Chapter Five
A knock sounded on her bedroom door, and she asked Colin to come in. "What do you think?" she asked worriedly as he entered. "Is it too much?"
"You look breathtaking in it."
"But?" She totally heard a 'but' coming.
Colin's lips tightened. "It's nothing."
"I could just change—-"
"It's fine," Colin said curtly.
Was it just her or was he in a bad mood?
"Is something wrong?" she asked gently.
A muscle started ticking in his jaw.
"Is it Princess? Is she in trouble—"
"Stop being so nice about her."
Her eyes widened, but she was more surprised than hurt by the sharpness of his tone.
"I'm not blind," Colin gritted out. "It took me a while to see the truth, but I know she was deliberately trying to cause trouble between us yesterday."
"I never said—"
"It was just one mishap after another," Colin said with a curl of his lip. "Only an idiot wouldn't have realized what was happening after the fourth or fifth incident."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm the one who should say sorry," Colin said grimly.
Oh no. Here he goes again.
"I should never have left you—"
She cut him off and did her best to keep her voice steady as she reminded him, "We talked about this, remember? You were very clear about what you wanted from this marriage. And I was just as clear when I told you I was fine with it. So please stop apologizing for something we both signed up for."
"And that's all our marriage is to you, isn't it? A business arrangement."
"There's no need to test me like that" she said lightly.
"You're making it sound like you want this marriage to mean something to both of us.
But we both know that's not true. So please just take my word for this: I don't have any designs on your fortune.
And that won't ever change. What you've promised me once this is all over. ..it's enough."
Or at least it should be. It had to be. Because otherwise, losing Colin would kill her.
****
Colin guided Hope through the entrance, his hand warm against the small of her back. She felt the stares immediately—some admiring, others speculative, a few openly hostile.
They circled the room, exchanging pleasantries with Colin's former classmates. Hope maintained her role as the devoted wife, laughing at appropriate moments, touching Colin's arm with practiced affection. The performance came more easily now, muscle memory after days of repetition.
Too easily, a voice in her head warned. Remember what this is. Remember what it isn't.
"Colin!" A booming voice interrupted their conversation with a retired teacher. "Holding out on us again, I see."
Hope turned to find a tall, broad-shouldered man approaching, his grin wide beneath a carefully groomed mustache. Wilson, according to his name tag, and captain of the wrestling team, if she remembered correctly.
"Wilson." Colin's greeting was cordial but contained. "This is my wife, Hope. Hope, Wilson Bards."
The other man extended his hand to Hope, holding hers a beat too long. "This is quite the honor: to be in the presence of the woman who finally pinned down the unpinnable Colin Soukoulis."
"I, um, feel the same." She couldn't help but smile at his colorful vocabulary even as she carefully extracted her hand from his grip.
She had no idea if 'unpinnable' was an actual word, but whatever.
She smiled at Wilson, adding, "It's an honor to be in the presence of high school wrestling greatness. "
Wilson immediately clutched his heart. "How unfair life is, to fall under the spell of a woman already taken.
" He then looked at Colin, asking dramatically, "Would you take pity on a poor soul and let me at least enjoy one stolen dance with your wife?
" Wilson turned to Hope with a wink, saying, "For old times' sake. "
Hope couldn't help laughing despite herself. "We didn't have any old times."
"Recollections can vary," Wilson said piously, "but I still stand by my words." He glanced at Colin then, asking, "It's alright, isn't it?"
Colin looked at Hope. "Only if it's alright with my wife."
Wilson's hopeful look had Hope laughing again. "Well, in that case—"
He offered his hand to Hope, but just as she was about to place her hand in his—-
Oh!
"Good try, Wilson," Colin drawled as instead he caught her hand and slid it into his trousers' pocket instead. "But I think not."
Wilson's laugh was good-natured. "Well, well, well. You were never this jealous, not even with Princess."
"Isn't that to be expected? We were just kids back then. But Hope is my wife." Colin gave Wilson a nod. "We'll see you around."
Hope wasn't even given a chance to say goodbye, with Colin already taking her hand out so he could curve an arm around her waist. And then they were walking away, and it was all she could do not to trip as she did her best to keep up with her husband's long-legged stride.
