A Contract for His Runaway Bride

The first guests to arrive were Elspeth and Mack. Seeing her twin hand in hand with her gorgeous Scottish fiancé made Elodie feel faintly jealous. Not that she wasn’t happy for her twin—she was. It was so nice to see her shy and reserved sister enjoying all the things she had missed out on before. But it was obvious Mack adored Elspeth—he could barely take his eyes off her and Elspeth glowed like never before. She was practically incandescent with love.

Elodie had once fooled herself that Lincoln looked at her the same way Mack did her twin. But she had mistaken lust for love and she wasn’t going to be so stupid as to do so again. But the lust was real. It still throbbed between them and she was determined to bring him to his knees with it.

She smiled a secret smile. She knew how to seduce Lincoln. She had done it so many times before. He was holding out on her to prove a point. He wanted control this time around. But so did she. And she would damn well get it.

While Lincoln was chatting to Mack, Elodie quickly lured her twin aside to speak to her in private. She led Elspeth to a small room a few doors down from the formal dining room and closed the door once they were inside. ‘Els, you’re not supposed to know my marriage to Lincoln isn’t the real deal, so please keep it under wraps. And, whatever you do, don’t tell Mum.’

Elspeth frowned. ‘But what about Mack? I’ve already told him and—’

Elodie let out a stiff curse. ‘Will he say something to Lincoln, do you think?’

‘I don’t think so. He’s the soul of discretion at the best of times.’

‘Better have a word to him, just to make sure.’

Elspeth took one of Elodie’s hands in hers. ‘You probably should tell Lincoln that I know. It’s not good to keep secrets in a marriage.’

Elodie gave a cynical cough of a laugh. ‘Try telling Lincoln that. He’s the one who didn’t tell me anything about himself when we were together before.’

‘Maybe you didn’t spend enough time getting to know him. You did have rather a whirlwind relationship.’

‘Look who’s talking!’

Elspeth blushed a delightful shade of pink, her blue eyes shining with happiness. ‘I know, right? It was crazily fast, and I still can’t believe Mack and I are getting married next month. He’s everything I ever dreamed of in a partner. I only wish you and Lincoln could sort things out and be—’

‘Not much chance of that,’ Elodie said, and opened the door to return to the dining room. ‘Come on. Mean Morag, the crotchety old dragon of a housekeeper, will blame me if dinner is spoilt.’

***

Lincoln watched Elodie and her twin walk together into the dining room, where the other guests were assembled. The twins were eerily alike, but while he had only seen them together a handful of times, he could always tell them apart. Elspeth was a more introverted and reserved version of Elodie. But that was what had drawn him to Elodie in the first place—her vibrant zest for life and her devil-may-care attitude. She didn’t just dare to step where angels feared to tread—she stomped in with her sky-high heels and laughed while she did it.

She was smiling now, her beautiful white teeth framed by a vivid red lipstick, her make-up perfect, her hair a voluminous cloud around her slim shoulders. She had changed into a tight-fighting black dress that clung to her feminine curves in a way that made him fantasise about peeling it off her later.

But the rules were the rules and he needed them in place. He had rushed into a fling with her in the past and it had blown up in his face. This time he wanted control. And falling madly in love and lust all over again was not going to help him maintain it.

Elodie came over to him and nestled against his side, gazing up at him adoringly. He had never said she wasn’t a good actor. No one would ever think she wasn’t thrilled about being married to him. But then, she was getting a heap of publicity out of their reunion. The photos of their wedding had already gone viral, and he was fielding dozens of requests for an exclusive interview. No doubt so was she.

Lincoln slipped his arm around her waist, the feel of her against his side sending shivers down his spine. ‘Come and say hello to Dad, and to Aiden and Sylvia and their partners.’

He led her to where his family were gathered, enjoying the drinks and nibbles provided by Morag.

‘Welcome home, Elodie, my dear,’ Clive Lancaster said with a warm smile. ‘This is my partner, Jan.’

Elodie smiled and greeted everyone in turn. ‘It’s so nice to see you all again. And so good of you to be here to celebrate with us tonight at such short notice.’

