“My grandfather added a catch to the promotion. He wants to wait until after our wedding to make it official,” Cade explained. “I’ll pay you good money to keep up this charade and play along with the marriage. Starting offer is ten million and access to your own spending account during the ruse, but I’m happy to negotiate higher.”
A smile spread across his face as he spoke, as if this weregoodnews. But I blinked down at him again, not seeing anything good about it.
“You want to pay me to marry you?” I asked slowly, convinced I’d misheard him. But Cade’s expression didn’t even flicker as he nodded. Dread twisted in my gut. “…Oh.”
My brain didn’t know what to do with that information.
I just felt numb.
“You said you don’t need the money, but ten million can go a long way,” he continued, completely misreading my silence for hesitation. “You could donate it all to your friend’s café or cat shelters if you want. Or hire a fleet of personal chefs to bake chocolate croissants for you. Hell, you could upgrade Whiskey’ssquare foot of land in Scotland to a full-on castle. Whatever you want.”
I glanced at where my cat had curled up on his red pillow, but even picturing him on a golden throne couldn’t penetrate the numbness.
When words continued to fail me, Cade squeezed my hips. “We’ll pretend to be married for a year to make it believable, then split amicably. That should be plenty of time for me to get established in the role.”
A scoff slipped past my lips.
“A year of pretending to be your wife,” I stated slowly, feeling a bit like a robot as I forced a tight smile. “Sorry, but I think I’m going to pass on that.”
“Pass?” Cade’s brows arched, and his gaze flicked over my face. “I thought you’d be excited about this.”
I choked out a wet laugh, suddenly terrified I would burst into tears while sitting on top of him. “Right, because who wouldn’t be excited about ten million dollars? I’d be an idiot to say no.”
My vision blurred. I sure felt like an idiot.
I abruptly rolled off both Cade and the bed, landing on my feet with much less grace than Whiskey would’ve. “Sorry, but my answer’s no.”
Autopilot took over. I needed to get out of here, so I beelined to the closet to grab my battered suitcase and Whiskey’s astronaut backpack. After tossing both on the bed, I blindly packed my things while Whiskey trotted closer to see what was happening. He rubbed against my ankle, easily sensing my inner freak-out.
Cade watched me carry an armful ofmyclothes—not the wardrobe Nate had so expertly curated for me—and drop them into the suitcase. “What are you doing?”
“Packing,” I answered through a tight throat, quickly clearing out the drawer that held Whiskey’s things. “The trip’s over, right?”
I stuffed another armful into the suitcase, while Cade slid off the other side of the bed.
“We’ve still got time for breakfast,” he said.
It was almost funny how cautiously he spoke.Almost.
I paused in packing, but I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at him. I settled for looking at the beige wall over his shoulder. “Do I need to go to breakfast to fulfill our contract?”
Cade jerked back like I’d slapped him.
“Of course not.” His voice hardened as he walked closer. “Why the rush? My driver isn’t picking us up for a few more hours.”
“Well, I’m leaving now. I’ll take that little boat to shore and get a taxi.” After zipping up my bag, I scooped Whiskey off the floor and tucked him into his astronaut backpack. It weighed at least a hundred pounds as I hauled it onto my shoulders. “Bye.”
I walked out the door without even bothering to put pants on, and Cade wasn’t far behind.
“Ellie.” His fingers circled my wrist, feeling way too intimate and familiar right now. “Hey?—”
I yanked my arm away and marched down the hallway, barely holding back tears at how stupid I’d been.
The walk up to the main deck was a blur of me ignoring Cade while also trying to figure out how to get to the tiny boat taxi. This place didn’t label anything.
I made it to the lounge without getting lost. Curtains covered the windows, giving it an eerie glow for the morning, and Cade blocked my path before I reached the sliding doors.
“Will you just talk to me for a second?” He caught my shoulders, stopping me from dodging him. The crease between his brows and the hard set of his jaw bristled with frustration.“What the hell happened between waking up this morning with that smile on your face and running off now?”
