Page 11 of Forbidden Lord
Matteo turned toward Sheena and offered his hand. “Sheena, I thought it was lawyers at the door.”
She nodded but didn’t accept, waving instead to the balcony. “So did I--I’ll go get our glasses.”
His stomach knotted. Sheena was a perfect lady. How he’d missed that bugged him, but to be honest, he’d never wanted to marry a good girl.
Sheena had always been one of the nicest girls he’d ever met.
How did he offer someone sweet anything of value, when he was the polar opposite? A firm rap sounded. He pointed behind him as Sheena returned with their wine bottle and glasses. She had a sway in her hips he’d never noticed before today—he averted his gaze. “That must really be the lawyers.”
Her phonedinged. She put the glasses and wine down and checked the text. He reached for the handle.
“In the morning we’re invited to dine with Stefano and Rossie… he’s still your best friend?” Her brow furrowed.
“Yes.” He paused before opening the door. His friends shouldn’t cause her to frown.
She tucked her phone back in her pocket and said, “Then we’ll go. I want to talk to him, anyway.”
“Are you upset with him?”
She refilled their glasses. “No, but he needs to know I’m not that girl from school anymore.”
Another knock sounded, louder this time.
Wait. Had she liked Stefano? His friend had recently married. He’d witnessed the wedding. His body stilled—the lawyers could wait another few seconds. “No, you’re all woman, and he noticed before I did.”
She raised her eyebrows like he’d just said something crazy. “Huh?”
He relaxed--Sheena wasn’t interested in his friend. Good. A third knock echoed and he peered through the peephole to make sure it wasn’t an angry Patrice. “The lawyers. We’ll talk later.”
He welcomed two men, both in tweed suits and glasses. He’d met his estate lawyers before and introduced Sheena, who slid beside him like a perfect hostess and offered to shake hands as she said, “Nice to meet everyone.”
Frederick, the older lawyer, nodded at her with approval. “We won’t be long.”
“Of course.” She led them to the living area of the suite, as confident in her jeans as she’d been in her gown.
Frederick brought out a stack of papers from his briefcase that seemed impossible to get through in less than an hour. “We already changed the marriage license and we have the official announcement for the Avce royal family. All we need to do now is get signatures on the contract. Justin is a clerk of the court and has the power to make the marriage official with his stamp.”
Justin was the younger lawyer. He bowed his head and said, “Glad to be here.”
Sheena held out her hand and asked Frederick in a calm manner, “Can I read this contract?”
He gathered it together and handed it over. “Of course.”
Without another word, Sheena took the small stack of papers and walked onto the balcony with her glass of wine. She paced the carpeted part of the living area with no shoes on as she read it and all three of them just watched her.
His heart beat faster. What if she said no to anything? He was asking her to give up her life, and he honestly didn’t know why she would. Sheena was nothing like Patrice. She wasn’t solely after cash.
She had integrity engrained in her cells.
Sheena came back with the contract and smiled at everyone as she hugged the papers.
Everything was on the line right now. If she walked, he had no other plan. He stood—she sat on the couch, and he sat next to her. “Everything okay?”
She crossed her calves and showed the lawyers the contract page she had a question about. “The amount on page seven for my monthly allowance. It says there is an additional allowance for clothes and other necessities. But that amount is not listed.”
He’d discussed this contract with his lawyers when it had revolved around Patrice. They’d had an addendum for Patrice, but he hadn’t negotiated with Sheena, or her lawyers. His stomach muscles tightened. “It’s not listed because I just want you to tell me how much you need.”
Her eyebrows lifted, and she chose a pen from the pile on the coffee table. “Is there a limit?”
