From Fake to Forever (Newlywed Games 2)

“Yeah. This is as real as it gets. And I don’t think I can do it any other way.”

“You mean you want to share a bedroom and be a couple?” How he got that out with a straight face was beyond him. Because that cart was already a mile down the road ahead of the horse. All they were doing now was chasing it down so the cart and horse could have a conversation about how they’d be hooked together.

Her gaze fastened on to his and wouldn’t let him shake loose. “Is that what you want?”

He waited to feel a sense of panic or dread, but nothing materialized. Why not have a 100-percent real marriage, at least until they signed the papers? The benefits suited him pretty well and the more lovey-dovey they came across to his mother, the better.

He could sleep with Meredith every night. The thought made him downright light-headed with glee.

“It’s not what I thought would happen,” he said slowly. This was the core of his problem with Meredith; she messed up his vision. Instead of balking against it, maybe it was time to embrace it. “But I’m not opposed to it. If you’re not.”

As long as they both understood this was still a marriage with a purpose, all would be well. Under no circumstances could he allow any sort of emotion to be tied to this marriage. That’s when all the problems happened. The second he gave her any leverage over him—or worse, fell for her—she’d mess him up. Jason refused to be the kind of leader who let emotional distractions ruin a company. One Lynhurst with that track record was enough.

“I’m not.” Her smile grew tremulous. “It just scares me.”

“What, the idea of having a non-fake marriage?” He shrugged. “It’s not so different than what we’ve been doing.”

That was the key. Everything should—and could—stay the same.

She sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest, but not very well, and one nipple peeked out over the top. She couldn’t have struck a more erotic pose if a men’s magazine photographer had positioned her. Somehow, he didn’t think she’d appreciate knowing she’d turned him on all over again in the middle of her serious discussion.

“Jason, we’ve never dated. Never had that getting-to-know-you period. It’s not like we can go backward. This is all too real, too fast. It doesn’t terrify you?”

“The only thing that scares me is the thought of doing anything that jeopardizes my merger plans. As long as you’re not in the way of that, what’s the problem? We live together for a few weeks, get my mother comfortable with retiring and file the divorce papers. I’ll take you out on as many dates as you want.”

She stared at him as if he’d lost all of his marbles and then tried to take some of hers. “Why would we still get a divorce?”

All the air left the room. “Wait, when did we start talking about not getting a divorce?”

He couldn’t be married to Meredith long-term, letting her influence him and coerce him into losing his brain on a regular basis. The promise of divorce gave him a time box. He couldn’t lose that out.

“That’s the crux of this whole conversation.” She shook her head. “Neither one of us needs a divorce any longer. This is a matter of what we want now. You weren’t going to divorce Meiling after a few weeks, were you? Why is our relationship different?”

“Because it is,” he sputtered, scrambling to figure out why this part of the conversation did scare him. “Her culture frowns on divorce, and the textile agreements would have been long-term anyway.”

The atmosphere turned frigid as she watched him.

The fear uncoiling in his belly actually felt an awful lot like denial. He couldn’t have married Meiling. He was glad he hadn’t married Meiling. It probably would have been exactly the marriage he envisioned and he’d be unaware the entire time how unhappy he was.

But what would make him happy? Meredith? How could he possibly know that before making a mistake that couldn’t be easily undone? Or worse, before letting her into his heart where she might become more important than Lynhurst Enterprises?

This was backward and inside out. He should be telling her whatever she wanted to hear so he could keep her in place by his side. He needed to stay married. What Meredith suggested suited his plans to a T.

Why wasn’t he saying yes and worrying about the fallout later? “You and Meiling are different. Leave it at that.”

“So you’re okay with landing your CEO job under false pretenses and then telling your mom you’re getting a divorce within a few days? She’s giving you that job in good faith.” Her gaze tried and convicted him. “Is that really the kind of man you want me to believe you are?”