Chapter 17 #2
That name wouldn’t be mine much longer. The contract was signed. The marriage was real and there was no going back now.
It’d taken less than ten minutes. No vows, no lace, and no flowers, but it was done. Just the shuffle of paper, the scrape of a pen, and two signatures bleeding ink into legal permanence.
I suddenly became aware of the deafening silence in the room, so quiet that I could hear the faint hum of the HVAC system and the soft buzz of the attorney’s phone vibrating in his pocket.
Somewhere outside this monstrosity of a building, the city was waking up, but in this room, in this moment, it felt like we were suspended in something colorless and cold.
Then Sterling turned to me. Once again, those eyes locked on mine, his devastatingly handsome face completely straight as he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. All sharp edges and lack of emotion as he came back holding a small, black box.
I blinked at it, a little stunned despite our exchange last night. I’d honestly forgotten about this part, but when he opened it, the air between us shifted.
The ring inside was nothing like I would’ve expected. A deep, blood-red ruby gleamed at the center, flanked by two sharp, clean diamonds. The setting was art-deco, ornate but elegant, with gold so rich and warm, it looked almost liquid.
My hand trembled as he slid it onto my finger, followed by a simple gold band that nestled perfectly beneath it. The fit was exact, but I’d promised myself I was going to work on not being so surprised by everything.
Once the cool metal was resting firmly against my skin, he slipped his own ring on without any ceremony. It was a matching gold band, minimalist but expensive. He leaned in slightly, his voice low and warm near my ear.
“I know you don’t like diamonds, but I do. It’s my birthstone. That’s why they’re there.”
I turned my head just enough to murmur back, “Didn’t take you for a sentimental guy.”
Suddenly, I could practically feel his smile. Not on my cheek, not on my skin—just hovering there near my ear, close and unspoken.
When he pulled away, I stood, half-expecting that to be it. He’d say goodbye, I’d go home, and we’d each sit with the strange silence of what we’d just done.
Instead, Sterling touched the small of my back, his palm resting there lightly but intimately. Like he had a right to touch me like this. Like we were connected somehow. Legally, we were.
“Come on. I take it you haven’t eaten.”
“I’m fine,” I lied.
I felt his gaze cut to the side of my head. “You’re shaking.”
“It’s cold,” I said. “I got wet on my way in, remember?”
He didn’t argue or comment. Just shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders, enveloping me in his residual warmth and an expensive scent I couldn’t quite pinpoint but instantly knew I could become addicted to.
Without skipping a beat, he held the door open for me and guided me to the elevator with that gentle, intimate touch on my back. We rode down in complete silence. Then he led me out of the building and we waited under the awning outside for just a few seconds before Steve pulled up.
He didn’t say a word as he raced around the car to open the back door. Between the two of them, I was nestled inside the warm interior of the town car so fast, I’d barely gotten a few splatters of rain on me this time.
Steve offered me a smile but kept his mouth shut as he drove us, without needing an instruction telling him where to go, to a small diner tucked between two glossy towers downtown. It was the kind of place I would have missed if I didn’t know to look for it.
Inside, it smelled like strong coffee and butter, with tile floors and brass accents that felt like old money trying to pretend it wasn’t. We got a window seat and Sterling ordered for both of us without even asking permission this time—black coffee, eggs soft, toast not burned.
Somehow, it didn’t annoy me that he made the decision.
Maybe it was because my hands were still cold, my new ring resting heavily on a finger that had been bare until mere minutes ago.
Or maybe it was just because I didn’t want to think too hard about anything for fear that the reality of what had just happened would really sink in.
Whatever the reason, I found myself quite appreciating not having to decide on breakfast right now. The server brought our coffee. Sterling stirred his before he looked up at me with that ever-steady gaze.
“Here’s what happens next,” he said, not warmly, but not harshly either. I imagined this was as close as the guy got to being gentle. All I had to do was listen as he laid it out. “We’ll move into my penthouse together.”
“Okay.”
He nodded. “The guest suite will be turned into a nursery when the need arises. You can choose whether you want to be involved with the decoration, but obviously, I’ll cover all the expenses.
All the staff have signed nondisclosure agreements and I’ve created a shared calendar for us.
On it, you’ll find the schedule for our joint appearances.
My daily schedule is there as well. It will be updated as my meetings are confirmed.
You’ll have legal support for the business.
My assistant will schedule our first doctor’s appointment. ”
“You’ve thought of everything,” I said and took a sip of coffee. It was good, bitter but grounding.
“I try.”
When he fell silent, I blurted out. “I haven’t told my dad about this yet.”
“My father knows, but the rest of my family are in for quite a surprise as well,” he confessed, his mouth lifting at one corner. “We’ll deal with it. Together.” He lifted his mug. “To conference room weddings.”
After pausing for a brief moment, I clinked mine against it. “To well-organized disasters.”
He held my gaze, that one corner of his mouth hooking just a little bit higher, and it suddenly wasn’t the warmth of the coffee that settled in my chest. It was the way he looked at me, direct and calm, like he wasn’t pretending this was something it wasn’t, but also wasn’t treating it like something to be ashamed of.
A ribbon of genuine warmth slipped through me, as delicate as it was dangerous, and it made me look away first, turning my gaze on the window and the rain-dappled glass, the traffic beyond as the city finally, lazily started stretching its legs.
All of this was just business. A strictly professional relationship—with a baby in the near future. One way or another, I was getting knocked up by a man who was legally my husband, but in reality, no more than a business partner.
Boy, life really knows how to throw a curve ball sometimes.