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“Yes. I have a penthouse apartment across from the Moore offices for nights I work too late. But I much prefer my brownstone in the Upper East Side. It’s quieter out there.”
“I’ve never lived with a man before.”
A smirk slowly builds on his lips. He shifts, reminding me just how close our bodies are. “So are you going to give in and say yes to this, or are you going to keep wasting more of my time?” His words seem harsh, but his delivery of them isn’t. They’re all said with a slight twitch to his lips. As if he’s fighting a smile. Maybe I’ll make it my mission to make him smile more…
“I’m still thinking,” I answer honestly.
His head tilts to the side. “About?”
“About why you’re agreeing to this. It isn’t a secret my great-grandfather really screwed your family over years and years ago. You don’t owe my family a thing. If anything, maybe I should be worried that this is all your way of getting revenge.”
He scoffs, his fingers reaching up to play with one of his cufflinks. The movement makes his knuckles brush slightly against my chest. “One could argue we’ve already got our revenge. We own more of the market than Bishop Hotels. We’re expanding far quicker than your family. And we have a much higher customer and employee satisfaction rate. Although, I will not lie to your face and deny that we won’t have far more of an advantage now that we’ll own part of Bishop, too.”
I allow my eyes to travel over his face as I let his words sink in. There has to be more to why he’s doing this, but I just don’t know what it is yet. People in our world marry for monetary reasons all the time. I guess if I were to think about it, most of the marriages I know of are simply businesstransactions, but the little I know of Archer Moore makes me wonder why he’d ever agree to an arranged marriage.
“No one knows me as a patient man, Winnie. And I’m really testing it with you right now, but I don’t see the purpose in us going back and forth any further. Your family needs this. Quite honestly,youneed this. Say yes. Become my wife tomorrow.” He lets out a slow breath, like he’s having to control himself. I swear his gaze flicks to my lips, but it must be in my head. “Let me protect you,” he adds, his voice lowered to a deep rasp.
My heart beats wildly in my chest. It must be the emotions of the morning all crashing into me at once because it has no business picking up speed like this for a man I barely know. Deep down, I know all of this back-and-forth is pointless. If my dad tells me this is what I need to do, I’ll do it because that’s what’s best for our family.
It just feels impactful to say yes, to agree to this, and I wish I knew why I had this feeling in my stomach that so much is about to change.
Because it is.
“Okay,” I whisper, focusing on his shoulder instead of his deep, brown eyes. They’re such a comforting color, but his dark, slanted eyebrows and the paleness to his skin make them seem intense.
“Okay?” he repeats.
“We both know I have no other option, Archer. I’ll marry you tomorrow. But I want you to know one thing.”
He leans in closer. “Tell me anything.”
His words make me pause for a moment because they sound so…different. Pained isn’t the correct word, but they seem forced. It dawns on me that so many women want his attention. I’ve listened to the girls I went to school with dream about having just one minute of his time.
Now, I’ll have endless moments with him when I don’t want them at all.
“Winnie…” he pushes, his voice rough.
“I’ll marry you tomorrow, but I want you to know if I sawanyother way out of it, I wouldn’t be. I’ve made the mistake of trusting a man before. I’m not doing it again. You can call me your wife, but don’t expect to have my trust.”
Before he can say anything, I duck underneath his arm and rush out of the small office. As I pull open the door, I brave one more look in his direction. His eyes are hot on mine, two small creases appearing on his forehead from his scowl.
For a moment, I pause. I want to ask him why he looks upset by my words, but I think better of it. I slide through the opening of the doorway and leave him behind.
The next time I see him, it’ll be our wedding day.
CHAPTER7
ARCHER
“Is it done?”my dad asks, staring at me from across the long boardroom table.
“What do you think?” I fire back. I’m insulted he thinks I’d show up here if I hadn’t secured the arrangement. He raised me better than that. I know not to face him until I come with news that’ll impress him. Or, at the very least, not disappoint him.
“Good,” Dad answers, leaning back in his chair. He’s just finished the meeting I was supposed to be in on before Winnie disrupted those plans. It was one with developers for a recent project on the West Coast. “Anything I should know about the deal, or can I trust it’s solid?”
“It’s solid. We got more than what we originally wanted. Spencer was desperate and agreed to everything I asked for.”
He nods in approval. “Did you contact all of the publications already?”
