Chapter 2
Roderick
I know with one-hundred-percent certainty that I’m about to make the biggest mistake of my life, but I can’t muster the sense to care.
I’m done with my parents’ unreasonable expectations. I’m done with having women paraded around in front of me, their estimated inheritance regarded before all other attributes. I’m done with business negotiations starting with the salacious introduction of a daughter, grand-daughter, or sometimes—wives!
Natasha will be a refreshing breath of fresh air compared to the vipers I usually keep as company. Her makeup is smeared, and her chestnut hair is disheveled, but she’s prettier than the models you see in magazines, though some people may be too arrogant to realize it.
And of course, I can’t help but wonder what she’s hiding underneath her poofy wedding dress. Her breasts are full, being pushed up by her bodice, creating a tantalizing visual. But it’s not just her decadent flesh that has me interested. I like her innocence of the world and unfailing belief in love, despite the fact that she’s just been left at the altar. It saddens me that I’m going to be the one to prove her wrong.
I pull out my phone and see a text from my mother. Apparently, a travel heiress is being peddled by an ambitious father. She’s pretty, with champagne tastes and sun-kissed skin. A prize to the right man, but not to me.
I look over at Natasha, who’s being propelled by her own stubbornness and anger into a loveless marriage with me, the opposite of what she wanted.
When I saw her at the bar, I had figured we’d have a drink, exchange stories, I’d invite her to my hotel, and that’d be the end of that. I couldn’t have anticipated the turn our conversation would take, and now I’m in too deep to walk away.
Still, I wonder if I’m doing the right thing by her. I worry that I’m taking advantage of a woman who’s just gone through something traumatic.
Natasha looks determined, though. Maybe it’s the thought of getting back at her stupid fiancé, or perhaps it the wealth she hopes to spend. Whatever it is, I need to find out if she’s in the right mindstate.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” I ask gently as I lead her into the courthouse.
“Go through with what? Getting married to a tech heir so I can rub it in my ex’s face, spend all your money, then go back to my mundane life in a month?” she asks. “ Yeah, I’m sure.”
She’s speaking clearly, and there’s not a whiff of alcohol on her. If she considers this a mistake in the morning, it won’t be because I’ve taken advantage of her.
We fill out the application for the marriage license, which takes about fifteen minutes to process. In almost every other state, this kind of mistake wouldn’t be possible, but Nevada caters to the reckless.
“The Justice of the Peace is booked,” the clerk says nonchalantly.
“I think you’ll find that I’m worth accommodating,” I say, sliding a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill across the counter.
The clerk casts me an annoyed glance. “You can slide that on over to any of the Elvi lining the streets.”
“Is Elvi the plural to Elvis? It’s genius.” I take out another bill and slide it over. “Would that do better?”
The clerk gives me a deadpan stare and points over to the wall where I see a camera pointed at us, and I understand why she can’t accept the cash.
After an hour of scoping out Elvises down the strip, Natasha spots one out of the corner of her eye. It’s a well-rounded ‘king’ that got her attention, but before we walk over, I have business to attend to.
“This will only take a moment,” I say, opening the door to a jewelry store.
Her eyes widen in surprise. She shakes her head back and forth aggressively. “No, there’s no need—”
“I’m a Branson. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it would be if you weren’t seen with a ten-karat sparkler on your ring finger?”
“Wait, do you mean to tell me that people are actually going to know that we got hitched?”
“This was never meant to be a secret. As soon as you’re done picking out your ring and Elvis, I’m calling it into the tabloids myself.”
She shakes her head in disbelief. “I-I-I can’t…”
“Having second thoughts?”
“Do you realize how much you have to lose?”
“I have the best lawyers money can buy, and if you choose to cross me, there will be no end to the trouble I can inflict upon you,” I say with a wink.
