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“What? Of course.” I nodded. “Go on.”
A smirk tugged on the corner of his full, luscious lips. “I actually wasn’t saying anything—that was a test. Your eyes looked glazed. What were you thinking about, huh?”
His dick twitched. When I glanced at it, his smirk deepened. The smug fucker!
“Nothing.” I sighed. “Why don’t you just tell me what I need to do tomorrow?”
“Fine.” The teasing tone dropped from his voice. “We’re meeting with my father’s team—his lawyers, his marketing person, and a liaison from our board of directors. Daphne will be there,ourfamily, and my brothers.”
Our family.Did he mean him and…me? I swallowed hard. “I’m going to meet your brothers? Are they already here?”
“They flew in last night. They each have a house on Spruce Island, but they rarely come up. They like having their space from Dad, I guess. Lucky them.” His brow furrowed. “But they’ll be here first thing in the morning.”
“Okay.” I couldn’t believe I was going to meet his brothers. Ireallycouldn’t believe that there was more than one of him. What were they like? Did they look like Bryce? Were they grumpy, too?
“What exactly are we meeting about?” I asked instead.
Bryce scrubbed a hand across his face. “Recommendations about how to move forward, based on the legal team’s prognosis of the next steps.”
“It sounds complicated.”
Bryce looked grim. “It’s an absolute cluster fuck. I was upbeat for that interview, but between you and me, I’m not.”
“Do you think your father’s going to be convicted?”
“I’m sure there’s plenty of evidence. But we can spend with the best of them, including the government.” He shrugged. “It’ll be interesting to see what the lawyers say.”
“Are you sure you want me to go?” I would be out of place with a bunch of fancy lawyers and other executives.
“Absolutely.” He raised his gaze to meet mine. “I need you, Chloe. I need you to stay by my side through this.”
“I will. That’s why I’m here.”
“I know we left things on bad terms.” He rolled onto his back, and I noticed, with a twinge of regret, that his erection had wilted a little. “But it’s essential that we act like a happy, committed couple. I can’t have any rumors. It was bad enough that you were gone for two weeks; we can’t risk anything like that again.”
I nodded. “Just tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.” For millions of dollars, I would jump through all his hoops, no matter what it costme. I had my brother to think about.
“It has to seem natural between us,” he said. “That’s part of the reason why I made it a contractual term that we share a bed. We got lucky with Kysa Reeves—she couldn’t tell anything was wrong. But there’s going to be a lot of scrutiny, Chloe. We have to act like newlyweds.”
Bryce was quiet for a moment. “If my board gets suspicious about our relationship, my position with the company will be threatened. I can’t let that happen—especiallynot now. This scandal with my father’s terrible, but it’s also an opportunity for me to show the board that I can run things on my own.”
“Okay.” I didn’t consider myself much of an actress, but I would do my best to support him. I had no choice.
“Do you think that you can…” He blew out a deep breath and stared at the ceiling.
I stilled myself, bracing for it.
“Do you think you can come here?” He lifted his arm, making way for me to put my head on his chest.
I didn’t say anything; I couldn’t. I held my breath as I went to him. Tears pricked my eyes when I pressed my face against his massive chest. His scent, so familiar, engulfed me.No, Chloe. Don’t.Bryce always felt so warm and clean…being held by him made me feel safe.
Not anymore. He told you to leave, remember? He fired you and sent you away.The pain, still fresh, tore through me.
He wrapped his huge arm around me. The tears threatened to spill over as he pulled me close. How could such a simple thing—a touch—undo me?
Hysteria bubbled inside my chest.Hewas about to tell me it was time to have sex.Iwas about to lose my mind.
The silence stretched out between us, almost unbearable. “Do you think you can sleep like this?” he finally whispered.
