “It’s not okay.”
Something shifted the moment I walked into this cramped little room and saw her standing there in that amazing dress, looking lost and trying so hard to pretend she isn’t. Maybe it’s the way the afternoon light catches in her dark hair, or how she makes jokes to keep from crying, but suddenly Charlotte isn’t just Jay’s convenient bride or the girl who hung around our house growing up.
She’s a woman. A beautiful, funny, sharp-tongued woman who deserves better than being treated like a business transaction.
And the realization messes with my head in ways I don’t want to examine.
“I should just go home,” Charlotte says quietly. “I just need to tell the officiant that there’s no wedding and to invoice me whatever we owe for the chapel and their time.” She steps toward the door.
“You’re not going anywhere.” The possessiveness in my voice surprises us both.
She arches that eyebrow again. “You’re very bossy today, even more than usual.”
“Do you like it? I take a step toward her, close enough to catch the faint scent of her perfume.
The words hang in the air like a live wire. Charlotte’s eyes go wide, and I see the pulse fluttering at the base of her throat. Have I ever noticed before the way her lips part slightly when surprised?
“Nick,” she says carefully, “that’s insane.”
“Is it? You need married status to advance at work. I need...” I trail off. I want to say I want her, that suddenly she’s the center of my world, but I don’t have the words.
“You need what?” she whispers.
I cup her face in my hands, thumbs brushing her cheekbones. Her skin is softer than I imagined, and when did I start imagining touching her?
“I need to make this right,” I say roughly. “Jay screwed up. Let me fix it.”
“By marrying me?” She laughs shakily. “Nick, that’s bonkers. We spent our childhood and teenage years together, but we barely know each other as adults.”
“I know enough.” I know she still bites her lip when nervous, like now, and that in a minute, her foot will start tapping against the floor, again. I know she’s brave enough to joke when her heart is breaking. I know she looks at me like I’m offering her the moon, and that look does dangerous things to my self-control.
“This is completely bonkers,” she repeats, but she doesn’t pull away.
“Probably.” I lean closer, forehead almost touching hers. “But Jay’s bolted, Charlotte. And I’ll be damned if I let you walk out of here thinking you don’t deserve this wedding.”
Something flickers in her eyes, surprise, maybe hope. “You don’t mean that.”
“Try me.” There’s a knock on the door, and we both jump. “What?” I snarl at whoever dared to disturb us.
Someone clears their throat on the other side. “Um, folks? If we’re going to do this, we should probably decide soon. I have another ceremony at four.”
“Give us a minute,” I shout.
Charlotte looks around the small room as if she’s searching for something. Then she looks back at me, and I can practicallyhear her mind working. “So, same arrangement as I had with Jay? But without the IVF.” she says.
“No. I want the total package”
Her eyes flare wide. “The total package?”
“Yeah. I want the real deal. You won’t be my wife just in name. You’ll be mine in every way, in and out of bed. In exchange, I’ll support you emotionally and financially.” The more I speak, the surer I am about this decision. “Whatever you need, Charlotte, I’ll give it to you.”
She studies my face for a long moment. “And what do you get out of it? What do you need?”
You,I think. The intensity of that thought should scare me. Instead, it makes me more determined. “I get to piss off Jay,” I say instead. “And I get to punch him in the face later, for standing you up.”
Charlotte snorts. “Those are terrible reasons to get married.”
