A Contract for His Runaway Bride

‘I’d like to know more about what you expect of me during our six months marriage,’ she said, with no trace of the turmoil she was feeling. ‘What are our living arrangements, for instance?’

Lincoln picked up his glass of barely touched champagne but didn’t drink from it. ‘We’ll live together but have separate rooms.’

Elodie raised her brows. ‘And what’s your housekeeper going to think about that?’

Would she have to endure more rejection? More stinging little asides from the housekeeper about how she wasn’t good enough for Lincoln and never would be? Words that had been reinforced by the rejection of her father and everyone else who had never believed in her and only seen value in her looks, not in her as a person.

‘She’ll think what I pay her to think.’

‘You’re not worried she might leak the truth about our relationship to the press?’

‘No.’

Elodie twirled the contents of her champagne glass, her eyes still trained on his masklike expression. ‘What about when either of us needs to travel for work? Are you going to come with me and expect me to come with you?’

‘We’ll be together as much as possible, when work and other commitments allow.’

Elodie wondered what his ‘other commitments’ might be. For a man with such a healthy and robust sexual appetite, she couldn’t imagine him taking on celibacy for six days, let alone six months. And how would she cope with living with him in close proximity? Especially given their passionate history? The sexual chemistry between them was ever-present. It was like a current in the air...a humming, buzzing frequency that sent tingles all over her flesh.

She took a sip of her champagne and then asked, ‘Are we having a big wedding? I mean, it would look more romantic and convincing if we—’

‘No.’ The word was delivered bluntly. ‘We’ll be married in a register office with only two witnesses.’

‘No press?’

His gaze was steely. Impenetrable. ‘I’ll make an announcement once we are officially married.’

‘And when will that be?’

‘Tomorrow.’

Elodie widened her eyes, felt her heart slipping sideways in her chest. ‘That soon? Don’t you have to get a license and stuff?’

‘Already done.’

How had he been so confident of her agreeing to his proposal? Did he think she still had feelings for him? Feelings he could take advantage of to suit his own ends? But her feelings for him were in deep freeze. She had locked her heart in a block of ice that was resistant to his charm. She could not afford to fall for him again.

‘You were so sure I’d say yes?’

‘I’ve learned that nothing is ever a certainty with you, but let’s say I was quietly confident.’

‘You do know I’m only doing it for the money, don’t you?’

His half-smile was cynical. ‘But of course.’

Elodie put her glass down and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. ‘And when do I get to meet your mother?’

‘The following day. We’ll fly to Spain and spend a couple of days there.’

‘She lives in Spain? Is she Spanish, or—?’

‘English. But she enjoys the warmer climate there. It’s where she wants to spend the rest of her days.’

‘What if it doesn’t suit me to fly to Spain?’ Elodie asked, not sure she wanted to agree to his plans without some token resistance, even though Spain was one of her favourite destinations and she was increasingly intrigued to meet the woman who had given Lincoln up as a baby.

What had been her reasons? Her circumstances? What had made her feel she had no choice but to hand her baby over to others to rear?

‘People will expect us to have a short honeymoon. And I’d prefer you to meet Nina as soon as possible. Her health is unreliable. Her doctors can’t seem to agree on how long she’s got.’

Elodie could only imagine how sad it must have been for him to have finally found his birth mother, only to face the prospect of losing her all over again. He obviously cared about her, otherwise why go to the trouble and inconvenience of marrying his ex-fiancée, the woman who had publicly humiliated him seven years ago?

Elodie wanted to make a good impression on Nina—not for Lincoln’s sake but for the woman herself. But how could she, given the train wreck of their history? How much had he told his birth mother about her? And what if Nina had already done her own research? The internet was full of the scandals that clung to her name, with the latest one naming her as the ‘other woman’ in a misnamed ‘love triangle’ that had seen a society wedding cancelled—eerily, like hers had been—at the altar.

Her twin, Elspeth, had been there, in a twin-switch, because Elodie had had a financial meeting that meant she hadn’t been able to get there for the rehearsal in time. Then the meeting had been extended, which had given her the perfect excuse not to go to the wedding at all. She had dreaded the fallout if the bride had ever found out she’d had a one-night stand with the groom...

The only good to come out of it had been Elspeth meeting the groom’s older brother, Mack MacDiarmid, and now they were happily in love and getting married in a month’s time.

‘But what if Nina doesn’t like me?’

‘She’ll love you, because she believes you to be the love of my life.’

Elodie couldn’t hold back another frown. ‘Is that what you told her?’

His expression was unreadable. ‘It’s what she wants to believe.’ He lifted his glass to his lips and drained the contents. He lowered the glass to the coffee table with a definitive thud and added, ‘And you will do everything in your power to make sure she continues to believe it. Understood?’

Elodie gave him a mocking salute. ‘Loud and clear.’

Lincoln held her defiant gaze for a beat or two. ‘I’ll pick you up at ten in the morning. Pack what you need for the time being, and anything else can be picked up later. I’ll cover the rent on your flat for six months. The ceremony isn’t until twelve, but we have some legal paperwork to see to first. And I’d appreciate it if you’d keep up appearances with all your friends and family and associates. We’ll have a dinner celebration here with my family—and yours, if they can make it. I know it’s short notice, but I don’t want anyone to suspect our relationship isn’t the real deal in case it gets back to Nina.’

‘You mean lie to them?’

‘I’m sure it won’t impinge on your conscience too badly.’ He flicked an invisible piece of lint off his rolled-up sleeve and continued, ‘I heard about your deception at Fraser MacDiarmid’s wedding. It created quite a scandal. How did Elspeth cope with pretending to be you for the weekend?’

‘She got herself engaged to Mack MacDiarmid, so I’d say very well indeed. But that raises another issue. Their wedding’s in a month’s time, and since you and I’ll be married you’ll be expected to be there with me. It’s likely to be a big affair. Will you be able to act like a devoted husband who’s madly in love with his wife?’

‘I’ll do my best.’

‘And we’ll have to share a room if everyone thinks we’re in love and sleeping together.’