Page 85 of The Contract Marriage

The trauma of seeing my mother die in front of me will never fade. The grief of losing the loving dog Mom and I rescued together will never disappear.

Your mom would want you to have a life dedicated to something other than revenge. Like love. Happiness. Liam seems like a perfect partner—

Of course she would, but I can’t. Something hot and painful lodges in my chest every time I think of the wrongness of what she suffered. Fury rages every time the trust disburses funds to me and Hugh. He doesn’t deserve a single penny!

And it’d be foolish to discard my plan when I’m so close. There’s no need to make a decision about my future beyond kicking Hugh and his family off the trust right now.

The elevator dings, and the door slides open silently. I step out into the hallway. “Which way is Liam Kingswood’s office?” I ask.

“That way.” A scruffy guy who looks like he could use a bucket of coffee mainlined directly into his veins points to my left. “He just stepped out of a meeting, so you should be able to deliver those and get his signature.”

“Okay, thanks.” Wait—do I look like a delivery person? Shrugging in amusement, I start toward his office with a spring in my step. But then stop dead in my tracks.

The door is ajar and his assistant is inside. Emmie was her name. She hands Liam an open box with a tie inside. She’s smiling brightly—it’s not quite a purely professional smile—as Liam pulls out the long strip of silk. Only then do I notice his tie from the morning lies on the desk behind him.

I hold my breath. Something about the way Emmie is hovering reminds me of…Brielle. Liam loops the tie around his neck and tries to knot it but for some reason his fingers are clumsy.

Why? He’s knotted ties all this time without any problem.

He shakes his head.

“Let me. I used to do it for my younger brother.” Emmie steps forward and expertly creates a perfect Windsor knot as Liam bends forward to make it easier.

The scene is so domestic. But it makes my eyes bleed.

My mind says he isn’t cheating on me, but that doesn’t matter. My breath hitches. The fear that I could lose him before I’m ready to let him go turns my heart to ice. A need to rush inside and tear her away from him starts to spiral up inside me.

I close my eyes for a moment and clamp down on the urge. This is Liam’s company. And I am not the kind of woman who gets jealous, especially over a contract husband. The chill in my chest is just fury because Emmie has no business tying my husband’s tie. No other woman does—

Fuck it. I step into the doorway to his office. “Well. This is cozy.” The words seem to come out of their own accord.

Emmie jumps back with a gasp. Liam, on the other hand, smiles. “Hey, Olivia!”

“Is this how you spend your working hours?”

“It was just a gift to celebrate signing a new contract,” Emmie says defensively.

Probably my contract. I close a business deal with my husband’s company, and it’s his assistant who gets to celebrate with him? I tower over her in my heels and arch an eyebrow. “I see. And are you done celebrating?”

“Um.” Her eyes dart to Liam, who’s staring at me slack-jawed.

“Get out,” I say.

“You don’t have an appointment.” From the wide-eyed shock and embarrassment, she probably didn’t mean to say that. But it still strikes me the wrong way.

Oh my God, Olivia, it isn’t like he’s your exclusive property. Brielle’s familiar laughing words ring in my head. She taunted me every time she managed to sabotage yet another of my relationships. I keep my voice cold and level. “I don’t need an appointment. I’m his wife. Now, anyone unrelated to the family can get out and close the door behind them.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Liam

Hot damn. Olivia just said, “I’m his wife,” and it went straight to my head like a shot of strong whiskey. I actually feel slightly buzzed.

I reach for her, but she steps back, gripping the tie. Her eyes burn as they meet mine. “Is this how you spend your time ‘working’ instead of coming home on time?” She drops the sunflowers on a chair.

“Are you jealous?” I know it’s a bad idea, but I can’t seem to stop smiling.

“No. Just wondering how you’re going to get any work done if you keep screwing around.”