Chapter 9 Cole #2
Her eyes slipped away. “I made that marriage pact because I was a stupid kid and I was infatuated with you. I won’t put my heart at your mercy again. This is strictly a business arrangement. I can’t forgive you for ghosting me.”
Infatuated with you. She made it sound like a crush.
Something short-lived and silly. It had been more than that.
Charlotte had been everything to me. A knot tightened in my chest. “You’re right.
This is strictly business. We keep our hearts out of it.
I don’t have one anyway. You were right about me being a vampire. ”
A shadow darkened her face. “You did have one. Before.”
Everything was different before. “What else have you got?”
Pink tinged her cheeks, and she fidgeted with the clasp on her handbag. “Sex.”
“What about it?”
“It’s off the table.”
I held her gaze and lowered my voice. “No problem. It doesn’t need to be on a table. We can do it anywhere.”
She tried for a confident tilt of her head, but her flush deepened. Her voice was chiding. “You know that’s not what I meant. No sex anywhere. No physical contact whatsoever. We need to be clear on that.”
“There has to be some physical contact. This needs to look real. We’re supposed to be a couple in love.”
She frowned. “How much physical contact?”
“I’m open to negotiation. What are you comfortable with?”
“With you?” She let out a humorless laugh. “None.”
My jaw ticked. “Let me rephrase: What are you willing to tolerate to make this look convincing? A normal couple would touch in public. If you want to specify where I can touch you, we’ll put it in the contract, and I’ll stick to those areas.
Your hands, for instance? Would it be acceptable to hold your hand? ”
The expression of barely concealed disdain on Charlotte’s face made it clear she wouldn’t choose to hold my hand even if her life depended on it. I’d dismantled family businesses and had a warmer reception.
She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “If you must.”
“Are you comfortable with hugs?”
She shifted in her seat and pulled her dress down over her thighs. “I’m not opposed to it, if it’s necessary.”
“Are there any parts of your body you don’t consent for me to touch in public?”
She wrinkled her nose and let out a chuff of laughter. “Oh, for God’s sake, Cole. Stop making it so weird. You’re overthinking it. Just act like a normal respectful human in a relationship in public and keep your hands to yourself in private. It’s not that deep.”
“I’m trying to make this comfortable for you. The contract is in both our interests. Better to just hash it all out now. What’s your stance on kissing?”
Silence crackled between us. I let it breathe. Any good negotiation needed silence. Whoever controlled the pace controlled the outcome.
Her eyes traveled everywhere except to me. “You can kiss me on the cheek if you must. Not on the mouth.”
“We’ll have to kiss on the mouth at the wedding.”
She sighed. “Fine. One mouth kiss at the wedding. No tongue.”
“No tongue. Agreed.”
She bit her lip and shot me a glance. “And what about you? What are you comfortable with?”
“I encourage you to touch me whenever you want in public. The more convincing it looks between us, the better.”
She stared at me with slight goading in her eyes. “You encourage me to touch you? And do you have any limits you’d like to formalize in the contract, or are you giving me free rein to grope you?”
I raked a hand through my hair, just for something to do with it. This negotiation was more awkward than my unsuccessful attempts at flirting with her as a teenager. Still, I kept my voice calm and measured. “Do whatever feels natural for you in the moment . . . within reason.”
She raised an amused eyebrow. “Within reason. Got it. I’ll try and resist sticking my hand down your pants during the wedding speeches.”
Charlotte had always made jokes when she was uncomfortable, but I needed her to take this seriously. If we didn’t get this part right, the arrangement would never work. “I’m not playing here, Charlotte. I need to know that you’re in with me on this.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” She blew out a breath. “This is just a conversation I never expected to have. But I can do what you’re asking. You don’t have to worry.”
“Good.”
Her eyes slipped away. “Good.”
I asked the question that had been bugging me, just to move us on to something more palatable. “What made you change your mind about accepting the offer?”
“I can’t afford to buy Tiff out of Dad’s house.” Her gaze dropped to her Converse. “But I can’t bring myself to sell it.”
So I’d get what I wanted because she felt cornered. That wouldn’t do. Her quiet capitulations and careful eyes felt all wrong. This had to be an informed decision, not an act of desperation.
“I’ll give you the money for the house. You don’t have to marry me. No strings. It’s a birthday gift. You can take it and walk out of here.”
Her eyebrows flew up. “What? It’s too much. I can’t accept that.”
“It’s nothing.” I opened my drawer and pulled out my checkbook. “You can have it now.”
“Why?”
“Because coercion and consent are different things. I don’t want you to agree to this because you’re being backed into a corner. And I don’t want you to marry me because Tiff thinks it’s a good idea. You need to sign this contract because it’s the best thing for you.”
She fell silent as she fiddled with the gold hoop in her ear. Enough. I wouldn’t force her into something that made her uncomfortable, no matter how much I wanted it. I grabbed a pen and lowered my hand to the check.
“Wait.” Her hand slid across the desk. “This isn’t just about what Tiff wants. Five million is a lot of money. This is what I want.”
I lowered the pen. “You’re sure.”
She gave a resolute nod. “Yes.”
Five million was a lot of money, but nothing compared to how much I’d lose if my shareholders had beef with me.
I couldn’t fight a war on two fronts. If I was going to take down my father, then first I needed to get my own house in order.
I’d never be able to ruin him without my company backing me.
Sir Philip Thorner needed to pay for what he’d done to my mother.
This was perfect timing. A lovely young wife would shut the shareholders up so I could get on with it.
She gave me a speculative glance. “You know you could ask anybody.”
“I don’t trust anybody. Not a single soul on this planet.”
She frowned. “But you trust me?”
“Yes.”
It had been so long since I’d seen her, but I knew this woman. There were so few good people in this world, but she was one of the best. She was also one of the few people in my life that my father hadn’t sunk his claws into yet.
She rubbed the back of her neck. “I can’t even imagine what Dad would have made of all this.”
Roy had been a good man. He’d been the father I always longed for, but he’d put his own child first, and I respected that.
I’d asked him for help, and he’d turned me away.
He’d acted in Charlotte’s best interests, to protect her future.
I’d wanted to protect her, too. But Charlotte could never know.
She idolized Roy. I wanted to help her, not piss on her father’s grave.
“I think Roy would have been happy to see you taken care of.”
She glanced at me, but her eyes wouldn’t meet mine.
“You can leave all the arrangements to me. Let me take care of everything. You won’t even have to buy a wedding dress.”
She fixed her gaze over my shoulder at the view of the city skyline. The soft clicks of keyboards and polite telephone conversations drifted in from outside.
She cleared her throat. “Fine.”
“Fine?”
“I’ll sign the contract.”
I tried to keep the eagerness out of my voice. “You’ll marry me?”
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and flashed a weak smile. “May as well. Not like I’ve had any better offers.”