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His eyes drop down to my cleavage for a moment and he licks his bottom lip. The thought of sinking my teeth into his plum bottom lip makes me wiggle in my seat.
Get it together, Poppy.
“I ordered them yesterday morning.” He brings his mug of coffee to his mouth and takes a drink, not taking his eyes off of mine.
So he assumed I was going to say yes. What an arrogant man.
The chef sets my plate in front of me and the steam from the food warms my face.
“Thanks.”
I cut into the omelet, place a bite of it on my tongue, and the food melts into my mouth. The bell pepper and egg taste delicious. Going without a decent meal for so long makes me appreciate food a lot more than I did before.
I glance around the kitchen, noting that this room needs a woman’s touch. There aren’t pictures of family and friends nor is it as lively as I would like. I’m going to hang photographs of our family, make it feel homier and less like a museum.
“Can I decorate here? I want to put my touch to it. Maybe I can put pictures of our family around here.”
“Your family, not mine.”
I shoot him a curious glance. “Why don’t you want pictures of your family?”
He shakes his head and grabs his wallet from his breast pocket, sliding a black Amex card to me.
“You can use mine until yours comes in the mail.”
Well, that’s the end of that discussion. Jasper loves avoiding questions like a rash. How are we going to be married if we don’t know much about each other? He says he wants to convince his father that this is real, but he won’t believe us if he’s not sharing stuff about himself. I don’t want to push the subject, so I ignore him and grab the card. I’ll bring up the subject some other time.
“You start work tomorrow, by the way. I’ll tell the security team that you will be up there so you can get your work badge.”
Lake told me that he’s an asshole as a boss, something she learned from one of her friends, and I don’t think I’d be able to handle him if he acts like that. “I heard you were an asshole to your last assistant. You’re not going to be mean toward me,” I state.
A smile stretches across his face. “As long as you’re going to be my wife, you don’t have to worry about me being an asshole to you.”
“What will be my pay?”
His mouth twitches as he stands up from the barstool and dumps the contents of his mug into the sink. “Three hundred grand a year.”
My mouth drops. “Okay. That seems like a lot.”
The maid wearing all white collects my plate and the few other dishes on the counter and places them in the dishwasher. She presses a button and the dishwasher hums to life. I bring my eyes back to Jasper.
“What was your last assistant’s pay?”
He folds his arms over his chest, simultaneously crossing his Italian loafers at the ankles. “Does it matter?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“You need to be home for dinner by six p.m.” I nod. “We’re having dinner tonight, so it’s our first outing together as a couple. Wear something elegant.” He lifts my chin and brushes the pad of his thumb against my cheek. My nipples harden like sharp glass, and I sigh. When I glance at him, a smirk is plastered across his face. I hate how he knows how he affects me.
Tension builds between us, so I scoop my chair away from him. “Will do,” I say. “Have a great day at work.”
Jasper freezes at my words but nods, then I watch him leave as he shuts the door behind himself.
Michael chooses that moment to enter the kitchen and stands next to me. I have so much to do. I’m going to contact my mother today to ask her to go to lunch with me. The thought of seeing her makes the food in my stomach turn sour. What if she doesn’t accept this marriage? She has to. Jasper’s net worth must be at least triple Link’s and he can open more connections for my stepfather’s winery.
“I’m at your service. Miss Giles,” Michael says.
I forgot he was standing next to me.
