Page 15 of Heartbeat

I looked up into my husband’s eyes, and for the first time, there was an emotion that I couldn’t recognize because he was a stranger. I stood on my tip-toes, and he leaned down and wrapped his arm around my waist. He flipped my veil up and kissed me breathless.

His large hand came up and cupped the back of my head as his arm tightened around my waist, pulling me closer. His lips crashed down on mine. The touch of his mouth on mine caused tingles to spread throughout my body. His kiss was more passionate than I expected, and I sighed, opening my mouth to his tongue’s probing. I was lost in our own little world when the priest clearing his throat brought me back to Earth.

Lennox pulled back from our kiss; he leaned his forehead against mine. The gesture was sweet, almost like he had to gather his thoughts after a mind-shattering kiss. I know I did. When he opened his eyes, again, they danced with an emotion that I couldn’t identify.

Lennox cleared his throat, unwrapped his arm, and stepped completely away from me. I felt the loss of his body against mine immediately. He tucked my arm into his as we turned to face the small crowd.

They smiled and clapped as we made our way back down the aisle and out of the church. We got into the waiting car to ride to our reception destination. The car ride was awkwardly silent. And I had no idea how I was supposed to get through this.

“Lennox, thanks for going through with this.” I tried to break the uneasiness by being kind.

“Like I had a fucking choice,” He scowled at me as if the situation was my fault.

“Neither the fuck did I,” I responded defensively. I wanted to play nice, but if he wanted to be an asshole, I could be an even bigger bitch.

“Listen, Princess,” his jaw clenched as he glared at me, “We’re going to smile and be the picture-perfect couple in public. But in private, we both know what the deal is.”

“And what’s the deal, Dr. Nash?” I sneered at him. Pissed that I thought we could ever live in harmony.

“The deal is, I’m going to figure out a way to get out of this marriage. But while I do that, you’re going to be the pretty princess that you are and fake it so that our fathers will stay off our backs.” Lennox’s eyes were colder than I had ever seen them. And suddenly, the warm and fuzzies Lennox had given me had completely dissolved.

I didn’t respond because there was nothing left to be said. If he could figure out a way to get out of this arrangement, I damned sure wouldn’t try to stop him.

When we arrived at our reception, we were ushered into a waiting room to change into our reception outfits while our guests were seated. Our wedding would be a who’s who of Founder’s Island. I was a Bishops after all. And even though this was a last-minute affair, nobody would dare miss a Bishops’ wedding.

Most of the guests were high rollers associated with the original families of the island. There were business associates of my father’s as well as the Nash family. The Nash’s may not have been from Founder’s, but they were from old money in the states.

Conrad Nash was worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and Anna’s net worth was even more than his. It was astounding that I had never heard of them before I met them at the wedding. I suppose I should’ve known that Lennox wasn’t an ordinary doctor if he was Jagger Hanlon’s friend.

When it was finally time for our introduction to the reception, I was beyond over the entire charade. Lennox’s family was the first faces I saw as we walked into the venue. His three brothers were all as gorgeous as he was, and they were all wearing the same confused expression.Guess they weren’t privy to the reasons behind this shotgun wedding.

Lennox’s parents, Anna and Conrad, were next. Anna looked happy, and Conrad looked smug. I still disliked his snake ass, almost as much as my father. Speaking of which, he was standing tall, holding my mother’s hand. Not looking at all guilty for selling his child to the highest bidder to save his own ass. My sisters were standing beside my parents, Robin, with the look of guilt I wanted my father to have, and Dove with a look of boredom.

My vision shifted back to my parents, and my eyes connected to my father’s. My top lip involuntarily curled in disgust before my husband tugged on my hand. I looked up at him, ready to tear into him when I met his cold gaze.

“Pretend better, Princess.” Lennox growled through clenched teeth and a fake smile. I returned his phony smile with a wide one of my own.

“Fuck you.” I snatched my hand from his and went to the open bar.

It was my party, and I’d drink if I want to… or whatever the song said.

CHAPTER 8

LENNOX

My wedding reception was a clusterfuck of foolishness. After skipping our first dance and cutting the cake, my sweet blushing bride got utterly wasted and vomited all over the gift table. It was a good thing that most of the guests were just as drunk as she was, and therefore they were too preoccupied with dancing and eating to notice Raven’s little display. The islanders sure knew how to enjoy a party. I ended up fireman carrying my new wife out the back entrance so the reporters wouldn’t see her.

God forbid anyone catches wind of why my bride needed to get black-out drunk. If the press found out about our arrangement, then my life would be ruined. Nobody was supposed to know, and if there was even a hint of a whisper, Alejandro Bishops, my father-in-law, promised to ruin my reputation.

So as much as I wanted to drink my cares away, I had to make sure that Raven didn’t say or do anything to raise any suspicions. We already had to lie about when and how we met, claiming we were lost loves who reunited. Raven had lived in Europe for design school, so we said we met there while I was on vacation. People believed the story, and if they didn’t, they wouldn’t dare go against the Bishops.

So now here I was carrying Raven over the threshold to my… our penthouse apartment. It would’ve been the perfect traditional scene except my wife was passed out from drinking entirely too much.

Her face looked so innocent and serene while she snored loudly in my arms. Raven snuggled closer to me, and without thought, I held her tighter. When she thanked me in the car for marrying her, it pissed me off.

I knew our fathers forced her into this arrangement just like they did me, and the way she just laid down and took it left me wanting to strangle her. Raven hadn’t told me the specifics of why she was willing to marry me, but I could see it in her eyes that it wasn’t her first choice.

Raven groaned when I shifted her body to let us into the door. Her cute button nose frowned before her beautiful full lips pulled into a pout.

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