Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Jade
“You’re crazy.” Uncontrollable laughter escapes me. “I don’t even know you.”
“You don’t know Nolan either,” he says, offering a small, confident smile that forces me to break eye contact just to hold onto my train of thought.
“Not a good example,” I shake my head. “As I’m not going to marry Nolan.”
The mere thought of him makes my skin crawl.
The way he corners me when no one is watching, the lingering, possessive touch of his hands on my waist or lower back…
He’s constantly taking liberties he hasn’t earned and the boundary pushing is a dangerous warning of what life under his thumb would become.
Aside from being incredibly distasteful.
“I repeat,” I look him directly in the eyes as I speak again. “You’re crazy. No one in their right mind proposes marriage a few minutes after meeting someone.”
“Look at it like this.” He leans his elbow on the counter, leaving the drink on its solid surface. “It’d be a mutual beneficial agreement, since I also need a bride. From the outside, it’d look like it’s a real marriage, our families and everyone would believe that we’re together…”
“That sounds a lot like how a real marriage works.”
“But in private,” he shakes his head. “We’d both know that it’s just a deal.”
“Meaning what exactly?” I raise my eyebrow, intrigued by his offer, but not wanting to get myself into bigger trouble than I already am. Though it’s tough to imagine anything worse than marrying Nolan at the moment.
I study him for a second, trying to figure out what the catch is, because there has to be one. Men don’t just walk up to a stranger at a party and offer her an escape route out of pure kindness. Especially not when they look this calm about it.
“And what exactly do you get out of this?”
His eyes flicker over my face, almost as if he was expecting me to ask him that. “A wife.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the one you’re getting for now.”
I narrow my eyes at him, not sure if I want to stare at him or hit him with a chair.
There’s something deeply irritating about the way he says things.
He never sounds rushed, or nervous, or even slightly worried that I might tell him to go to hell.
It’s like he already knows where this conversation is going.
“You always talk to women like this?” I raise my eyebrow.
The corner of his mouth lifts as he speaks. “Only the ones who ask too many questions.”
Before I get to say anything else or ask another question, he proceeds to lay out his plan for our fake marriage, almost as if he thought this through long before he overheard my conversation with Papà.
“We don’t share a room, we don’t pretend to be in love at home, and we don’t interfere in each other’s lives. ”
“It sounds a little too good to be true,” I admit. “Why do you need a wife? And can’t you get a real one?”
I just can’t seem to be able to wrap my head around it. He might be one of the most good-looking guys I have ever seen, and he’s clearly bright. Maybe a little prone to risking his life, but the way he speaks shows he’s an educated, intelligent man. So why would a man like this need a fake wife?
“I can, but I prefer to focus on business,” he smirks. “Once you agree, you’ll have my full resources at your disposal, and that means financial security, complete protection, and everything you could possibly want. We can discuss all the details after you agree.”
I tilt my head, studying him, still unable to put my finger on what exactly it is about him that makes me react to his proximity.
I’m supposed to get up from this chair and run after getting a marriage proposal from a guy I’ve never seen before, so why can’t I run away from him?
What is it about him keeping me interested in hearing more about this proposal?
“So you want me to agree first and ask questions later?”
“I want you to understand that whatever this is, it doesn’t have to become complicated,” he responds, almost making me laugh. A marriage proposal from a stranger is already the definition of complicated.
“You know, normal people at least introduce themselves to one another before deciding to spend the rest of their lives together.”
“I don’t have time for normal,” he returns his focus to the glass but doesn’t take a sip.
The action itself makes me stop smiling.
Even though I’ve never had normal as an option in my life either, I’m not used to someone mentioning it out loud.
It’s an unspoken rule, we don’t live a normal life but we never speak about normal either.
“I…” I sigh, for the first time allowing myself to show him vulnerability. “I need time to think about it.”
The questions keep piling up in my head, making it hard for me to think clearly.
I’m aware of the risk I’m running if I fail to find another option for Papà and I’m confident that marrying Nolan would make my life a living hell.
But how can I know that this stranger is safer than Nolan?
I might have a strong dislike for the first, but right now this deal comes with the risk of trading one dangerous man for another.
“There’s a problem with that,” he leans in closer to make sure no one else hears us, even though there is not a single soul around us.
Everyone is on the dancefloor or seating area.
“You don’t have time to think about it because Nolan is already preparing to ask your father for your hand officially. ”
Why does he look completely unbothered proposing to a stranger?
“How do you know that?”
“I overheard it,” he shrugs. “And I know that if you wait, your father will make the decision for you.”
“You have a terrible habit of eavesdropping,” I say, but as I turn around to look at Nolan, I see him standing next to my father talking to each other as if the agreement is already settled between them.
As if he… owns me. Shivers run down my spine and I return my attention to the mysterious knight in shining armor. “Okay. Let’s get married.”
The words leave my mouth before I can second-guess them and for a second, I find myself just staring at him, almost waiting for the panic to kick in.
Instead, there’s only a strange sense of relief.
It makes no sense at all, I’m sitting beside a man whose name I don’t even know, agreeing to marry him because the alternative is worse.
If that’s not proof enough of how badly I don’t want to marry Nolan, I don’t know what is.
The stranger’s face lights up at my words and even in the low lights, I notice the way they reflect in them as a smile spreads across his face. “You made the right decision.”
We shake hands, making the deal official, and for some reason my heart decides to skip a beat the moment our skin touches.
It’s strange how just a handshake or the brushing of the knees with a complete stranger can affect me like this when Nolan’s hand on my back earlier made me want to take a bath in acid.
