Page 16 of It Started with a Contract

Chapter Six

The following Monday at breakfast, Hadley opened the newspaper and gasped. Glancing over at Easton, she saw that he was watching her. Looking back at the picture, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“Eligible bachelor is taken as Easton Gray proposes to mystery woman.” She read out the headline, and the picture of them kissing after he’d run after her. “This is bad,” she said.

“Why is it?”

“You’ve read this article?” she asked.

“Yep, I’ve read it, and I don’t see it ever being a problem.”

She stared at him. “How can you not see this being a problem?”

“Because, I’m the one that told Cathy you were my fiancée. Do you have a problem with that?”

“You’re paying me to sleep with you,” she said.

He slammed his hand down on the table, and glared. “No. You know what, I’m not, okay? I’m not paying for sex at all. I like you, Hadley.”

“It has been a month.”

“We have spent every other waking moment with each other. You’ve brought me lunch at work, and hand me cookies to take to work. Don’t you think we’ve come far from just that one interview?”

“Yes, I do.”

She loved his company more than anything. It scared her how much she had become part of his life, and how the little things really meant so much to her. She loved the way he held her at night, and when she was cooking, he’d come up and kiss her neck, wrapping his arms around her waist. When they were watching movies, he’d put his arm across the back of her neck, and tease her hair. She hadn’t showered alone since she had met him. He even had a large box of condoms in the shower, though they had stopped using them the moment the physical had come back clean, and she was on birth control.

“What do you want to do?” she asked.

“I was made aware yesterday evening of the headline they were printing, so I made some contacts, and I would like you to wear this.”

He placed a blue velvet box on the table top, and she tensed up. “An engagement ring?”

“Yeah, I would really like you to be my girl.” He opened up the box, showing the expensive engagement ring.

“Oh boy.”

She stared at the ring, and then at him.

He took the ring out of the small box, and slid it onto her finger. She was surprised that it fit. “I guessed right.”

Okay, this was starting to freak her out a little. Biting her lip, she smiled at him. She was a superstitious person, and believed that if the ring the guy had picked didn’t fit, then it was never going to work. “You picked out the ring?”

“Yeah, I did.”

Her other belief was if the guy picked out the right ring, then it was destined for them to be together. Yes, yes, yes, it was corny, and she understood that, but how could she not believe?

“Will we be getting married?” she asked.

He smiled at her. “I don’t know, Hadley. You tell me.”

“This is really sweet.” She leaned over, and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Thank you.”

“I’d be careful when you go out. Let Russell drive you. He’s the driver across the street. He’ll take care of you.”

“I need protection?” she asked.

“Yes. For me, I want you to have protection. I’ve got to head to work. Thank you, Hadley.” He kissed her again, and she closed her eyes.

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