A Contract for His Runaway Bride

Elodie was touched he’d remembered her twin’s allergy, but wouldn’t have minded a showdown with Morag to establish some boundaries. Start as you mean to go on, was her credo now. She was not going to allow the housekeeper to walk all over her feelings this time around.

‘I know, but I want things to go as smoothly as possible.’

Elodie shrugged and continued. ‘Mum can’t come, but not because she didn’t want to—she’s in Ireland with her new partner, visiting his family.’

She decided against telling him she had told her twin the truth about their marriage. She could trust Elspeth to keep quiet and play along with the charade.

‘Were your mother and Elspeth surprised by your announcement?’

‘Mum is impossible to surprise these days. I think it’s because of all the impulsive things I’ve done in the past.’

He gave a wry been-there-experienced-that-first-hand grunt. ‘What about Elspeth? Was she surprised when you told her?’

She swivelled in her seat to look at him. ‘No, because she thinks you’ve always been in love with me.’

Lincoln’s mouth tightened just a fraction. ‘Then let’s hope she keeps that fantasy going for the next six months.’ He changed gear and added, ‘Is your father coming tonight?’

Elodie gave a mirthless laugh. ‘No way. I know better than to ask him. He’s always got something more important to do.’

She felt rather than saw the weight of Lincoln’s glance on her, and mentally kicked herself for revealing her father issues. Showing vulnerability was a no-no in a relationship such as theirs. A transactional relationship that had no place for sharing emotional baggage. Not that she had ever shared much of her baggage in the past... She hated showing any sign of emotional neediness, especially to someone like Lincoln, who was so in control of his emotions—if he had any, that was.

‘What about your father? Has he forgiven me too?’

‘You won’t have any problems on that score. He forgave you long ago.’

But have you?Elodie wanted to ask, but she stayed silent.

If the roles had been reversed, she would have found it near impossible to forgive him if he had jilted her. Rejection was her worst nightmare.

Her fear of being abandoned came from her childhood. Her father had proudly paraded his cute twin girls around until they’d stopped being cute. As a young child Elodie had gravitated towards her father, because her mother had been so obsessed with keeping Elspeth safe from her nut allergy.

Elodie had thought she was her father’s favourite, like Elspeth was her mother’s. But how wrong she had been. She’d lost her first tooth and her father in the same week. He’d moved on to build a new life and a family with another woman. He hadn’t even made the time to come to her ill-fated wedding.

But then, why would he have needed to? He had given her away years ago.