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I stared at her, my mouth opening slightly before I caught myself and clamped it shut. Not only was that definitely not a contemporary novelist who wrote smut with a few dragons, aliens, or wolves thrown into the mix to be able to claim there was a plot tying all the sex together, but the Odyssey was also one of my all-time favorite books.

“What about you?” she asked, holding my gaze like she knew exactly where my head had gone. “Do you have a favorite author, or do you prefer TV?”

“Did you know that Alicia introduced Cameron to his favorite authors, Nora?” Jane asked, thankfully stepping in to save me from having to admit I actually had something in common with my wife.

Mom blinked rapidly but allowed herself to be swept up in the tide when Alex and Colin caught on to what was going on and steered the conversation firmly away from Alicia’s past. I watched them, noticing every time she cleverly ducked a question that might’ve pulled the focus back to her and every flush that colored her cheeks when Jane gave her a compliment.

Well, well. She’s really not the meek, fragile little creature I assumed she was when I first laid eyes on her. In fact, she’s turning out to be pretty fucking interesting.

We hadn’t spoken a single word to each other that night at Tasha’s place and we sure as hell hadn’t had a deep, meaningful conversation when I’d almost scraped her off the pavement, but after the way she’d fled the scene of the near-accident and Tasha describing her as the shy, bookish type, I’d concluded that she was probably a bit of a trembling little mouse.

Never in my wildest dreams had I expected she’d turn out to be the clever fox sitting across from me now, openly sizing me up as she spoke to my family. When I’d walked into that conference room, I’d had a brief flash of a future in which she’d quietly fade into the background, both of us navigating this arrangement without me ever even really knowing she was there.

Somehow though, I didn’t think that would be true. For the rest of our awkward, slightly tense dinner, I found myself growing more and more curious about her, listening closely when she spoke and noticing how she held her own with my family.

After we’d eaten, dinner came to an end pretty fast, no one even bringing up coffee or dessert, and ten minutes after the last plate had been cleared, she and I stood alone at the entrance of the restaurant.

Through the glass doors, I could see my mom follow the hostess to a private elevator, giving me a solemn wave before she finally disappeared from view. I was going to have hell to pay when it came to her. Frantic, middle-of-the-night phone calls demanding an explanation seemed inevitable at this point, but right now, Mom was the least of my worries.

As it was, she’d been especially tense and highly emotional for the past few weeks. Ever since the legal teams had dropped the news about Dad’s impending early release from his federal sentence. The thought scratched uncomfortably at the back of my brain, a cold, persistent itch.

That was happening soon. Too soon. And the fallout of my father walking free was going to be a disaster, but not even that was my great worry right now.

Left completely alone with my new wife for the very first time, I turned to look at her. The chilly breeze caught a few stray strands of her hair and blew them across her face. She looked back at me, her arms crossing tightly over her chest. I didn’t know what I’d done to her, but she did not look impressed with the person she’d just legally hitched her wagon to.

She also didn’t say a word, so I sucked my teeth, checked my watch, and pulled my coat tighter around my shoulders. “Right. Okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Alicia frowned, her eyebrows knitting together in genuine confusion. “Tomorrow? Why?”

I turned when I heard the doors of the elevator slide open behind me and stepped into it, holding the door open with my hand as I looked out at her. “Your place is a hell of a lot nicer than mine. That’s why. Since the contract we both just signed states we have to live together at the same address, that means I have to go pack a bag.”

She opened her mouth, probably to argue, but I gave her a flat look. “We’ll discuss our long-term options later, but for now, I’ll see you tomorrow, wife.”

The doors slid shut, cutting off the sight of her stunned, slightly indignant expression, and I dropped back against the mirrored wall, releasing a harsh, hard breath. This had been a really long, exceptionally weird day, even for me, but I had to admit, it could’ve ended a hell of a lot worse than finding myself married to Ramen Girl.

At the very least, she was hot. Not that it would matter since I would never touch her, but still. Looking at her for the rest of my life wouldn’t exactly be a punishment. Plus, within a day, I would have access to more money than I could spend in two and a half lifetimes and my father would never be able to touch a dime.

As of right now, my strings were cut, my future finally my own—and all I had to do was make sure that wherever it took me, I brought my not-so-meek, noodle-and-book loving wife along for the ride.

Fuck, I can’t believe I’m even thinking this, but maybe this won’t be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me after all.

CHAPTER 12

ALICIA

“He’s living here?” Tasha stood with her hands planted firmly on her hips, blocking the doorway of the small room at the end of the hall.

The space had once been my father’s oak-paneled study, but over the years, it had become more of a glorified storage room. As of today, however, it also housed a slightly rickety futon for my loving husband to sleep on once he moved in.

“Yes, Tasha. He’s living here,” I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose before lifting my gaze back to hers. “Stop looking at me like I’m suggesting we harbor a fugitive. He and I are married now. What did you think was going to happen, that we’d just sign the papers and go our separate ways?”

Well, to be fair, that’s what I thought too. I just didn’t say so. Honestly, even if I had seen the clause in the contract that required us to live together, I hadn’t thought we’d actually do it, especially not right away, but apparently, billionaires weren’t into taking things slowly. For God’s sake, Alicia. He married you without even taking you out for coffee first. Why would he start taking things slowly now?

Plus, it was literally in the contract both of us had signed. He’d been right about that and I supposed billionaires were probably also very into taking those seriously.

“Well, yeah,” she finally said, gesturing wildly at the saggy mattress. “Does that mean he’s going to be bringing his mistress here? What happened to the casino?”

I groaned, but something twisted in my stomach at the thought of him bringing other women home. To my house. Where he’ll… do things to them on my futon.