Page 5 of Marry Me…Maybe?
She didn’t seem put off by his cynicism, which impressed him. Normally women would blush and stutter when he was in an irascible mood.
He gave a terse shake of his head. ‘My life’s complicated right now. I’m trying to build up this business and pay my overheads here. I don’t need the added stress of a relationship.’
She narrowed her eyes, clearly seeing where this was going. ‘But if you did have a girlfriend your mother would leave you alone and perhaps turn a blind eye to you holding wedding receptions here?’
‘She could probably be persuaded to let a good friend of my girlfriend hold her reception here. That she could just about deal with, I’m sure. In fact, she’d probably jump at the idea. It would give her a sense of power and control over you, which she could utilise in the future. You’d be indebted to her. She could use that to her advantage.’
She shook her head, her expression radiating horror. ‘How is she able to have so much power over you?’
‘Because I’ve been disinherited and, according to my late father’s will she legally owns this place and can sell it from under me at any time if the whim takes her. It’s been her bargaining chip since my father died a few years ago. If I don’t fall in with her grand plans she’ll take away my entire inheritance.’ He cleared his throat. ‘This house has been my home since the day I was born and I’m not giving it up that easily. I want to grow my business from here and raise enough funds to renovate the house sympathetically.’
‘Seriously? That all sounds like something from the Dark Ages.’
He shrugged. ‘That’s my mother. She’s been trying to manipulate me my whole life.’
‘And you’re not the type to give in to manipulation,’ she stated, giving him a wry smile.
‘I actively rebel against it.’
Her expression became serious. ‘So, let me get this straight. You need to convince your mother that you’re not the closed-off loner she thinks you are so she’ll get off your back and let you live your life of happily single earldom in your mansion, with only your tools for company?’
He fought hard against the smile that played at the corners of his mouth. ‘Interesting choice of words, but in essence you’re right on the money. So, I need a girlfriend who will satisfy my mother but who won’t expect anything to come from this. We’ll pretend to be in love with each other while she’s here visiting – which I’m hoping will only be for the next week or two – then, when she’s safely under the illusion that I’m well on the way to marital bliss and has agreed to give me full control over how the place is run, we’ll be able to call it quits. It’ll be a purely business relationship.’
She widened her eyes. ‘Wow. Cold. I’m guessing lines like thathaven’t had the desired effect on the women you’ve dated in the past?’
‘Not exactly, no. For some reason the women I’ve been involved with recently seem to want hearts and flowers from me, and as I’m sure you’ve probably guessed by now, I’m not that kind of guy.’
She smiled. ‘I have. Because I’m not that kind of guy either.’
He snorted. ‘Sounds like we’re meant for each other.’
She looked away from him, crossing her arms and frowning as if she was thinking things over.
‘Surely this plan’s only going to work in the short term? Won’t she quickly move on to nagging you to set a wedding date?’ she asked, fixing him with her mesmerising golden gaze again.
‘Hopefully she’ll be so busy trying to bag husband number three by then that she’ll leave me alone a while longer. The rest I’ll have to play by ear in the future. I just need enough time right now to get my business off the ground and start making money. Then I’ll be in a stronger negotiating position.’
The look she gave him was a one of respectful awe. ‘Okay, look, give me a few minutes to think over your madcap plan and I’ll get right back to you.’
He raised an eyebrow. The mere fact that she hadn’t already stormed away in disgust was encouraging. ‘Sure. Take your time.’
‘I’ll be back.’
‘I don’t doubt it,’ he said to her retreating figure.
Sighing, he rubbed his hand over his forehead, trying to relieve the achy tension there. The whole ‘madcap plan’, as she’d called it, was a long shot, but anything was worth a punt at this point.
After giving up a well-paid but mercenary job working for a blue-chip engineering firm in London, he needed to be left to his own devices here, in order to build up his own fledgling business until it began to turn a decent profit.
The weddings had been a great source of revenue, but hewouldn’t be able to go back to doing them until his mother was satisfied that he was on his way to settling down.
What he’d neglected to mention was that the real reason his mother was keeping such a tight grip on his inheritance was because she was afraid that he was going to slip back into the dark underbelly of the life he’d wallowed in a few years ago and fritter it all away on drink and women. He’d been a major source of embarrassment to her during those years, and she was determined not to allow him to put her through that again. Not that he intended to. Those crazy, hedonistic, sex-and-drugs-filled days were well and truly behind him now.
Turning back to the bandsaw, he ran another sheet of metal through it, finding a calming solace in the screech of the hard materials as they tore against each other.
Most unnervingly, the woman he’d just propositioned reminded him a little too keenly of the women he used to play with during that dark time, and he was aware he’d need to keep a firm grip on his impulses if he was going to stay on the straight and narrow with her around.
She had something about her that intrigued him. An iron will – not dissimilar to his own.
