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His expression grew even more remote. ‘Should there be?’
I shrugged. ‘You’re the one who seems agitated.’
For a tight stretch of time, he didn’t speak. Then, with piercing focus, he said, ‘I commend you for holding up your end of the bargain, Sadie.’
Despite the backhanded compliment, his expression suggested he was waiting for the other shoe to fall.
I raised an eyebrow, eager to find a level footing with him, despite the cascade of emotions churning through me. Barely a month ago I’d been blissfully unaware that I carried a child. Now, I wasn’t simply a mother-to-be, I was the wife of a formidable man from an equally formidable family.
‘Does that win me some sort of brownie point?’ I asked, more to cover the quaking intensifying within me than anything else—because, despite his expression, the fingers holding me prisoner were moving over my wrist, exploding tiny fireworks beneath my skin.
That touch of hardness tinged his smile. ‘Sadly not. You had your chance to win more during the prenuptial agreement signing.’ His gaze probed as if he were trying to unearth something. ‘Perhaps you regret signing it now?’
I frowned. ‘Why would I? There was nothing in there unacceptable to me. It seemed skewed in your favour—just as you wanted it, I suspect?’
He shrugged. ‘As with any of my contracts, it seeks to protect what’s mine. But you’ve signed on that dotted line, so there’s no going back.’
‘I don’t get what’s going on here. You wanted me to throw a fit over the prenup?’ I asked, puzzled. ‘Why on earth would I do that?’
He tensed, a flash of disconcertion darkening his eyes before he erased it. ‘That was one scenario. But, seeing as you signed it, let’s not dwell on it. The deed is done.’ His gaze dropped to my belly again. ‘Now we wait,’ he breathed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
HIS WORDS SEEPED deep into my bones, robbed me of breath.
For one tiny minute I’d forgotten that Neo harboured a very large question mark over my baby’s paternity. That every term he’d negotiated and every luxury he’d tossed at my feet in his relentless pursuit of possessing the child I carried had come with the unspoken clause that he was hedging his bets. That m
y word wasn’t good enough.
And where I’d have shrugged off the accusation a month ago, these past two weeks had weakened my foundations, wilting me enough that the barbs burrowed through the cracks. And stuck.
Worse, I only had myself to blame—because his endgame, like my father’s, hadn’t changed.
This time when I tugged my hand away he released me, although his lips tightened for a nanosecond. ‘What’s the matter?’
Our progression over the lush green grass had brought us to a section of the never-ending garden with luxurious bespoke seats set around beautifully decorated low tables, more in the style of an elegant garden party than a wedding reception.
He stopped at the seats that were set up on a dais and, beckoning one of the sharply dressed waiters carrying platters of food, helped himself to two gold-rimmed plates overflowing with Greek delicacies.
‘Why, absolutely nothing,’ I answered, plastering on a bright, patently fake smile.
He started to frown. I looked away, only to catch Ax’s watchful gaze.
I turned back to Neo. ‘Does your brother know why you...why we...?’
‘We’re married, Sadie. I’m your husband. You’re my wife. You’ll have to get used to saying it. Try the chicken,’ he said, holding out a silver-skewered morsel to me.
The scent of lemon and rosemary wafted towards me enticingly, but I hesitated, refusing to let that bewildered fizzing inside me gain traction. ‘You didn’t answer my question.’
He dropped the food back onto the plate, his jaw momentarily clenching. ‘Why we’ve exchanged vows today is nobody’s business but ours. You have my word that no one will dare to question you on it.’
‘Because you’ve decreed it?’
His eyes hardened. ‘Yes.’
‘And they obey whatever you say, without question?’
A spine-tingling glint flickered through his eyes. ‘I’m in a unique position to demand that obedience, so, yes.’
