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I allow my eyes to flick down, staring at the evil printouts that signal the tragic end to what I was hoping would be our lifelong love story.
Fuck. This woman has turned me into a sad, poetic sap.
Nadia rambles about starting the annulment process, protecting our individual assets, and filing the paperwork in a timely fashion to avoid further delay.
Meanwhile, all I want to do is sweep her into my arms and kiss her silly.
That’s basically become my theme song since I met her. I’m always trying to win my Dream Girl over. A lesser man might have given up by now. But before we screwed up with the accidental marriage debacle, I was making progress. Slowly chipping away at Nadia’s expertly constructed brick walls.
Now, I’m right back to square one.
“You look really beautiful tonight,” I blurt, when I can’t follow her lawyer jargon any longer.
Nadia raises her head and blinks at me. Her business mask drops for a second—and I’ve learned that that’s exactly what it is, a strong, no-nonsense camouflage she wears for everyone else—but I see right through it. I see her truth.
She wants to be loved. She wants to be adored. I’m willing to do that. Why won’t she let me?
She stares into my eyes and I get a glimpse of the woman I spent the evening with at the gala. The woman I spent the night with in my bed. I want more of her.
I want her so bad I’m willing to risk everything in the pursuit of her.
In a second, Nadia’s mask is right back on. “Thank you.” She clears her throat. “Now will you read this third paragraph on page six? I need to make sure you agree to th—”
I cover her hand with mine, interrupting her business talk. “We’ve got the whole evening to read through the details. You’ve got to be hungry. I bet you forgot to eat lunch today.”
She sighs heavily, and makes a point of pulling her hand out from under mine. But we both feel the electricity. I see the sizzle that flashes across her face.
“That’s beside the point,” she mutters.
That’s what I figured.
“We agreed to dinner.” I do my best to reason with her. “Not to have some stuffy meeting. Let’s get a drink, order a meal, and enjoy it together.”
Me and Nadia? We were friends not so long ago. Okay, maybe notfriendsfriends. But we were getting to know each other pretty damn well. We’d even started opening up to each other. Surely we can enjoy each other’s company for one evening without making this all business and no play tonight.
Despite all my attempts to make conversation and break through her icy exterior, things are awkward as hell. A server brings us our drinks, and we order our meals, but as soon as the waiter takes off, I can tell Nadia’s ready to burst.
She sets down her glass of merlot after barely taking a tiny sip. “I’d just feel better if we got through this.” She starts flipping through papers again. “This is what we came here to settle, and it’s not like we have anything else to do while we wait.” She fidgets in her seat.
I swallow over the rock in my throat. “What if I told you I want to wait on the annulment?”
Her brows squeeze together, and she’s already shaking her pretty head. “That’s non-negotiable, Harry. If we wait, our window closes. According the the Sin Valley Special Regulation, we have sixty days to—”
“I always promised myself that once I got married, I’d do it right. I don’t want a divorce or an annulment or whatever the fuck you’re asking me for.”
She freezes. “You’re trying to guilt-trip me into staying in a marriage I don’t want. That’s not fair.” Her bottom lip trembles.
My heart pinches at her words. At her raw and brutal honesty.
“I really like you, Nadia.” Understatement of the century.
I love her.
The moment I met her, it was like recognizing my fucking soulmate. I sure can’t say that to her, though. It’d only piss her off even more.
Her rich chocolaty eyes grow stormy, and her chest rises and falls. When she doesn’t respond, I jump in the deep end. No floaties. No lifejacket. Just me and my desperation.
“I just want to try. I just want to give this a shot. You and me.” I’m not above getting down on my knees and begging right now. If I thought she wouldn’t run away at the very sight. But that’s not her thing. Instead, I grab her hand, squeezing it in mine. “We are good together, and I won’t hurt you. You can count on that.”
