Page 54 of The Marriage Deal
My gaze falls to my cup. “Uh, sure.”
Ignoring the pounding in my heart, I slide my cup next to his. “How do you take it?”
“Sugar and cream.” I reach for the sugar, plunging a spoon into the canister before dropping the heap into the freshly poured coffee. I mix in cream until it’s blonde and lift it to my lips with a long sigh of pleasure. “Mmmm I love coffee.”
Briggs doesn’t take his eyes off me once. I don’t miss the way they slip down my body before lifting back again. Awareness pebbles my skin with goosebumps, and I feel my nipples harden as red climbs onto my face.
“Cold?” I swear, I hear amusement in his voice.
“A little,” I lie. I’m overheating.
“Mmhmm.” He grunts, then tips his head to the counter. “See you found the invitations.”
“Hard to miss,” I croak.
“We’ve got to get them out soon.”
I nod. “Sure. Whenever.”
He quirks a grin as he lifts his coffee to his lips. “You sound nervous.”
“I’m marrying a stranger. Of course, I sound nervous.”
Briggs appraises me for way too long. I feel another swell of heat rising inside me and try to hide it with a sip of my coffee.
“What do you say we fix that stranger bit, yeah?”
“How?”
He shrugs. “You have questions. Ask them.”
I frown as my mind blanks. Then I ask the question I’ve been dying to know since the moment I first saw the man. “Why are you here?”
There’s silence as he studies me, sipping his coffee. Then he adjusts to lean back against the counter, getting comfortable. “I’m here because Daniel Alder died and left all this to me.”
I feel my nose scrunch at the non-answer. “I mean why are you here, here? You could have sold and added the profits to your already massive portfolio.”
“How do you know I have a massive portfolio?”
I cover my incredulous snort with a sip of my coffee. “You offered me five hundred thousand dollars and all debts paid to enter a short-term marriage with you.” I take another sip of my coffee as he continues to study me. I dip my eyes and mumble into my cup, “There’s alsoGoogle.”
“And what didGoogletell you?” There’s that amusement again.
“Not a whole lot that I understood, honestly. Just that you’ve sold a couple start-ups and have a lot—like a lot—of money.”
“I did and do.”
My gaze flicks up to him, but even I can feel the deep frown between my brows. “So, if you’re so wealthy, what are you doing here?” I pull in breath and explain, “It just seems like Sunset Falls and Alder Wines is a lot. Probably more hassle than it’s worth for you, honestly. I mean, youaregetting fake married in the name of your dark and devious plot.”
“Dark and devious plot?” His brows wing up.
“You must have one. Why else would you be doing all this?” I shrug. “Marrying me?”
There’s silence again as he continues to study me. The man can make a girl feel stripped raw with only his eyes. It’s intense. Hot. A little unnerving.
“Daniel Alder wasn’t a good man.” I instantly feel alert at the seriousness to his voice. “My mom wasn’t with him for long. But the time she was with him, he hurt her.”
“Hurt her?”
