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As a younger woman, she hadn’t been particularly interested in Buchanan & Buchanan Properties and had spent most of her time shopping and taking lavish vacations. She cringed when she remembered how carefree and lacking of responsibility her life had been. She had been spoiled for sure.
On the other hand, her half brother, Clifton Jr. from her father’s first marriage, had been reared to take over the company. Eight years older than Annabelle, he had been a daredevil, participating in extreme sports whenever he wasn’t working side by side with their father. Unfortunately, he participated in one daring escapade too many. When she was twelve years old, he died tragically in a mountain climbing accident at the young age of twenty.
His death devastated their family and shined a spotlight on Clifton Senior’s old school beliefs. His only son, his heir, was gone—along with the tradition of passing the reins of the family business to a male member of the family. He had no problem paying for his daughter’s education, but he didn’t believe a woman’s place was heading up the company.
Clifton was set in his ways, and Annabelle had long ago given up trying to change his opinion. His prejudice hurt, but she loved him nonetheless and knew without a doubt that he loved her. He was a wonderful father in other ways—supportive and willing to satisfy every one of her needs and wants.
However, he had always admired Dante’s drive. “He’s going to be something one day,” her father had said, with the certainty that came with age. Over the years, he’d watched his prediction come true and been impressed with how Dante built a privately owned commercial real estate empire worth over two billion dollars.
Several weeks ago, out of desperation, she had hinted at a reunion with Dante, and her father had been surprised but expressed his enthusiasm for the idea. Now she had to deliver. A sexless marriage to Dante, where they both obtained what they wanted and then went their separate ways could work. If she married him again, her father would become comfortable allowing her to take over because Dante, though he wouldn’t work for the company, would be right by her side, and she could consult with him.
She just needed her ex to say yes.
There was no one else she could count on, on such short notice, though she pretended she had other options. She expected her father to retire within the next few months, therefore time was of the essence. All she had to do was marry Dante and stay married to him for a year, for appearance’s sake. A small price to pay to protect the jobs of the people she considered family and keep Buchanan & Buchanan in the family.
Annabelle dialed her best friend’s number and lifted the phone to her ear. Lacey Locke was the only person she’d told about her plans, and she was sworn to secrecy.
“Did you see Dante and make the offer?” Lacey asked, in lieu of sayinghello.
“I did,” Annabelle confirmed.
“What did he say?” She sounded breathless with anticipation.
“First, he said he’d think about the offer, and then he said no. I’d hoped for a different answer, but it’s what I expected.Buthe’s definitely interested in the Hilderbrandt building. I could tell.” Her eyes followed a man rushing from his vehicle toward the parking garage’s elevator.
“Do you think it’ll be enough?”
Annabelle gently gnawed her thumbnail. “It has to be. I have to move quickly before Daddy recommends the merger to the board, which will probably happen at the next meeting. I remember the way Dante talked about that building, and I’m certain he still wants it.”
“For your sake, I hope you’re right. How did you feel, spending time with your ex-husband alone?”
Heat flamed her cheeks. Her entire body had heated in Dante’s presence, but she believed she’d played it off well.
“I’ve seen him around town before.”
“You know what I mean,” Lacey said.
Annabelle bit the corner of her lip and prepared a diplomatic answer because she did know what her friend meant. Those times she and Dante had encountered each other at events around the city, they carefully kept their distance from each other. They rarely spoke, but their paths didn’t cross as often as one would think. They moved in different sectors of the real estate world, where he dominated commercial real estate, and her father held a smaller but nonetheless influential role in residential real estate.
The last time she saw him—at the Fight Hunger in Houston event—the way he had sipped champagne in a black tux and kept his dark eyes locked on her as she spoke had made her self-conscious and very aware of his commanding presence. His dark-brown eyes appeared hard as steel when he looked at her. That night she’d walked away as soon as possible, but by then, her nerves were shit, and her limbs were shaking.
Dante had this innate ability to shrink every room he entered and compel the eyes of women and men to follow him as he moved. He was more devastatingly handsome than when they first met, and in the past ten years, his face had matured, and his body had bulked up as if he spent more time in the gym than he used to.
She never forgot the first time she laid eyes on him. He and his friend Sebastian crashed a private party at Lola, one of the most exclusive restaurants in town, “to see how the other half lived and make connections” she learned later. He intrigued her right away with his rugged good looks and spine-tingling accented English. He was much more polished now but couldn’t hide the roughness that remained around the edges.
His lips were still temptingly curved, and her name on his tongue continued to have the same effect as years before. He always called her Anna, and the way he said her name, breathing it in his deep voice, made her toes curl in her Loro Piana heels. He had worked hard to lose his accent, and it was almost gone now. But he didn’t sound like a typical Texan, and the way he pronounced certain words sent a delicious shiver down her spine.
“We traded insults, and at the end of the day, all I can do is wait. I gave him a few days to get back to me.”
“He has the entire weekend?” Lacey said.
“Yes.”
“And if you don’t hear from him by Monday?”
Annabelle briefly closed her eyes. “I’d rather not think negatively right now. I’m going to stay optimistic and believe that by Monday afternoon he’ll give me a call and agree to the marriage. Then we can work out the details with our lawyers.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Lacey said.