Clive clapped a hand on Lincoln’s shoulder, his eyes shining with warmth and fatherly affection. ‘I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. I’ve waited a long time for Lincoln to settle down with the only woman he has ever loved. And maybe I’ll get those grandbabies now, eh?’

‘Ri-i-i-ght...’ Lincoln smiled and ignored the twinge of guilt in his gut about the truth of his marriage to Elodie.

He didn’t like lying to his family, but needs must in this case. He had to provide his biological mother with the peace she longed for before she passed away. Nina still agonised over her decision to relinquish him as a baby. She longed to see him happily settled, to have the assurance that her decision hadn’t permanently damaged his ability to love and be loved.

But love wasn’t part of his arrangement with Elodie and nor had it ever been, in spite of her regular and gushing declarations of it in the past. If she’d loved him she wouldn’t have jilted him. In his mind it was a simple as that. If she had truly had deep feelings for him she would have expressed her concerns about their relationship—not left him standing in front of a congregation of guests looking like a fool.

There was a part of him that would never forgive her for that. The humiliation had stung then and it still stung now—which was why he was keeping firm control of the way things would play out between them going forward.

***

Elodie sipped glass after glass of champagne and nibbled at the delicious food the housekeeper had placed in front of her and the other guests. Lincoln was seated at the head of the long dining table, his father at the other end. Elodie was on his left and felt acutely conscious of everyone—particularly the members of his family, who were watching her every movement, gesture or expression.

Her face was aching from smiling, and her brain was fried from trying to make convivial conversation with everyone. Normally she loved a good party. She could work any room like a pro without a moment’s worry about putting a foot wrong or, indeed, about what anyone thought of her.

But for some reason it felt wrong to be pretending to Lincoln’s family that their relationship was genuine. The only thing that was genuine was the lust simmering between them. She was aware of the pulse of it every time Lincoln took her hand, his fingers warm and strong around hers. Every time he locked gazes with her, every time he brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed her bent knuckles, or the ends of her fingers, a lightning-fast current of erotic energy passed from his body to hers, leaving her wanting, wanting, wanting...

Clive rose towards the end of the meal, glass in hand. ‘Let’s toast the happy couple. To Lincoln and Elodie. May your future be bright and happy and fulfilling and blessed with children.’

Elodie reached for her glass but, anxious, somehow managed to knock it over instead. ‘Oops.’

Lincoln righted the glass and refilled it within seconds. He held his glass against hers. ‘To us.’

She clinked her glass against his, her expression as radiant as her twin’s. ‘To us.’

But then, she was good at masking her true feelings. No one would ever guess at the turmoil inside her at the thought of having Lincoln’s baby. He didn’t love her. How could she raise a family with someone who didn’t love her? It was asking for heartbreak. The sort of heartbreak she had run away from seven years ago. The sort of heartbreak her mother had suffered.

Where was the ‘for ever love’ Elodie’s father had once claimed to feel for his wife and his cute twin daughters? It had gone away like a wisp of smoke as soon as someone more interesting came along.

‘Now for the first dance,’ said Sylvia, Lincoln’s young sister. ‘Go on, you two. Show us your moves.’

Elodie wasn’t the type of person to blush, but as soon as Lincoln gathered her in his arms a rush of heat flowed from her cheeks to her core. He held her close, hip to hip, thigh to thigh, cheek to cheek, as they danced to the music Aiden had jumped up to put on the sophisticated sound system.

It was a romantic ballad that was poignant and bittersweet—which perfectly described her situation. It wouldn’t matter if she were married to Lincoln for six months or six decades. She would never be able to guarantee he would love her the way she longed to be loved. He could act as if he did. No one looking at him now would think he wasn’t madly in love with her. But she was too much of cynic to think he would ever open his heart to her. She was still a trophy wife—a beautiful bit of arm candy to show off to his dying mother and convince her she hadn’t done the wrong thing in relinquishing him as a baby.

Lincoln tipped up her chin and looked into her eyes. ‘Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?’

Elodie smiled, even though his words kind of proved her point. He loved the way she looked. He didn’t love her.

‘You look pretty damn awesome yourself.’ She linked her arms around his neck and swayed against him with the music. ‘You feel pretty damn awesome too.’