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When she opened the door, a frown marred her pretty face. I was beginning to believe that was her go to expression when it came to me. Not that I didn’t catch the curious stares and intriguing glances that she enlisted her best efforts to suppress but this frown of hers was surely the one expression she settled into with ease every time I was around.
“Can I come in?”
“Why?”
She stood dead center of the doorway blocking my entrance. Very unwelcoming.
“Because I would love to see where my fiancée spends most of her time.”
“Then you might want to head to the theater instead. If you compare hours here to hours there, that would be where I spend most of my time.”
“But this is where you live.”
For now.
“Sleep, shower, and shit is about the sum total of what I do here. Not much to brag about.”
I threw my head back and laughed. She narrowed her eyes, locking her slender arms over her chest.
“Cress, may I please come in? We won’t be here long anyway.”
“I’m not going anywhere so I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
“We have dinner plans.”
“What is with you and these damn dinner plans? I think I need to add a few line items to my list of expectations. It seems you’re under the impression that whatever this thing is with us gives you the right to control my time and my meals.”
I smiled smugly and inched closer to her. The threshold of her door was now the only barrier between us.
“I don’t need control, Cress. I’m more of a cooperative, openly willing type of guy and dinner was not my idea. Now, may I come in?”
She huffed and stepped out of the way and I advanced forward, instantly feeling her presence the minute I was in her space. The delicate tremor of her throat when she swallowed had me pressing forward. Regret rushed through me when the mellow scent of honey settled beneath my skin like a familiar type of comfort. How the hell I could label comfort as a scent was beyond me but that was the first thing that came to mind in her tiny, cozy space.
“Whose idea was it then…?”
“Hmm…” I offered mindlessly as I moved to the antique wood shelf situation in the corner. There were photos of Cress on stage, some in studio, her body bent and posed in ways that had my dick swelling against my thigh. Nothing about her in those photos was meant to be sexual but as a man enjoying the visual of a beautiful and very pliable woman it was impossible not to think about how I could manipulate her body in bed. That created another sense of anxiety. I didn’t fuck women in beds. I didn’t allow them to touch me and rarely did I ever touch them beyond what was required to get the job done, but I wanted all of the above with Cress.
“Dinner, whose idea was it if not yours?”
“Your mother.”
I glanced over my shoulder to find her expression blanched. She looked physically ill which I could understand considering the conversation I’d had with the woman at seven this morning. She was interesting to say the least. I hadn’t quite figured out her intentions but in a general sense she seemed eager to meet me, insisting that Cress and I join her for dinner to discuss our upcoming wedding. I appeased her request, made a reservation, and now all I had to do was convince Cress to join me.
“You…when did you…my mother?”
I wasn’t sure how this would end. She looked beyond irritated and at the moment capable of murder. Question was if she was plotting mine or her mother’s.
“She reached out this morning and insisted we join her for dinner.”
“Why?” It bolted from her mouth so quickly I arched a brow and she added. “This marriage isn’t real. There’s no reason for her to meet you.” She mumbled the last part and I crossed the room, stopping once we were toe to toe. My 1s aligned with her bare feet.
“Our marriage is going to be fucking real, Cress. I plan on committing myself to you as your husband and expect you to do the same as my wife. You need to get past the arrangement part and start processing that you and I are going to be a fucking union, which means your mother will be my mother-in-law.”
“And yours mine? So can I expect an introduction to your mother in the near future?” she argued.
I lowered my chin. “She’s traveling right now according to Christian but she’ll be at the wedding.”
Maybe.
