Chapter Two

Her hand slipped into his automatically, but the heat that snaked up her arm at the touch was alarmingly real. Dropping the handshake, she surreptitiously rubbed her palm on her dress, trying to get rid of the unwelcome feeling. Attraction was not a possibility. He wasn’t hers. She was just borrowing her sister’s life for a little while.

“Please,” Julian said, gesturing to her seat as he slipped into the one across from her.

She sat a little harder than intended, her perception of distance skewed with the unfamiliar shoes and new contacts.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said.

“Busy day?”

“Something like that.”

She waited for more of an explanation, but there wasn’t one.

He’s not used to explaining himself. Not even with a woman he thinks he’s going to marry?

Her eyes narrowed.

Lillian would make him pay for that. Her put-downs were always biting but polite, leaving her targets wondering if they’d heard her words correctly.

But Holly didn’t have such a gift. She reached for her menu and pointedly ignored him as she perused the food choices she’d already read and reread while she waited.

The silence raised the hairs on the back of her neck, but what else could she do?

Lillian, you so owe me for this.

Eventually the weight of his stare had her closing the menu and returning her attention to her date.

“I don’t suppose you passed a waiter on your way in. I’m ready to order.” There, that sounded like her sister. Cool and imperious.

Again, his lips twitched as he raised a hand into the air.

A waiter was by her side in a heartbeat.

“Are you ready to order, Mr. Worth?” the man asked.

“Ladies first,” Julian said.

“Eggs Benedict,” she said, handing over her menu. “And tea, please. Earl Grey with milk.”

“At once, miss. And for you, sir?”

“Coffee. Black.”

“Would you like anything for brunch?”

“No.”

The waiter nodded and raced away to get their drinks.

“You could have warned me if you didn’t want to eat,” she said.

He leaned back in his chair. “When you’d taken such care to pick your order? Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Her hands fisted in her lap. She hated being caught off guard. It was the reason she poured over every document to cross her desk. She was always the one with the answers.

But this man was different. She didn’t know what to make of someone who’d started merging his company with another’s before even meeting the woman he was supposed to marry. It was the action of a man who didn’t give a damn about marriage as anything other than a business tool. And to get into business with her father, of all people? For Julian to propose this deal, he had to be as unscrupulous as John was.

Which made him the last man on earth she wanted to have anything to do with.

All I have to do is distract him for an hour or two, and then I’m done with this.

Good deed accomplished. Jobs protected for the time being.

She just had to get through one brunch.

“If you’re in a hurry to get back to the office, please don’t let me stop you,” she said.

“Trying to get rid of me?”

“I was attempting to be considerate,” she replied. “I understand if it’s a word you aren’t familiar with.”

Where the hell did that come from?

Lillian would have been proud, but Holly tensed, waiting for a rebuke.

Julian’s half smile widened into a grin. “You’ll have to buy me a dictionary next time.”

“With your billions, you can buy yourself the entire library.”

“I already have two.”

“What to get for the man who has everything. I can see birthdays are going to be a challenge.”

“I’ll give you a hint. I’m a sucker for anything sweet.” He forward in his chair. “Of course, we could always agree to forget about birthdays all together. Keep things simple.”

That smile flashed again, the one that made her blink at the transformation it brought to his expression.

Don’t get pulled in by a pretty face. Remember, this man is not your ally.

They might need to protect their workers, but Julian had very different reasons for pursuing this alliance. He wanted Lillian because she had the blood to be his perfect business wife and an inheritance even a billionaire would appreciate.

It’d been the crux of their entire lives. Lillian was the Abbott heir. The family finances might be struggling, but their grandmother had been smart enough to leave her personal inheritance to her first-born grandchild on the occasion of her marriage.

It was Holly’s bad luck there had been two children instead of one.

Beautiful, bold Lillian had a trust fund to match her larger than life personality.

Whereas she had been a runner-up from the second she was born.

Shaking her head, she tried to push away the depressing thought to focus on the man before her.

Follow his advice right now and keep things simple.

She cleared her throat. “Do you really think a marriage can be so easy?”

“Most marriages don’t have the luxury of starting off on such a candid footing.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

He shrugged. “We both know this is a business arrangement. That gives us the opportunity to approach this union honestly and ask for what we want to make our life together work. I’m not opposed to living as separately as you’d like.”

Be still my heart.

“Cynical, aren’t you?” she asked.

“I prefer to say I’m a realist,” he replied. “You must be as well, to agree to this.”

If only you knew.

“So your idea of a successful marriage is one where we never see each other?”

“Society is full of them.”

He wasn’t wrong. It’s just she never wanted to join their ranks.

What a dark future Lillian is headed for.

Her gaze slid away from his, focusing on the black shirt button at his throat. Such a lonely arrangement would be her idea of hell. After a lifetime of being ignored, Holly couldn’t imagine a worse fate than to be married to someone who didn’t even see her.

I’m glad it’s not me on the chopping block.

What a selfish thought, considering how Lillian had always gone above and beyond to protect them. Even now, she was out there trying to find a solution to this engagement. And what was Holly doing?

Smiling at a man my sister never wants to see again.

If only she could do more.

“There’s more to marriage than just shared last names,” she said carefully.

He rested his elbows on the table. “I’m all ears. What’s your idea of how our marriage should work?”

She hesitated. It was hard to know how far to push. If this marriage had to go through, Lillian might actually be all right with separate lives. Hell, she might prefer it.

“I just wouldn’t want to rule anything out,” she said, choosing her words. “We’re talking about the next fifty years. Do you really want to live like strangers that whole time?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Your father seemed to think you’d prefer to have as little to do with me as possible.”

