He’d learned a long time ago that showing weakness allowed people to walk all over you, and he’d gotten his heart broken one time too many.
With Lucy, though, he wanted to make that effort. She turned toward him with a frown. “You confuse me.”
“We barely know each other. I imagine that’s confusing. We’re married.” He held up his hand that now had a ring. It was a simple gold band that he’d picked out but it also branded him as taken. Lifting up her hand so they were side by side, he smiled. He couldn’t help it.
Even though the marriage was a complete farce, he was fucking excited about it. Lucy seemed to fill with him with a hope of something amazing happening, and he didn’t want to lose that, not any of it.
She sighed. “It’s not that. Why do you want to hurt your parents? Why not let it go?”
“If I was willing to let it go, then I wouldn’t have married you. I told you everything on that first initial date. I haven’t fooled you into thinking this is a love match.”
“I know. You’ve been honest with me. It’s the one thing you promised you’d do and I appreciate that.”
“Then what’s wrong?” he asked. Stroking a finger down her arm, he tried to be comforting. Lucy stared down at his touch, holding her body stiff.
He didn’t like how closed off she always was. She was the first woman he actually had to encourage to talk to him.
****
Lucy couldn’t believe she was married, especially to a man who only wanted to rub it in his own family’s face. There were times Ian seemed cruel, but whenever he looked at her, that faded away, and he was nice to her.
Being on a mail ordered website was a joke, only it had been on her. She’d not known that she’d even been put up on the website until she received Ian’s first email. Some assholes from work had done it, thinking it would be funny to humiliate her.
And it was because of that bullshit that she quit, just gave her two weeks’ notice and said to hell with them. She’d had a little money saved up, her nest egg, her in-case-of-an-emergency fund. She didn’t have much, but it was enough to support her until she found something better, something that didn’t eat away at her daily.
And although she could have declined the proposal, deleted the account, and never looked back, this part of her had wanted to go through with it. Maybe it was because she was lonely, or because Ian, a rich, powerful, and darkly attractive man, actually showed interest in her. Maybe it was because she’d never had that kind of attention from a man in her life, or the fact she was still a virgin, with curves that a lot of people found unattractive.
And that’s how she felt most of the time … plain and unattractive.
And now she was married to a man she wasn’t even sure she liked, who was handsome and wealthy, but his personality was the opposite.
“It’s nothing,” she said.
Of course to him she’d been perfect. He’d told her she was the complete opposite of what all of his family wanted. But she didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Yay.
“Come on, you can tell me.”
“I just don’t think I’d like to meet your parents on my wedding day.” She stared down at the white dress, wishing she wasn’t a virgin, and that today hadn’t made her feel sick. “It’s … been a really long day.” She gritted her teeth and stared out of the window.
“You’re right. Let’s head to my place. It’s best you see where you’re going to be moving into.”
“Moving into?”
“We’re going to be living together now. We’re married.”
“We didn’t discuss this.”
“I know, but I figured it was a given. You’re my wife, Lucy. I want to take care of you.” His hand moved across her shoulders, and she didn’t fight him.
She didn’t like him but her body did.
She wasn’t naïve in thinking she wouldn’t be staying with her husband, but with Ian this was a different situation. This was a marriage of convenience, so a part of her hoped that maybe he’d only want her around when his parents were involved, when he needed her on his arm to piss them off.
He was the first man in her life that ever made her ache the way she did now. Her body, in that moment, wasn’t her own. Ian took her hand and locked their fingers together. She noticed he seemed to touch her every single chance he got.
“I’m a wealthy man. I don’t want you living in that small apartment above a pizza place anymore. In fact, I hope you don’t mind but while we were at our wedding, I decided to get some moving men into your place. They’re putting your stuff in my home right now.”