Alton rolled his eyes and plopped down in his chair. “I wouldn’t yuck it up too much if I were you, little mouse. Mama has invited us to Texas next month for Christmas. She wants to meet the man I married without her knowledge.”
My face fell and all amusement fled fast. “Texas?”
“Mm-hmm.” Alton smirked as he stood, and I took the time to appreciate the sexy lines of his body. He’d taken his suit jacket off at some point and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and there was something attractive about the way his arms contracted as he stretched out his fingers. I’d always had a thing for a man’s forearms, especially when his sleeves were rolled up. “Mama’s not going to let you off easy, and neither will Dad. They’ll want to know the details, as will the media.”
“Media?” I blinked up at him, distracting myself away from the visible veins under his pale skin and the freckles that dotted the back of his hands, wrists, and arms. He didn’t have much hair, but the stuff he did have was as red as the strands on his head. “What do you mean?”
“I told you that your boy toy caused trouble.”
“I know. I thought we would give them a statement of our own and be done with it?” That’s what Dad liked to do because he preferred not to give the media more attention than they deserved.
He shook his head. “I don’t like being made to look like a fool. So we’ll do one better and host an interview and a photography session for an established magazine.”
I blinked at him. “Does it matter what he’s saying? He’s callingmethe cheater, and I don’t care.”
“Yes.” Alton reached out a hand and I slid mine into his, letting him tug me to my feet and haul me closer until I was flush against his hard body. “Why do you look down on yourself, Noah? The more you let others put you down, the more they’ll do it. You need to stand up for yourself.”
“To what end?” I asked, unable to hide the bitterness in my tone. “They would find more lies to spread about me, and I would have to continuously defend myself. Why should I? People are judgmental, they’re going to say what they want to make themselves feel better anyway. That’s all it is to them.”
He cocked his head slightly and nodded. “Regardless, you’re my husband now, and we need to make a formal appearance. I’m well known around the United States as one of the richest businessmen in the country. I won’t have rumors that you were cheating on me continue.” He tugged at my robe to make sure it was tied securely before he began to lead me out of the office. “We’ll sit down over dinner and discuss the nitty-gritty—when and where we met, when we fell in love, how long we were dating, and where I proposed. All the gossip they’ll want to know. I want you to learn it by heart, am I clear?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes,husband. Your every wish is my command.”
He smirked and kissed my hand. “Glad you know your place.”
I glared at him and his laughter irritated me. He led me downstairs and toward the informal dining room at the back of the house next to the kitchen. It was small compared to the formal room, with a round table decorated with a white silk cloth and two sets of gold utensils already laid out and waiting for us. Tucker was setting steaming-hot food in the middle as we entered, and he grinned as though excited to see me. My heart warmed. I liked Tucker because he was nice, and I could see us becoming friends.
“Your dinner is served, Boss,” Tucker said, bowing slightly before leaving the room.
Alton gestured at one of the white wooden chairs, and I took the seat. He pushed me in to the table, which no one had ever done for me, and my heart fluttered. While I tried to think of something to say, he went around to the other side and sat across from me. With a smile, he lifted the lid on one of the serving dishes and a delicious aroma drifted out. I breathed the pleasant scent in, sighing, and my stomach growled. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until now. I’d barely eaten all day.
Alton dished out ravioli onto my plate before taking a slice of freshly baked bread and placing it beside the pasta. The smell had my stomach complaining again and I patted it as I grabbed a fork and dug in. If Alton disagreed with my actions he didn’t say anything as he packed his own plate with the ravioli and sauce. Mom always told me you learned a lot from someone’s food choices, and I couldn’t help but agree with her in these circumstances. The pasta was the most delicious I’d ever tasted. Tucker had a talent.
“So where did we meet?” I asked, when I’d sated my appetite enough to grace Alton with conversation. I hadn’t realized how hungry I’d been until the pasta had landed on my tongue, a perfect combination of tastes that had my mouth watering. Now my plate was nearly empty.
“At your school,” he said after he’d finished chewing.
“Why were you there? When?” I shot the questions at him fast and raised my eyebrows. “What reason would you have to go to an art school?”
“I appreciate art.” He smirked and twirled the fork around in his fingers. “And I already give to charities that nurture young minds. I was looking at funding a scholarship to the school and went to see it for myself.”
“And what did you think of it?” I threw back at him with a grin.
His smirk widened. “They’ll be more interested in our love story than what I thought about your school. I made a donation earlier, too, so our story will hold water.”
“If you’re going to do this, husband, you must always be prepared for all questions, even the little ones. The last thing we want is to be taken by surprise.” Another lesson from Daddy dearest. The times he did have interviews, he made sure the entire family was ready.
He stroked his chin and stared for a moment before he nodded. “You’re right. The school didn’t impress me.”
“It didn’t?” I dropped my fork and crossed my arms. “Why not?”
“It was mediocre compared to some of the best art schools in the country.” He raised his eyebrows. The bastard wanted to piss me off, I knew it, and I wasn’t going to give him a reaction.
“Okay. How didwemeet?” I ignored him as I dug into the last bit of my ravioli, shoving it into my mouth and chewing. His gaze was like a laser and the heat of it had me shifting in my chair. With nothing but a robe and a thin pair of underwear, I was ripe for the taking, and over the last few days I’d learned Alton took what he wanted.
“I saw you across campus and my eyes were drawn to you like a moth to a flame.”
I rolled my eyes and snorted. “That’s cliché. You want to do the love-at-first-sight angle?”