Hope cleared her throat. "So, I'm not sure what happened—"
Colin looked sharply toward her, and Hope ended up gulping at the fury in his gaze.
"Did you even notice how you had him staring at your breasts the whole time?"
Hope's jaw dropped.
"For as long as you're my wife," Colin said between clenched teeth, "you're to act like it."
"But—"
"If you need an explanation, then think of it this way. You're mine. Everything of you is mine. Got that?"
Before Hope could respond, another former classmate of Colin approached, pulling them into conversation. The moment passed, but the tension lingered, electric and unexplored.
Throughout the evening, Hope noticed Colin's heightened awareness of other men's attentions.
The way his hand stayed at the small of her back when the investment banker from Jackson Hole complimented her dress.
The possessive brush of his thumb against her wrist when another man told her she had grown even prettier over the years.
It was a side of Colin she hadn't seen before. Territorial. Protective. It should have felt stifling. Instead, it sent shivers of awareness dancing across her skin.
The string quartet transitioned to dance music, couples moving to the cleared floor at the center of the hall. Colin extended his hand to Hope.
"Dance with me."
Colin ignored the surprise that flashed in her eyes as he drew her to the dance floor. He already knew she had meant to turn him down.
Being this close to her husband discomfited her, and Hope's discomfort only grew when she caught sight of a lovely blonde making a splash as she entered the ballroom. "Colin? It's Princess—"
"I don't give a damn."
Her eyes widened. "What's wrong with you? She's just arrived—"
"She has her own husband. Let him deal with his own wife. I already have my hands full with mine."
"Excuse me?" He was making her sound so wonderfully troublesome, when all her life she had gotten used to thinking of herself as dull and boring.
His gaze bored through hers. "You heard me."
"I have never tried to cause trouble—"
"Then that's even worse."
A choked laugh escaped her despite everything. "What is wrong with you, seriously?"
"Jealousy."
Hope rolled her eyes. "No, really—"
"And it's not the kind of jealousy I've ever felt before," Colin grated out. "Not even with Princess."
Hope could only stare now that she realized he wasn't joking. Jealous? Her husband was jealous? Over her? How? Why?
"I finally have your attention." Triumph glittered in his gaze. "Good." And he suited action to words by drawing her close.
Oh no.
Hope's breath caught upon finding every inch of her body plastered against her husband's. Around them, other couples danced, but Hope barely registered their presence. How could she, with the way Colin's hand had now curved possessively around her backside?
From across the room, Hope caught sight of Princess watching them, her perfect features arranged in a mask of polite indifference that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"She's watching us," Hope blurted out.
"Ignore her."
"But—"
Instead of answering, Colin covered her mouth in a kiss, and all she could do was hold on to the massive breadth of his shoulders. The kiss deepened. Her senses reeled.
And when he pulled away, her husband said quietly, "I want you."
She didn't even have to think, with her heart already his. "Then take me." Her words had him jerking. It was obvious she had taken him by surprise. It was to be expected, since she had also surprised herself.
But the more Hope thought about it, the more she realized it was what she wanted, and she then heard herself say, "I'm tired of being a virgin, Colin.
" This was neither a lie nor an absolute truth.
Instead, they were words she was pinning her every hope to.
Her every prayer. Because she was hoping, once they made love, he would realize the same thing.
This marriage was right. This marriage could last. If they chose each other.
Hope mustered a smile as Colin stared down at her in brooding silence. They had ceased to dance completely, their still figures drawing increasing attention from other guests, and most especially from Princess. But he didn't seem to notice this, and she took it as a good sign.
"I'm not pressuring you or anything." Hope decided to keep things light with a teasing tone. "It's just an, um, offer that I wanted you to be aware of. And in any case, I can always go to Wilson—-"
"Try it then, and you'll have his death on your hands."
Hope was about to laugh when she belatedly noticed the rage in his eyes, fueled by jealousy.
"I was just j-joking," she stammered.
"You think it's funny to consider giving yourself to someone else when I already own you?" Colin glared down at her. "I think it's time I give you a lesson of what it means to be mine."
And off they went, with Hope once again half-running to keep up with her husband's pace, and oh!
They had just walked past Princess, and it was as if the other woman didn't even exist for Colin. Hope glanced up, wondering if he was just faking it, but oh!