Chapter 1
Chapter One
Holly
“Do you, Holly, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
I feel a trickle of sweat begin between my shoulder blades and ever so slowly slide down the middle of my back.
“To have and to hold…”
My voice sounds weird as I repeat the phrase, and I try to breathe through the tightness in my chest.
“From this day forward…”
At least for the next year.
“For better or for worse…”
Things are going to get worse before they get better, once our families discover what we’ve done.
“For richer or for poorer…”
I’m going to be two million dollars richer when this is all over, but I don’t know what the emotional toll will be.
“In sickness and in health…”
Does wanting to puke during your wedding vows count as sickness?
“Until death do us part.”
I sincerely hope neither of us dies in the next year.
“I now pronounce you…man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Kiss me?
Oh, shit, I totally forgot that we would have to kiss, but we have an audience and this has to look real or everything we’re doing will have been for naught.
Looking up into Viktor’s deep-set green eyes, I see everything I’m feeling reflected in his expression. Wariness. Anxiety. Not to mention the rigidness of his posture. His hands don’t appear to be shaking like mine are, but there’s no doubt he’s feeling some kind of way about all of this.
“Everything will be okay,” he whispers softly, surprising me as I tilt up my face.
He puts one hand on the side of my face, as if trying to reassure me, and then his eyes close. As if touching me somehow soothes him.
Why do I like that I can soothe him?
I don’t have time to think about it because everyone is waiting, watching, and about to take pictures. This has to look real. It has to be real.
So, I close my eyes too.
When his lips touch mine I’m surprised at how soft they are. How warm. He’s very handsome so kissing him isn’t as weird as I thought it would be.
Then the kiss is over almost as soon as it begins, and the officiant gives us a smile.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Viktor reaches for my hand since we have to make this as realistic as possible.
We talked about this. We’re prepared, but my hand is ice cold when he laces our fingers together, I can’t help but shiver just a little. He gives my hand what I hope is a reassuring squeeze as we turn away from the officiant and face the small group of friends who came to support us.
“Congratulations.” West is the first to reach us.
“Thank you.”
Serena gives me a big hug and she looks into my eyes questioningly. “You okay?” she whispers.
“No, but I will be.” What else can I say?
Viktor takes my hand again, and we pose and smile as our friends take a bunch of pictures.
This was all planned in advance and done by design. There aren’t a lot of people here, but they know the situation. That’s why they’re taking pictures they plan to post online over the next couple of hours.
I can’t believe I’m formally, legally married.
To a veritable stranger.
A shy, handsome stranger who needs me just as much as I need him.
Well, I need his money. One million up front, another million at the end of a year. Then hopefully we can both get on with our lives.
We walk outside hand in hand, and there’s still a chill in the early morning air. The sun is shining, though, and it’s a beautiful day in Las Vegas. The perfect day to get married. Even if it’s not a love match.
I’m so lost in thought it catches me off-guard when a group of reporters swarm around us, and I stumble. Luckily, Viktor is holding my hand and able to steady me before I fall.
Fuck.
It never occurred to me that the press would figure out where and when we were going to elope, much less wait outside for us.
“Viktor, why did you elope in the middle of the playoffs?”
“Who’s your new wife, Viktor?”
“Viktor, is she pregnant?”
The questions come loud and fast and I shrink against him, unsure what to do. To my surprise, Viktor immediately pushes me behind him and plants his feet.
“Stop.” His voice is low but his tone leaves nothing to the imagination—they need to back the fuck off. “We were just married…you are scaring my wife.”
I see a trace of apology on a few of their faces, but others press forward anyway.
“Will you make a statement, Viktor?”
“I will not.” He shakes his head. “Please move.”
He squeezes my hand tighter, and thankfully, our friends have our back.
“Come on, guys.” West McGregor can be a force of nature when he wants to be.
“They just got married. How would you feel if you came out of your wedding and got slammed by reporters? Especially reporters firing one question after another in your second language.” He puts himself between us and the reporters.
“Come on, Viktor—just a statement!” someone yells.
“We are in love,” he says, voice more of a growl. “That’s it.”
“Is she pregnant?” someone repeats.
I feel myself bristle. What kind of bullshit question is that?!
“I am not.” I step forward, though I still lean into his side. “We just wanted to get married without any fuss. Is that so hard to believe?”
“Who are you?”
“What’s your name?”
“How did you meet?”
The questions keep coming, but Viktor tugs my hand, gently but firmly, whispering, “This is not the time.”
I nod and we push past the group gathered, heading for the limo waiting just a few feet away. The driver gets out and opens the door for us. He allows me to get in first and then slides in after me.
