Page 12 of Forbidden Lord
“No.” Perhaps that was a mistake, but he was willing to trust Sheena.
She’d sent every bill for the wedding to his team to approve even though she’d been given free rein to do what she wanted.
Sheena wrote on her contract as she said to the lawyers, “Then let’s put ‘with consultation and a minimum of $20 a month’ or something like that.”
Every small decision seemed trivial, but Sheena was very serious. He turned his seat to face her as he said, “That’s not much.”
She spoke intelligently and he was reminded that combined with her passion for art was a sharp mind for business. “I might not shop, but contracts are supposed to be clear.”
If this marriage was to be a success, they needed to build trust. His mind whispered that he was setting himself up for heartache, as he and Sheena weren’t a good match. She ran a business, successfully, let her imagination run wild, and lived for her passions. “Fair, though make that $100 or more.”
Sheena flipped the page while she said, “And on page ten, the use of the estate. Can we put in this contract that I can run two major art collections with guests in a year? The money will go to charity.”
He nodded to the lawyers. “Reasonable.”
She turned toward him with a slight smug grin as she said, “I’m always reasonable.”
No need to argue. Not over this. “I see that. Anything else?”
She shook her head and studied the corrections. “No, with those amendments we’re good.”
Patrice had threatened to walk twice from the negotiation table over the clothes alone. Sheena was a stark contrast and a good dose of reality.
Justin typed up the amendments she’d requested and printed them from a portable printer. He handed clean copies to them both. Matteo picked up his pen. “Let’s start signing.”
Frederick said, “Please initial every page.”
He signed his without question, then he handed the contract to Sheena to sign. She began to initial the pages, but he stopped her on page two and asked, “You read the part about the heir?”
Her blush went from her throat to the roots of her blonde hair. He hadn’t known a person could turn that color. She initialed the page but avoided eye contact. “Twice. It’s what took me so long.”
She flipped to the next page. He asked, “And?”
Sheena was a mystery. If they found common ground, then they were in better shape for the future. If they didn’t, they were doomed for unhappiness. He watched her initial and flip the pages. Her face turned even redder, like a ripe tomato, as she said, “We can start trying tomorrow, I guess, though I’d prefer to get acclimated to this house of yours.”
He met the lawyers’ gazes—both gentlemen stared at him in surprise. Right. He shouldn’t have asked that in front of them, but there was little time. He settled back on the couch and asked, “Have you not been there before?”
She shook her head and continued flipping pages and initialing. “No. I was never invited to your parties.”
This timehisface heated, though hopefully he never turned Sheena’s color. He should have invited her. He’d known her for years--his brain insisted that she was a good girl. He placed his hand on his heart and offered an olive branch. “You could do an above-board for charity type of party and I will help—from now on, you will always be the hostess.”
No more mistresses. He’d grown up with multitudes of loose women running around his house; he didn’t want any child of his to be raised like that.
Hopefully, he’d find a way to live in peace with Sheena. The truly bright spot right now was her kiss.
She signed on the last page. “Great. Then I look forward to seeing one of the biggest country homes in Europe.”
Frederick took the contracts and Justin had them stand to repeat their civil vows.
A few minutes later they were fully married with no backing out of it.
Sheena acted the perfect hostess and led both men out. He waited for her and finished the bottle by pouring the last of it in her glass. He sat on the couch, and she did too, just like everything was business between them.
Sheena lowered her lashes and asked, “What did you mean about Stefano noticing me first?”
His heart beat faster. Seriously? If she had some crush on his friend, they were both in trouble. He didn’t want to answer, but once she looked at him, he said, “You were on his list of potential women to ask to be his bride.”
She sipped her wine and tilted her head in confusion. “Well, that’s interesting. I thought he hated me but I’ve not seen him much either. The only person I kept in touch with from school was Chelsea. I helped at your wedding to reconnect with my friend.”