This hand is warm, his grip firm without being too tight, and for one ridiculous second, I forget that we’re surrounded by people and just pretending to be in love. But then I remember this is a deal. A very strange, very dangerous deal, but still a deal.
I might have just made the dumbest decision of my life, or the best one, the jury is still out on that one, but the thought of not having to marry Nolan washes over me with relief.
I don’t even know what kind of family he comes from.
“Shall we dance?” The knight in shining armor elegantly steps down from the stool, offering me his hand.
I smile, taking his hand as I climb off the stool. If we’re going to do this, we need everyone to believe our marriage is real and that we’re into each other. This is the perfect way to ease everyone in.
God, he’s tall.
I have to tilt my head back to look at him, and he catches the movement with an amused expression that makes me wonder if he can read every thought on my face.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing,” he shakes his head slowly.
“You’re smiling?”
“I’m aware,” his grin widens.
I roll my eyes and let him lead me toward the dance floor. As we do, I feel the heavy stares on us but I don’t turn my head to meet their eyes. His hands find my waist in a delicate, slow movement, and he pulls me close to him, almost as if he’s being deliberate about not crossing any lines.
I tense for a half a second, instinctively expecting the same possessive grip Nolan used earlier, but it never comes.
His hands stay exactly where they are, steady and careful, giving me enough space to sway my body to the music.
Which somehow makes it worse because now I’m aware of every inch between us.
And to my surprise, he’s a great dancer. Somehow, he manages to look like he belongs everywhere he goes and I’m starting to wonder if he’s going to disappear when the clock strikes midnight. I wouldn’t even put turning into a pumpkin past him.
The eyes of everyone at the party are burning a hole into the back of my head, and I could swear that it suddenly became quieter.
Or maybe that’s the deafening beat of my heart making everything else go silent.
I’ve never been this close to a man before, and I’ve never imagined my first slow dance to be with a complete stranger I just agreed to marry.
I don’t even know his name.
But oh well, it’s either him or Nolan and there is no way I’m getting married to Nolan. I’d rather eat sand for breakfast every day for the rest of my life.
“Relax,” he murmurs.
“I am relaxed,” I respond a little too quickly, realizing how that contradicts the actual words coming out of my mouth.
His eyebrow lifts. “You’re holding your breath.”
“You’re very observant,” I immediately let it out, annoyed that he noticed.
“It’s useful,” The corners of his lips turn upward just a little.
“For what?”
“Most things.” He looks down at me as he speaks and the way his eyes fall to my lips makes me suddenly become hyper aware that I should have applied lipstick.
I hate that he makes me think about this type of things and I hate how well he’s pretending right now.
“Your almost ex-fiancé is staring,” The knight in shining armor whispers in my ear, and it takes me a second longer than I’d like to admit for the words to get through to me and process them.
He even smells nice.
When I look in the direction of Papà and Nolan, I realize Nolan’s face is green with fury. I almost expect his clothes to rip and him to turn into Hulk, and my blood freezes when my eyes meet his.
“Do you two know each other?” I ask. Nolan is weird and annoying but his expression doesn’t appear to be someone who’s just upset to see the girl he wanted to marry dance with someone else.
“Yeah, kinda,” he replies.
“That’s incredibly vague,” I hold myself back from rolling my eyes, more than aware of all the eyes that are on us.
“It is.”
“What did you drag me into?” The unease spreads through me as the scene in front of my eyes begins to resemble one you’d catch in a random documentary about wild animals. “What’s happening here?”
He pulls away just enough to look me in the eyes as he speaks. “My name is Malachi Kavanagh…”
No way!
My smile disappears.
The Kavanaghs are one of the most powerful families in the city, but even more important, they and the Devlins are sworn enemies. Which means I accidentally got myself between two guys that already want to rip each other’s heads off, and I gave Nolan the perfect excuse to do it.
My stomach twists as everything about him starts making a little more sense. The confidence and the way he walked up to me like he already had all of this planned and knew exactly what he wanted.
“I refuse to take part in this game,” I try stepping away from Malachi without making a scene. “You’re not going to use me to provoke Nolan, or drag my family into your war.”
His eyes lift from mine and he looks in Nolan’s direction, his arm never leaving my waist. I feel panic washing over me at how serious all of this is. Papà is going to be furious.
“So that’s why you chose me,” I say.
“I chose you because you needed a way out,” his eyes are full of determination as he speaks.
“And you suddenly woke up one day and decided you wanted to save me?” I lower my voice while trying to maintain a neutral expression. “It’s just a coincidence that by marrying me you get to give Nolan a blow?”
“When you put it that way, it sounds worse than it is,” his voice remains steady as if we’re discussing popcorn flavors. “It’s a deal between two people who happen to have a common enemy.”
“What you did is called coercion,” I continue. “You should have given me all the facts before manipulating me into agreeing.”
“I see you know enough about law and how the world should work,” he smiles, unbothered. “But there’s no turning back now, we struck a deal.”
“How can there be no turning back when literally no one knows about our deal?” I ask, my eyes challenging him. “And all we have is a verbal agreement?”
“Because the moment you said yes, I became your choice.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I stare at him.
“It does to Nolan,” he answers.
When I look toward Nolan again, I realize he’s still watching us.
And so is Papà, and probably half of the damn party.
Malachi’s hand remains at my waist and I almost feel bothered by how completely comfortable he looks standing in the middle of a situation that is making me want to run out of my own house.
“You’re crazy,” I whisper.
Malachi smiles. “You already said that.”
“And I meant it both times.”
I try stepping back once again but before I make it anywhere, Malachi grabs my face and I feel his lips on mine. The sensation is overwhelming, taking over all of my senses, and I barely notice the sound of the gun firing from Nolan’s direction.
Fuck.