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“Our goal was to make you CEO,” she said, her manner matter-of-fact. “If that doesn’t happen in the next few months it’s because we didn’t have enough time. You aren’t horrible to be married to. I could see sticking it out for another year.”
A year of being married to Violet with the temptation of making love to her eating him alive? JT recoiled from the thought. “We’ll get divorced in the fall regardless.”
Her expression was inscrutable as she nodded. “Then we’ll get divorced.”
Conversation dried up after their exchange. Fortunately they’d reached the city limits and traffic wasn’t as backed up as usual, so their journey to her hotel was accomplished quickly. He swung the BMW into Fontaine Chic’s circular driveway and stopped the car by the lobby doors. Before he could shut off the car, Violet put a hand on his arm.
“If you just open the trunk, I’ll grab my bag.”
In that instant, JT realized the last thing he wanted to do was fly off and leave his brand-new wife to her own devices. What an idiotic notion. They weren’t really married. It wasn’t as if they’d shared a grand night of passion he couldn’t wait to duplicate. But she was already far more important to him than a casual acquaintance, which—their connection to Tiberius aside—was all they were.
“I’ll call you and let you know how things went in North Carolina.” He slipped the garage remote off the visor and extended it to her. “Here.”
Her brows came together briefly. “Why would you give me that?”
Because he liked the idea of her sleeping—and skinny-dipping—in his home.
“Our house,” he corrected her. “I might need some information from Tiberius’s files. It would be useful if you could get to them.”
“Let me get this straight.” A playful light glinted in her eyes. “You’re going to let me help and you’re going to trust me alone in our house?”
“Are you planning on digging through my underwear drawer?”
She leaned close and whispered, “Is that where you keep your secrets?”
No, those were all locked up in his head. “Please feel free to investigate and see.”
“It doesn’t bother you to have me snooping?”
To his surprise, it didn’t. “What do you think you’ll find?”
“I don’t know.” She plucked the opener from his grasp. “But everything about you is such a closed book I’m sure I’ll find the most mundane of things utterly fascinating.”
With a sassy wink she slipped from the car and collected her bag. JT watched until she’d sashayed through the lobby door before shifting into drive. He’d been married to her for less than twenty-four hours and already he was noticing cracks in his defenses. Sunshine was seeping in, illuminating emotions that hadn’t seen the light of day in over eighteen years. He felt lighter, more optimistic as if her positive outlook was contagious.
It took all his determination to put aside thoughts of his new wife and her unsettling effect on him, but by the time JT reached long-term parking, he’d managed to focus his attention on the trip ahead. Earlier that morning he’d had his assistant book a flight from Vegas to Charlotte. He’d decided to fly commercial instead of borrowing the company jet. He didn’t want his father to start questioning why he was traveling all over the East Coast.
After parking his car, he headed to the terminal. An email message arrived on his phone as he exited security. His secretary had forwarded his itinerary for the coming week. He was booked from Charlotte to Atlanta to Louisville and finally up to New York City. Four cities in six days. He hoped like hell it would be a profitable trip.
Five
As soon as Violet entered Fontaine Chic, she headed straight for her office. Since no one had called her in a panic, she assumed nothing earthshaking had happened in the last twelve hours, but she wanted to touch base with her assistant. Patty brought Violet a cup of tea and the previous day’s report. Violet crossed to the seating area near the window and sat down on the couch. A quick scan assured Violet that her hotel continued to run smoothly in her absence. Now to address the problem of convincing her sisters that marrying JT didn’t mean she’d lost her marbles.
I’m back.
She sent the text to both Scarlett and Harper and wasn’t surprised how fast the responses came.
I’m on my way. From Scarlett.
Give me twenty minutes and don’t tell Scarlett a thing until I get there. From Harper.
With a fatalistic sigh, Violet set the phone down on the coffee table. Exhaustion washed over her as her night of little sleep caught up to her. She let her muscles relax. Her head fell back against the comfortable leather couch. Almost immediately she was besieged by hysterical amusement. Had she seriously just married JT? Demanded that he give her a proper kiss? Not that there was anything proper in the way his tongue had coasted against hers. She shivered as the memory swept over her.
“I demand to hear every last detail immediately,” Scarlett proclaimed from the doorway.
Violet’s eyes flew open. She hadn’t even realized she’d closed them. “Harper said to wait.”
“You don’t seriously think I’m going to sit here in suspense for twenty minutes, do you?” Scarlett flopped onto the couch beside Violet and pinned her with a steely glare. “Spill.”
