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“Why? Why can’t I ask for an answer?”
“Because I don’t know what it is yet.” She sits up straighter, putting distance between us like she’s throwing a bucket of cold water over the warm rush of my orgasm.
I shake my head in confusion. “What do you mean, you don’t know? What part of it doesn’t make sense?”
She looks towards the ceiling like she’s trying to summon strength, then says quietly, “I don’tknowyou, Aiden.” I make a noise of protest, and she cuts me off. “This has been nice, all of it, but I can’t marry you after two days of forgiveness.
“Why?” I say like a toddler having a tantrum. “Ithasbeen nice. It’s beengreat. Don’t you remember all those nights we used to spend together in the office?”
“That was eight years ago!” She slaps her hands onto her face in despair. I’m starting to wish I’d pulled my pants back up all the way for this conversation. “We were good then because we spent time together. Two days isn’t enough to fall in love with someone.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No!” She takes another hard breath, and when she pulls her hands away, her eyes are shining with tears. “I’m sorry this isn’t the answer you wanted to hear, but we can’t force this to work because it’sa nice idea.”
A lump is forming in my throat and I swallow to try and get rid of it. “What about Mettie’s? I want you with me, but I can probably find someone else to save Fletcher Tech. Who else is going to saveyou?”
“You’re not my knight in shining armor!” she snaps, stumbling to her feet, refastening her pants and running a flustered hand through her hair. “I don’t need you to save me. I’ve done all this without you before, and I can save myself again without you.”
“But wouldn’t it be easier?” I press, getting up and pulling up my own pants. “Wouldn’t it be easier to stop fighting and let me help?”
We stare at each other, breathing like we’ve run a marathon. June was right. There is a spark in this room and it’s at risk of becoming a wildfire from the way it’s crackling. Candice is sliding away from me, and holding tighter isn’t working.
“It doesn’t have to be love. But even you have to see that merging will make it easier.”
She hesitates, considering her options, biting her lip as she wrestles with the choices she’s making. I stand, frozen, my heart pounding so hard it’s like it’s about to break free from my chest. At last, she says, “I have conditions.”
My heart leaps. “Anything.”
“I’m not changing my name. I’m not going to change who I am or how I feel. I’m willing to give us time, but I need time. This is all too much to handle right now, and I can’t pretend I’m okay about it. And I don’t want it to be a big thing. I don’t want some stupid, pompous ceremony so you can look good in the papers. And I want full autonomy over Mettie’s Marketplace.”
“Done,” I say, then my brain catches up with my ears. “Wait, you’re saying yes?”
She sighs. “Yes, okay. I’m saying yes. To a marriage of convenience, that’s all.”
I break out into a grin, the relief overwhelming. “You can have anything you want. I’ll sign for it again. Anything.”
Cautiously, she looks me up and down, then takes a step towards me. “And I’m not saying we can’t have a relationship. I’m just not ready for the commitment of amarriage, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, reaching out for her hands. She takes them, and I pull her into my arms. This might not be real for her, but I’m prepared to wait. I’m prepared to do anything to keep her, to prove that I’m right for her. “When we get back, I’ll make the arrangements. We can take it as slow as you want. But…”
“But?”
“Right now, it’s still us in a room alone at a world-class resort. And I’m standing here holding the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Stop it,” she scoffs, burying her face in my chest.
“What about if I ask for another kiss?” I ask. She must be able to hear the way my heart is racing. She must know that I love her. Haven’t I made that clear?
She shuffles and blinks up at me, looking up through her eyelashes like she’s weighing up some more decisions in her head. Then she slides her hands to my face and pulls me down into a kiss, and I let myself believe I’m kissing my fiancée. Because she is.
And for tonight, as we fall into bed again, I’m going to pretend she lovesme, too.
CHAPTER29
CANDICE
TWO WEEKS LATER
