He grins, moving back so he can rub his chin. “Fine, for the money. For the company. For your career.”
“As long as it’s not foryou,” I seethe.
“Is that a yes?”
I screw up my face, thoughts of what this would mean for me racing around my mind.
But a pretend wedding?
ToBlake?
“No one can know it's not real, Danielle. Five years. If I can find a way to end this early, I will.”
“You must know so many women; why me?” I whisper, as he steps closer.
“Because you’re the only one I’ve ever loved.” His eyes hold mine. “And the only one I’ve ever trusted.”
CHAPTER 9
DANIELLE
“Ican’t believe this. I can’t say no to that kind of money without thinking it through, Blake, and you know it.”
Blake nods, watching me.
“If I evenconsiderthis,” I say slowly, “there has to be rules.”
Blake leans against the counter, watching me carefully. “Name them.”
“No sleeping together. No real feelings. And the moment this deal ends, we go our separate ways.”
“Fine,” he replies quietly. “But in public, you’re my wife.”
My stomach flips at the word‘wife.’
I drag in a steady breath, forcing myself to focus on the real issue.
“This company was everything to your dad, and he was a good man. If he putthisas a clause, he must have had a good reason to do it.”
I take another breath, my hand trembling.
Could I marry some jerk who’d dumped me when I was young and naive?
But how could I turn this down?
“I need to consider it.”
This will have to be onmyterms. Every part of it.
“And I want to see the contract.”
Blake reaches into his back pocket, handing over a thick envelope. “I’ll let you read it. Don’t tell a soul, okay? Seriously.” He holds my gaze, backing away with a heavy sigh.
“What a proposal.”
“It’s not real, Danielle. I’m sure you’ll get the fairy tale one day.” Blake shrugs, giving me a sad smile. “Until then, help me run this empire.”
He backs out of the room, and I release a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.
