AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Comes for years of conditioning. Every morning, for two hours at the naval base, right until the day I—" I firm my lips.
"The day you left on the mission?" Rick widens his stance. "Time you spoke about what happened there with someone."
"I’m talking to the two of you."
"I mean with someone who has the professional background to listen to you and steer you through the emotional minefields."
"Now you’re talking like her."
"She’s right," Finn pipes up. His voice sounds muffled, thanks to the cloth he’s holding against his nose. "You should see a shrink."
"I talk to Adam—often."
"Considering he was there with you through the ordeal, I’m not sure how beneficial that’s going to be for either of you."
"Oh, it’s beneficial," I laugh, my tone bitter. "More than you can imagine."
Finn and Rick exchange another glance.
"Now what?" I glance between them. "It’s bad enough my employees pussy-foot around me in the office—"
"And who’s fault is that?" Rick scoffs.
"Not her though, I assume?" Finn smirks, then groans. And honestly, any remorse I may have had for how I hit him fades at that.
"You mean my fiancée?"
"Fiancée?" He blinks.
"Finally, fuck." Rick beams.
"Don’t get your panties in a twist. It’s a marriage of convenience. That’s all it is."
46
Penny
"He sure seems nervous," Mira peeks out through the door of the dressing room adjoining the main ceremony room where I’m standing at the town hall in Islington.
Sir and nervous?I snort. "He’s probably devising new ways to make my life miserable, is all."
Mira shoots me a curious glance. "Is that code for—" she stabs her forefinger through the hole created by bringing her forefinger and thumb of her other hand together.
I roll my eyes. It’s been four days since he proposed. Four days since he went down on bended knee and proposed with words that sounded so heartfelt, it’s no wonder Mira has stars in her eyes. I, too, would have been taken in by it. I confess, Iwastaken in by what he said. Only, before I could ask him about it, he hustled me out into the car, then become immersed in his phone so I couldn’t really ask him for clarification.
When we reached his penthouse, he guided me to one of the guest rooms on the opposite side of the corridor from his room. Tiny bounded in after me. Knight hesitated, then glared at the dog, who panted and happily parked himself at my feet. I gripped Tiny’s collar and stared back at Knight. He firmed his lips, then nodded, as if coming to a decision.
He told me the kitchen was stocked and I could order anything I wanted to eat from the app on my phone. He also said that he’d arrange to pay for the food. Then, he thrust something into my hands, which turned out to be his platinum credit card, before he stepped back and left. I haven’t seen him since. Not when Abby threw me an impromptu bridal shower at her place, not when I came into the office to continue with my job—he didn’t tell me not to work, and if I didn’t have a place to go to each day, I’d go crazy twiddling my thumbs—not when I lingered around at lunch time—which he now allows me to take as a break because I might be pregnant—and after work, trying to catch a glimpse of him on the floor. That is, until the receptionist sweetly informed me that Mr. Warren is away on a business trip for the next four days.
That bastard! I am his assistant. I’m the first person he should inform about his plans, but he didn’t bother to update me. Not a text message. Nothing!Nada. Argh! He didn’t ask me to cancel his meetings for the week—no, he did it himself. He went to the extreme to cease all communication with me.
At first, it made me a little mad, then a little sad to realize I wouldn’t be able to talk to him before the wedding. That is, until the wives and girlfriends of the Seven and the Sovranos and their friends descended on me.
Karma came, weighted down with dresses for me to try on. Summer brought along Rachel—a wedding planner who’s worked with Isla—to help me with organizing the event. Mira commandeered Knight’s black Amex and ordered enough food for us and Tiny, along with enough champagne to make us all very happy. Yep, the bosshole left his credit card, with instructions for me to use it as needed. I balked at that, but Mira had no such compunctions.
Then there was Abby, who beamed from ear to ear and refused to listen when I told her the wedding was fake.
Apparently, my closest friends, too, want to buy into the notion that we are in love and getting married, so much so, that a part of me began to believe in the story. Especially when I stood in front of the mirror in my bedroom and saw the gorgeous creation Karma had made for me.
