Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I burst out laughing.
“I’ll stay with Renn. Hell, I’ll assist Gannon if that’s the only other option. But do not give me Tate.”
“Don’t worry. You’re still my assistant. This is a marriage of convenience, remember? It’s not for real.”
“Mmm—”
“It’s not!”
“I know. It’s not … right now. So let me call Halcyon and see what I can do,” she says over my objections. “I’ll call you back.”
I sigh. “Fine.”
“Fine. Talk soon.”
She wastes no time hanging up on me. It’s a good thing because I hear the alarm chirp that Foxx is home.
CHAPTER 14
Foxx
“How did that go?” Bianca asks, rounding the corner. “Was your mom a lot?”
“I’ll put it to you this way—we’ll be married tomorrow.”
Her eyes sparkle as she follows me into the living room. I sit on the sofa. She curls up with a pillow next to me.
This almost feels like an out-of-body experience. It’s so beyond anything I ever imagined that I have difficulty believing this is real. Bianca is sitting on my sofa. We’re discussing our wedding. In a few hours, she’ll be with me in front of my family and introduced as my fiancée.
Her smile digs right through the fog and slams into my chest.
I should be more upset about this. There should be a notion of panic. I should be thinking that being married will crimp my lifestyle and be worried about just how wrong a divorce, even from a fake marriage, will be. At the very least, I should be looking at this situation as an extension of my employment and not finally knowing what it feels like to have this woman in my arms.
But I’m not.
At all.
“What?” she asks, amused.
“I was just wondering if I’ll get an end-of-the-year bonus for having to marry you.”
She gasps. “That’s no way to talk to your wife.”
“You’re not my wife yet.”
“Oh, good point.” She sits back, tossing her pillow at me. “You better be careful. I haven’t decided what kind of wife I will be.”
I place the pillow beside me. “Do I have options?”
“No, but I do.” She laughs. “Do I want to be the doting housewife? I’ll have your laundry done and your dinner made when you get home.”
“I’ve seen your attempts at cooking, so I hope not.”
She shoves my arm, making me chuckle.
“Then I might be the nag. I might be on your ass all the time about the trash and your socks on the floor and watching too many sports. I might constantly beg for your attention.”
“I can safely say you will never have to beg me for attention.”
She smirks.
I can see where this is going. If I don’t redirect this conversation soon, she’s going to be bouncing on my cock. And as much as I want those giant titties in my mouth and her pussy wrapped around me, I need to give her time to process this. I need to give her the chance to back out.
Even if it kills me.
Groaning, I adjust myself as discreetly as possible. “How did the call go with your mother?”
Her smirk dwindles. “It went okay. She was surprised, I think. And really upset that I’m in this situation.”
My curiosity rises as her gaze settles on something across the room. I don’t know a lot about Bianca’s relationship with her mother. And I’ve never worked on Rory Brewer’s security team. But something tells me their mother-daughter bond isn’t what I see with my mom and my sister, Paige. They’re thick as thieves. In fact, even my mom and brothers’ better halves have a closer relationship than I ever saw between Bianca and Rory.
“She wanted to come tomorrow, but I told her to ask Jason,” she says, drawing her attention back to me.
Pools of emotion cloud her pretty green eyes. It makes it hard not to grab her and pull her onto my lap.
“Do you want her here?” I ask. “Because if you do, I’ll make it happen.”
She takes a breath to speak, but something holds her back.
“Is everything okay, Bianca?”
She exhales slowly. “I can’t tell if I’m being rational or if this whole thing has made me more emotional than I’m aware.”
“Wanna tell me and see if I can help?”
A smile ghosts against her lips. “I’ve never said this out loud.” She laughs to herself, almost in disbelief. “Okay, I’ll say it like this. I don’t want my mom to be here when we get married.” She shifts in her seat. “I know that sounds horrible, and you must think I’m some brat for feeling that way. But—”
“Hey.” I lay my hand on her thigh. “That doesn’t sound horrible. And I think you’re a brat anyway.”
A grin filters across her face.
I wink. “You just had a lot of shit thrown at you from inside your circle. You have every right to want to take a step back and protect yourself.” I give her leg a little shake. “And you’re going to have a husband who gives no fucks about telling people to back off. So if you need someone to help with boundaries, you’re marrying well.”