Elena called our bouncer, Ty, and had him collect the luggage. "Mr. Ford's car is out front," she instructed him.
I watched as Ty grabbed the bags and headed out of the back room, carrying the clothes I would be wearing for the coming months as I lived out my days in a stranger's home.
A stranger who was about to become my husband.
LUCAS
A very bulky, menacing-looking man came out of the back room, carrying two suitcases, his biceps popping. He gave me a warning look as he headed outside.
"What?" I asked, standing up.
"What d'ya mean, what?" he asked, his voice as strong and heavy as his body.
"Why are you giving me a death look?" I prided myself on getting to the point.
He stopped and turned to me, not putting the suitcases down. "Blake's my girl," he said. "You hurt her, I'll come and find you. You break her heart, I break your face."
I nodded, crossing my arms against my chest so he could see my own biceps, which weren't quite as large as his, but came pretty close. "Well… okay. If that's all."
"Yeah, it is," he grunted, then carried the enormous suitcases down the stairs.
I cracked my knuckles again, but I decided I wasn't going to fight him. Not right then.
More movement extended into my peripheral vision. I turned to see a tall blonde come out, throwing her long hair behind her shoulder and smiling at me prettily. She took my hand firmly. "Blake Maxwell," she said, her voice throaty and pleasant. "Pleasure to meet you."
She looked even better than in her photo. I hadn't thought that was possible.
I shook her hand, absolutely dumbfounded by her beauty. "Lucas Ford," I said, somewhat stupidly. Her smile broadened, and I caught a glimpse of her white, even teeth. Jesus, she was gorgeous, and nothing about her looked remotely fake. I caught myself wondering what it would be like to touch her skin, to pull her against me.
Down boy, I warned myself. Jesus. We hadn't even made it through the front door, and I was ogling her.
Ogling wasn't part of the deal I'd made with myself.
"Well, I'm all packed and ready to go," she said, her voice gentle.
I shook my head as if to clear it. "Great." I turned to lead the way.
But there was nothing great about it. My escort was so pretty, it hurt to look at her. And I was going to have to marry this girl and pretend that it was real, all while keeping my hands to myself. Because that was one promise I'd made. In order to keep my exposure—physical, emotional, psychological—to a minimum, I wasn't going to sleep with Blake.
Not at all. Not ever. Not once.
It was going to be a long year.
BLAKE
The billionaire was cute. Gorgeous, actually, but with the way he'd fumbled when he saw me, he seemed almost puppy-like. I mentally breathed a sigh of relief—I'd been worried what he'd be like since I'd gone back and re-read that article. I took in his curly dark hair, green eyes, and the large muscles going on underneath his dress shirt, which was open at the throat. He was on the verge of being seriously sexy, but he practically tripped down the stairs as he led me to his fancy SUV. Ty was out there, watching us, a smirk forming on his face as he saw me work my magic on yet another customer.
Ty told me he'd come and punch this guy if he turned out to be a freak. I winked at the bouncer as I accepted Lucas's hand and climbed into the back of the car. My look told Ty, don't worry, I got this.
And here I'd been all nervous that I was about to be married to a stranger.
I settled into the luxurious leather seat next to my client. Lucas looked at me and smiled tightly. "This is… awkward."
"We'll be fine," I said. I reached over and squeezed his hand. "I'm thrilled about the job. Thank you for the opportu
nity."
"Wait till you meet my family," he said. "You might want to hold off on the gratitude. You're going to earn every dollar from this assignment."