Bran responded with a grunt, snatched the crutches, and marched back to Stephanie. What did Cole know about her feelings?
“I’ll go catch the elevator.” Cole called from the hallway as the door slammed shut behind him.
Bran cleared his throat. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, in a tremulous tone.
“You think you can handle going downstairs?”
“I don’t have much choice, do I?”
He knew she didn’t like feeling out of control. If she felt trapped into the marriage, she would reject him before he had a chance to make her fall in love with him—before he could prove he was worthy of it.
“You have a choice, Stephanie. We’ll do whatever you want. If you don’t want to be married, I won’t force you.”
“Before we left, you were furious that you needed me. Now you say you’re in love with me. How am I supposed to believe that?”
“I think I’ve been in love with you for a long time. But I never allowed myself to consider
the possibility of the two of us being together.”
“Because we’re from different worlds?” Her tone was tight. “I’ve got news for you. Nothing has changed. I’m still a nobody, and you’re still a successful, wealthy businessman.”
“You’re putting words in my mouth. That’s not what I was thinking.”
“You’re fooling yourself, Branson.” Her voice cracked. “Carina is from a prominent family. She’s beautiful and rich and educated. She probably went to Harvard.”
“Oxford.”
“Of course! Oxford.” She exhaled an exasperated huff. “Don’t you see? You’re trying to convince yourself otherwise, but the truth is you’d never be satisfied with someone like me.”
He cringed at the hurt in her voice. He had to tell her the whole truth, no matter how humiliating. Nothing less would ease her pain. He reached to sandwich her hands between his.
“Listen to me.” He swallowed a lump the size of his fist. “I thought no one could ever really love me. People show me deference because of my wealth and power, but even Carina can barely stand to look closely at me. But something you said made me think…” He paused, turning to face her squarely. “You didn’t seem repulsed. And the way you responded… I thought you might actually be able to love me.”
“Oh, Branson.” Her voice cracked. “I’m so sorry you’ve felt that way all your life. But I don’t—”
He lifted his finger to her lips. He couldn’t bear to hear it. “Please. Don’t say anything yet. All I’m asking for is a little time. Please give me a chance to change your mind. Maybe you don’t have to love me. I think I could be happy with whatever you can give me.”
He withdrew his finger slowly, holding his breath.
She responded in a small voice. “I’m afraid, Bran. Really afraid.”
He wilted. She’d rejected him. He couldn’t make her feel something that wasn’t there. “I understand.”
She spoke again, so quiet he barely heard her. “But I’ll think about it.”
Chapter 17
Steph’s mind spun in dizzying circles. She’d almost recovered from the initial shock as they sat in his hotel room, calmly discussing how to end the accidental marriage.
An inkling of hope had sprouted during the ceremony. As Branson spoke his vows, all the air seemed to vanish from the room. The sincere expression on his face… the fervent timber of his voice… She almost believed him. Yet she knew it was an act. The vows were merely the means to an end. At the time, like her, he had no idea the fake wedding would result in a legal marriage. It hurt. It hurt a lot. But she was accustomed to tamping down her dreams.
Then he said the three little words she never thought she’d hear from his lips.
“I love you.”
If only it were true. Just a week ago, he’d announced his engagement to Carina with cool detachment. And hadn’t she seen the couple emerging from her hotel room with Carina in a state of undress? As much as Steph wanted to believe he’d kissed her and suddenly fallen head-over-heels in love, even she wasn’t that naive. If he loved her, he would’ve found some opportunity to mention it during the last two years. If he loved her, he would never have dated Carina, much less proposed to the woman.