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Unlike now, I’ve always had the self-control to brush those fantasies away.
“Nephew?” I manage. “This must be a bad time.”
“No, come inside,” Matthew repeats, motioning into his home. From the doorway, I spot a grand staircase with intricate woodwork and arches that lead to a beautiful kitchen. There’s a fireplace in the living room with a mantel covered in family photographs. Two couches sit opposite each other. Beyond the cozy space lies a sprawling backyard garden. “Aaron’s staying the night. My sister and the rest of her family all got food poisoning, so I offered to take him off their hands.”
A fluffy brown cat peeks its head between Matthew’s ankles, looking up at me with large russet eyes. He leans down and picks up the little animal, hugging the kitty to his bare chest.
Goodness.
He’s a cat daddy too. How could I forget?
“Are you planning on standing there all day?” He shoots me a playful smile.
My heart flips in my chest. Hands clench and relax.
What have I gotten myself into?
Chapter4
Matthew
I’ve scaredthe woman I’m supposed to marry. I nervously tug at the collar of my clean T-shirt, as if the half-naked appearance that I greeted her with will become any less traumatizing.
Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.
Molly sits in front of me in my living room, crossing and uncrossing her legs for the ninth time. Sunlight pours through the sliding doors that lead to the backyard, casting shadows on her pale complexion. She takes a sip of water, then sets her glass down. There’s a small drop clinging to her plush bottom lip. She licks it away, and her eyes meet mine.
“First off, I appreciate you giving me a way out of this marriage with Lance. I realize that I’m asking a lot of you,” Molly says, stroking her fingers over her throat. “If you change your mind, you can back out at any point.”
“Thank you, but I’m a man of my word, and the proposal still stands.” I shift beneath Bear’s weight on my lap and give his ear a scratch.
I researched as much as I could about Molly’s family. They’re a tight-knit group in the hospitality industry, widely known for their On Cloud Nine Resort Group, which was founded by Oliver and Clara Greene when the newlyweds purchased their first hotel. The same type of affluent individuals I’ve worked with for years.
I can manage this.
Plus, with the promise of twenty-five million dollars, I’d be a fool to turn down the opportunity.
Molly watches me, mulling over my words as if they’re a puzzle she’s struggling to solve.
Her eyes wander over the photos of my family on the mantel. “I’ll share the arrangement details, and then you can decide.”
She sounds like a well-rehearsed executive. The formality is chilling, but that’s what this is—a business arrangement.
“Fair enough. Go on.”
Molly leans forward. “As I already mentioned, the trust requires that I follow tradition and get married by twenty-seven. The Greenes are allowed a love match, which is what we’ll pretend to be for my parents’ approval. But what I didn’t mention is that we have to complete a marriage preparation course.”
Huh.That’s weirder than I expected, but rich people do odd things all the time. “Like counseling?” I tilt my head to one side. Bear kicks his feet in his sleep.
“Yes and no.” Molly pulls her hair out of its clip, sending her red corkscrew curls across her shoulders. She almost looks out of place here. White trousers. Fancy heels. This is a household of hiking boots and old books, but seeing her among my things is bringing up that feeling again. The same one I felt when we briefly kissed and my diaphragm froze. “Oliver and Clara wanted future Greene generations to experience the same bond they had when they opened the first On Cloud Nine. So, they created a marriage course. It’s offered at every location around the world.”
“Okay.” I blink. She’s never this rigid when we chat at the office. “What does it entail? As long as it’s not a blood sacrifice, I think we’ll be okay.”
She doesn’t laugh. Instead, her eyes crinkle with concern. “No, nothing like that. It’s a series of workshops and tests to ensure we’re compatible before you become an official member of the Greene family.”
“I’m quite good at taking tests.” I wink. This time she blushes, her hard exterior beginning to fade. “When can we get started?”
“Right.” She hesitates, chewing the inside of her cheek. “The only thing is, um, well… The course is two weeks long, and it’s in Sedona.”
