Papers for Roses

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Megan

Wade came back an hour and a half after his dramatic exit.

He appeared cool and unaffected. No traces of stress in his eyes, heavy weight riding on his broad shoulders or a substantial amount of exasperation in his every step. There was nothing but the arrogant CEO she became used to.

It seemed that the conference meeting he attended had gone well. His lips twitched a little as she voiced out the thought. "Apparently, my boy I threw to the wolves had come back and kickin'."

She snorted. "Yeah? Am I living in an alternate universe? I never would've imagined that I'd hear you saying, 'kickin'."

"That's a shame."

She cleared a non-existing lump in her throat and bit her lip. The contract face first on the table. It had been there since she signed both and picked up her cellphone, took a hundred selfies yet angling similarly, then chose only one to post in her Twitter account.

Horses galloped wildly inside her chest as she rethought the changes that were catching up on her. She signed them all. There was no going back now. Wade made it clear yesterday that she had an out but being scared wasn't going to be the reason.

The marriage could divert her attention from her ex and the conflict with Bryan. She could be financially stable for the rest of her lifetime with this. She'd also had a project that could kickstart her career. She was going to explore a different side of the world—the dark, endearing one—with Wade and she had all the power in it.

"I can hear you thinking."

She blinked. The ever-loving specimen sat across from her, watching, calculating like he always did. "I'm not going to sleep with you." His eyes narrowed, then she quickly added. "At least not tonight. This is going too fast. I need time to process all this."

"Term three says the contracts will take effect the second the signee writes her signature on it," he says smugly. Then all of a sudden, he reached for her hand and entwined it with his, before pulling a black velvet box out of his pocket.

"Oh my," she gasped as Wade opened it.

Inside was a platinum band that held an opulent, huge, white diamond in the middle. Little pieces of sparkling emerald adorned its side. It was beautiful—no, it was exquisite.

Was this too costly for a fake marriage?

He gently tugged her hand to him. Her ring finger suddenly felt heavy as he steadily put the ring on it. Then he looked at her. His blue eyes were smiling as it held hers captive. Suddenly, she forgot how to breathe. Aware of the promise seeding in those oceanic orbs.

"Hello, wife," he muttered huskily.

She swallowed, "Hello, husband."

"You're looking good today." He grinned. "Do you mind if we go home now?"

His voice was as smooth as silk. So sweet and affecting. So unlike him. "I meant what I said, I'm not going to sleep with you tonight."

He let go of her hand and leaned back. "That's not going to be a problem." She almost sighed in relief but thanked goodness she didn't. "I have lots of stuff planned that may keep us all night long... a hundred percent guarantee, there would be no sleeping at all."

"You can't be serious."

He tilted his head, "And do I look like I'm joking?"

She paused, "Yes."