The Accidental Wife

Chapter 6

Cole

I wish I had the option just to hit pause and stay in this moment for a little while longer. I let my eyes roam over Shayla's face, her eyes closed, lips faintly parted, just pleading to be kissed, but I know that's not what she needs right now. If I tried, she would probably punch me. When a knock sounds on my door Shayla's eyes flicker open, and she looks up at me, and as the door opens, she pulls herself away from me, putting a couple of feet between us. Her gaze drops to the floor, and I would give my left nut to be able to read her mind. Was she waiting for me to kiss her? Did she feel as disappointed as I did when she pulled away?

"Tristan?" I look over at Lucy— my publicist when she pokes her head through the door, and I wave her in. "I just saw the article. My phone hasn't stopped ringing." She says, walking toward us.

"How do we fix this?" I ask her, and she sets the tablet in her hand on my desk and sighs.

She looks over at Shayla and back at me again. "I need you to tell me how you want me to spin this, Tristan. In the interview, you had a couple of weeks ago you told them you were enjoying being single and not looking to settle down anytime soon, and now you're suddenly married. There is a lot of speculation out there that doesn't make either of you look good." Lucy explains, and Shayla looks at me a worried look descends on her face.

"What does that mean?"

Lucy sighs, "They're speculating that you got pregnant, and that's why Tristan married you in such a rush."

"What?" Shayla and I say at the same time.

"That's not true at all. I'm not pregnant." She declares stonily, and Lucy nods and looks over at me. "We were just—"

I wrap my arm around Shayla's shoulder and draw her close to me. "—In love. I wanted her out of the public eye for as long as possible; we didn't want a big fuss with a wedding, so we eloped. That's it."

"Tristan, this article can hurt your reputation as an esteemed businessman. You've continually said that your loyalty and integrity toward your clients played a major factor in your success as an architect. If they suspect anything, otherwise this will tarnish that reputation and investors might to start to pull out if they suspect you're irresponsible. So, we need to act fast, and the public must see that this marriage is legit and you two genuinely are in love with one another. Your fans can be a little excessive as you are aware." I roll my eyes and nod. Excessive isn't the word I'd use for sending used underwear to my apartment or breaking in and waiting naked in my bed.

I look down at Shayla, and she lifts her gaze to meet mine, "I don't care what they say about me, but you protect Shayla and her privacy at all cost." I say and look over at Lucy again. "You hear me?" She nods and picks up her tablet before walking out of my office.

Shayla pulls away from me and leans against my desk. "Cole, this is insane. This whole thing is getting out of hand. We've gone from only lying to our parents to the whole damn world. You heard her, if they figure out that we're lying, it will hurt your career, and I'm going to lose my family." I move closer to her and shake my head.