“Happy wedding day,” I say with a soft, shaky chuckle.
“I am sorry for that,” he replies, regret etched in his face.
“It’s not your fault.”
I take a moment to breathe as we wait for West, Serena, and Kelly to join us. This whole day has been surreal. Hell, the entire three weeks since we decided to do this has been a whirlwind.
The pro hockey team he plays for, the Atlanta Thunder, is in the middle of the playoffs so we chose today because they just swept the second round in four games and have six days until the third round starts.
We had to spend a lot of time sorting out the details leading up to today, and I’m suddenly exhausted. I rest my head against the seat back and sigh softly. “I guess this was the easy part. It’s going to get much more complicated once we tell our parents.”
“We have to tell no one—now the world will know.”
“I suppose there’s that.”
“You regret?”
“Our contract?” I turn to him in surprise. “No. Do you?”
“No.”
“You sound funny. You sure you’re okay?”
“I did not expect the cameras.”
“Maybe they did us a favor. Now we don’t have to call our families and blindside them.”
“Blindside?”
I’ve gotten used to his struggle with English. “You know, catch them by surprise.”
“Your parents will be angry, yes?”
“Oh, for sure.”
“Mine will be upset that you are not Russian.”
“And my parents won’t be thrilled that you are Russian, so we’re even.”
I chuckle, turning to look out the window, where West is trying to guide Serena and Kelly toward the limo.
“I wonder how they found out where we are,” I muse.
“Probably someone with the court.”
“Assholes.”
We’re cut off as West, Serena, and Kelly join us in the limo. The driver immediately pulls away from the chapel, and everyone is quiet for a bit.
“I think that went okay,” West finally says. “I mean, we could have done without the press finding out, but at least now the word is out and we don’t have to make any announcements.”
“The team is going to put out a press release tomorrow, right?” Kelly asks.
West nods. “Yeah. So that part will be okay.”
I look down at where my phone has started to ring.
“Ugh,” I say quietly. “It’s my dad. How the hell did he find out so fast? I’m not ready to talk to him.”
“Maybe get it over with?” Serena suggests gently.
Christ.
I accept the call.
“Hi, Dad.” I put it on speaker because there’s no reason not to.
“What did you do?” he asks without preamble.
Here goes nothing. “I’m guessing you already know the answer to that question since you’re calling.”
“To some hockey player?! What were you thinking?”
“That I’m…in love.” I almost wince as I say the words. Not because there’s anything wrong with Viktor. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. He’s handsome and has been nothing but kind and generous since this whole thing started.
“That’s ridiculous!” he roars. “You and Nathan were the ultimate power couple. In fact, I saw him yesterday and he said he was open to reconciliation.”
After he stole from me?
Fat chance.
“Nathan is an abusive asshole,” I say firmly. Talking about being in love with Viktor is tricky but telling the truth about my lying, thieving ex? That’s easy.
Dad sighs. “Did you even think about a prenup?”
“Of course I did,” I reply smoothly. “For both of us. He’s wealthy, Dad. Money isn’t a consideration.” It’s pretty much the whole consideration but no one outside of our inner circle has to know that.
“This is absolutely unacceptable,” my father continues.
“It’s already done.”
“If you want to be part of this family, you’ll get it annulled.”
I laugh even though it’s not even a little bit funny.
The thing is, he threatens to disown me every single time I do something he doesn’t like.
Then my mother gets involved, soothes the ruffled feathers, and I get a stern talking-to about boundaries and behavior.
This time, however, it’s going to be a lot more complicated.
“Did you just laugh at me?”
“No. I just laughed at the absurdity of you threatening your twenty-six-year-old daughter with your love.”
He sighs heavily. “Love has nothing to do with it. This is about making yourself, and our family, look bad. About proper behavior. You can’t just marry some…Russian athlete. Did he need a visa? Is that it?”
“Stop it. He’s the starting goalie for the Atlanta Thunder. He has a visa through the team. We fell in love. It’s that simple.”
“Then why didn’t you bring him around? Have some kind of courtship? You’ve always dreamed of a big wedding—why would you elope?”
I press my lips together to keep from shrieking in annoyance.
His questions are all valid.
And the whole “we’re just too in love to wait” response that we planned doesn’t ring true. Not when I’m on the hot seat like I am now.
“Dad, it’s not complicated. When we get back to Atlanta you’ll meet him, okay? I have to go.” I disconnect before he can say anything else.
“Well, that’s done.” I look down to see that my hands are shaking.
Viktor reaches out and takes both of them between his. “Everything will be okay. I promise.”
I don’t know how he can promise me that, but I don’t have any choice but to believe him.