Chapter 25 The Idea of ‘Us’ #2
O Doamne, he smelt incredible. Henry wasn’t the type of man to drown himself in overpowering cologne. He smelled like clean laundry and herbal shampoo, and I salivated at the thought of just devouring him, sinking my teeth into his warm skin and just…
“Have you had enough time to go over the proposal I sent you for Staghorn?” River asked, launching straight into business and thankfully snapping me out of the horny haze Henry’s intoxicating scent had been sending me into.
“I have.” His voice rumbled in his chest, and I felt the vibrations through my back. “I can see the merit in everything you’re proposing, but quite frankly, I’m daunted by the task. It’s completely outside of my wheelhouse.”
River sighed, running a hand through his sandy hair.
“It is daunting. It’s a bigger task than anything I’ve ever worked on before.
But I’m determined not to let the rainforest get turned into a concrete casino at the hands of those bastards at The Bacchanal.
I’m all in on project managing the entire redevelopment process, and once it’s ready to trade, then we—you—would outsource that to a general manager, with you still sitting as head of the company. ”
“We would outsource it,” Henry corrected. “I might be fronting the capital, but you’re putting your manpower, your skillset and your time into it. We would be partners.”
River’s face brightened. “Are you saying that you—”
“I haven’t made a final decision yet,” Henry added. “I need to get the go ahead from the most important stakeholder, first.”
I wrinkled my nose. Was he planning to bring Atlas in on this deal?
“Ri?” Henry prompted, his fingers tapping on my belly, the sensation sending a zing of heat pooling in my abdomen.
“What?” I blurted.
Henry chuckled against my back. “Do you think we should buy an island?”
I swivelled on his lap to look him in the eye, certain he must be joking. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I won’t make a decision like this without involving my wife. I want to know what you think. Is this a good way to invest our money?”
I clenched my jaw to stop my mouth from falling open in shock. What was he talking about? I had absolutely no say over his probably multiple millions of liquid assets, let alone all the rest!
“I … uh …” I thought fast. A real wife wouldn’t gawk like an idiot when her husband asked her questions about their finances.
But this wasn’t our money. What if I said do it, and it was a disaster, and then in two years I walked away?
‘Thanks, Henry, for the permanent residency, hope you enjoy bankruptcy!’
But he was smarter than that. If he wasn’t sure on the numbers already, he wouldn’t have asked me. I glanced up at his face and the soft expectancy in his expression as he met my gaze melted me.
“It does have sentimental value to us,” I murmured, finding his hand and fingering his wedding ring.
“I’d much rather it become a place we can revisit every year on our anniversary, and enjoy the beauty and the serenity, than see it paved over for high stakes card games, and ridiculously named cocktails, and American-style all-you-can-eat buffets, and retirees zombied-out on the pokie machines. ”
Henry’s eyes darkened, and I remembered that he’d said his father was a gambling addict.
“Promise me we’ll go back every year, on our wedding anniversary, and I’ll make this deal right now. Just so I can stand on that beach every single year and remind myself how much I adore you,” he muttered against my ear.
My throat closed over with emotion, and I blinked frantically. I wasn’t going to cry, because this was all for show.
But what a show he was putting on!
“I think we just bought ourselves an island,” I whispered raggedly, and before I could think twice, I brushed a soft kiss to his lips. He hummed against my mouth, his fingers tightening on my belly.
When he pulled back, his eyes were a deep, rainforest green, his pupils blown.
“Put in the offer, River,” he rumbled.
“Thank you!” River muttered fervently. Henry reluctantly released my waist to shake his hand. “I promise you will not regret this! I’ll start the process with the owner.”
“And call Liv to set up a meeting time for next week, please,” Henry added. “We’ll need to have a partnership contract signed before we exchange on Staghorn. Are you still in Sydney next week? It can be done digitally, if not.”
River stood, and I made to get off Henry’s lap to return to my seat, but he tugged me back against him, his big hand splayed possessively over my belly, leaving me shivery and tingly.
“I’m here until the end of the month—I’ve got the launch of my clothing line then.
Which reminds me, you two need to be there!
” He leaned closer. “They’re making me walk the runway, if you can believe it.
I’m nervous as hell, but having some mates in the front row might give me the confidence boost I need. ”
How was this my life? I was sitting in the lap of my certified hot nerd billionaire fake husband, who had just bought an entire tropical island because I said it would be nice to go back there for our fake wedding anniversary.
And I had an iconic celebrity environmentalist inviting me to his modelling debut because I was his ‘mate’.
“Send the details through to Liv, and she’ll add it to my calendar,” Henry said while my brain whirred and my stomach fluttered and my chest tightened.
You’re falling for a fantasy, Ri. I told myself. This is not a good thing.
River saluted and sauntered up to the counter.
The waitress giggled, holding out a napkin and pen, and with a sunny grin, River scrawled something on the paper.
When he left the café, Keep Cup in hand, several sets of eyes followed him, but an equal number stayed trained on Henry and me.
I tried again to stand, but Henry held me fast, his lips grazing my cheek until they were at my ear.
“Don’t look now, but there’s a man sitting in the corner who has been showing us far too much attention,” he whispered.
I forced myself not to immediately crane my neck in that direction as the fluttering in my stomach changed from butterflies to something sharp and jangling.
“He’s wearing a Cockerels cap, like your friend at the bus stop the morning of the wedding. ”
La naiba!
I hadn’t told Henry about what I’d seen from the window of the apartment the night before.
To be fair, I hadn’t really had the opportunity, and now was definitely not the time to do it.
When we were back at the yacht, safe and sound, I could explain about Rumi’s night-time dealings with Cockerels Cap.
It could just be a coincidence, I told myself. The Cockerels were a very popular team, and he might have just been staring because River Riley had been sitting at our table.
After we paid, as we walked back out into the April sunshine, I let my eyes rove around the café in the direction Henry had mentioned.
My heart sank when I caught sight of the man.
It wasn’t just the cap. It was the same puffer jacket, draped over his chair.
And the same slope of the shoulders, and the once-muscular frame that had run to fat …
His eyes, dark and dirty grey, met mine. I shivered, turning quickly away. Henry’s hand was like a lifeline in mine as I willed my heart to return to normal. There was no coincidence here. This man was stalking me.