Thanks for nothing, Father.

“We don’t always see…eye to eye,” she said as the waiter arrived with their drinks.

Grateful for this distraction, she focused on the tea being set before her and not the intensity of Julian’s stare.

Pouring herself a cup from the little teapot, she doctored her drink slowly. The familiar routine helped settle some of her nerves, and she turned her attention back to her date.

“I take it your father is not the authority on you he claimed,” Julian said.

“Are your parents experts on you?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Don’t have any.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be. At least you won’t have in-laws to worry about.”

“That wasn’t really a big concern at the moment.”

He sipped his coffee. “I’m sure this will shock you, but I’m not the sentimental type.”

“I would never have guessed.”

“My life has been more focused on what I can achieve.”

That, she understood. “And this marriage will be one more step along that path, won’t it?”

“Exactly,” he said without any hesitation.

“Well, you’re honest. I’ll give you that.”

He smiled “I take it I’m not what you were expecting.”

“No.”

“Better or worse?”

“I’m not sure yet.” She would have preferred to trick a man with less intelligence in his eyes.

I’d also wouldn’t have picked a GQ model.

Her nerves were playing havoc with her as it was.

He set down his cup, his gaze roving over her. “Clearly, I’ve got a couple of things wrong about you, and you don’t know what to make of me. Not the strongest foundation for a marriage.”

“Look at that. Something we agree on.”

His smile flashed briefly. “Tell me about yourself, then. Do you have much to do with your company?”

She tamped down her annoyance at the assumption that all she did was twirl her hair. “I work in the communications department,” she said coolly.

Faint surprise lit his eyes. “I think I’ve gotten some wires crossed yet again.”

She nearly hit herself. Yes, she worked in the communications department, but Lillian didn’t. Her sister spent her time as a sales rep, traveling to wine and dine the elite her father wanted to do business with. Lillian distanced herself from the company as much as she could, not wanting yet another thing tying her to their father.

“What did you hear?”

“That you weren’t very interested in the running of the day-to-day operations. Your father suggested this marriage would work well for you, since you could leave the company in someone else’s hands and go off about your life.”

“Wow, I sound like such a prize.”

What other lies did Father tell to sell this man?

He smiled. “Honestly, an absent wife works for my plans, too.”

“And if I don’t want to ignore my company?”

Something new and calculating lit his gaze. “Then we’ll have to find a way to coexist.” His gaze ran over her. “I’m less opposed to that idea than I would have been an hour ago.”

A blush stained her cheeks even as she fought to stay composed. Lillian would have stared him down, but the slightest compliment had her face heating. She gulped at her tea to try to cover up her reaction.

I don’t know how to play these games with him. It was one thing to stall him. It was another to flirt with a man who would never be hers.

Though, staring into his dark gaze, there was no denying how her stomach twisted into knots that had very little to do with her ruse.

And even less to do with her sister.

…

Julian didn’t know what to make of the woman in front of him.

Brunch with his future wife had been pretty low on his list of priorities today. His company was preparing for the merger with the Abbotts, and he didn’t have time to think about anything else. It was a nightmare of logistics to combine two corporate empires. He needed to focus.

But the thoughts were driven from his mind when Lillian lifted her sunglasses and met his gaze.

He’d seen pictures of her, of course. Her father had shared them when they’d first come up with the plan. But the photos didn’t do her justice. The woman before him was striking in a way he hadn’t expected to notice. He needed a wife with connections, not one that took his breath away.

The reports he’d received about Lillian had painted her as a high-society socialite. He knew the type. Vapid, image-focused, narcissists the lot of them.

But those words didn’t seem to apply to his future wife.

She’d called him out more than once in their brief acquaintance. And yet at other times, she looked like a rabbit caught in a trap.

My fiancée is a puzzle.

This was supposed to be an easy alliance, but Lillian didn’t strike him as the uncomplicated sort.

Instead of being annoyed, for the first time in longer than he cared to admit, his interest was stirred.

“Do you intend for us to keep separate homes?” she asked as she replaced her teacup on the saucer with a small clink.

He had. Up till a few minutes ago.

“Depends,” he said. “I like your idea of being more than strangers.”

They weren’t words he’d intended to say to his fiancée. Totally separate lives had sounded perfect to him. But now…

I’d rather have her in my bed than across the city.

She shifted in her chair, a frown crossing her face. “Maybe.”

Does she want a relationship in her marriage or not? If he didn’t know better, he’d say she wanted to both create a foundation for the future and also run like hell in the opposite direction.

He hadn’t planned to spend more time than necessary with her, but despite that, he found himself making an offer he hadn’t intended.

“How about we try dating?” he said. “That will give us time to get to know each other before the vows.”

Her head jerked up. “More time together?”

Something close to terror flashed through her eyes before she looked away, chewing on her bottom lip.

“It might lead to a warmer marriage,” he said, unable to believe he was now in the position of trying to convince her to give him a chance.

“Yes,” she said, almost absently. “It would be better.”

He frowned. “Then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night, and we’ll go on a proper date.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Are you free?”

She snorted. “Always.”

How is someone who looks like her always free?

“All right, then. We’ll see how we do together and decide what our marriage should be like from there. Sound like a plan?”

She swallowed hard. “Very generous.”

But the expression on her face was anything but happy.

What am I missing here? Something was tugging at his mind, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

One thing was certain, at least. His new bride was not as simple as he’d thought she’d be.

And the knowledge filled him with a strange anticipation he wasn’t sure what to do with.