Misbehave: A Navy SEAL Romance by Tia Siren (35)

“What happened?” Jessica asked, lowering her own sandwich immediately. “I can see that something is up. What is it? What’d Luke want?”

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to handle being around him,” Paige said. “He’s just so experienced when it comes to everything in life. I’m just starting to figure it out, you know?”

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Is NYU that important to you?” Jessica shook her head. “It’s not worth it if it means you have to sacrifice a part of yourself in this fucked-up situation.”

“I just can’t imagine going back to Wyoming,” Paige said.

Tears filled her eyes just thinking about it. She missed her parents, but the thought of returning home after two months of utter and complete freedom to do whatever she wanted—it didn’t sit well. She wanted to be a painter in New York City with her own gallery. It had been her dream since she could remember.

She sucked in a deep breath.

“It’s worth it if I can get to where I want to be,” she said. “If I have to do this one thing, then it’s going to be worth it.”

Jessica shook her head in dismay.

“The promises you made to yourself shouldn’t be a part of any of this,” she said. “Just remember that, okay? You matter too. Don’t let him convince you otherwise.”

“I won’t,” Paige said, smiling at her friend in appreciation. “Thanks, Jess. I really appreciate you being here with me. Let’s eat so we can get back to studying.”

 

****

 

Friday night approached faster than Paige anticipated. She had no idea what to expect besides from what Toby had said in his email. Shannon would be stopping by with clothes and makeup courtesy of Luke’s credit card before a driver would pick her up at 6:00 p.m. sharp.

She climbed the stairs surreally after a long couple of days of staying up late to get homework done. She had no idea if Luke had any other plans for the weekend that involved her with him, but she didn’t want to risk it. Falling behind in classes was not an option for her while playing pretend with Luke.

Jessica was waiting anxiously outside Paige’s door when she reached the top of the stairs.

“I thought you might’ve forgotten,” she said. “You realize that Shannon will be here any minute, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Paige said tiredly. “I’m running late. I was trying to think of a good way to talk to my parents about Luke.”

She unlocked her door before pushing it open to let Jessica in first. She left it cracked open for Shannon before sliding of her leather satchel with a relieved sigh.

“Do you need to tell them?” Jessica asked, frowning. “I mean, would it hurt if they didn’t know about it?”

“They would know about it, trust me. They keep up with the news surrounding oil.”

“Right. I see your point.”

They were quiet for a moment while Paige slipped out of her shoes, nudging them off to the side. She had no idea how she was going to explain a sudden relationship, let alone an engagement, to them. The only plausible thing she could think of was that she had started seeing Luke two months ago and had just never mentioned it because it was brand new.

Oh, and he paid for the rest of my NYU education too. Don’t worry about that.

“I’m screwed,” Paige groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I did not think this through, Jess. There is no way my parents are going to believe whatever excuse I give them.”

“For tonight, just say that you’re seeing someone new,” Jessica said. “That’s all you need to say. You can think of another way to explain things to them later. Doing it all at once might sound over the top. I wouldn’t believe it either.”

“I need to call them before I go. This event has cameras everywhere.”

“For someone who is living out a fairy tale,” Jessica said wryly, “you don’t sound very happy at all.”

“It’s a nightmare,” Paige said. She pulled out her phone to call her parents. “I better do it now before I psych myself out. They’ll see it in a paper back home.”

“Do your parents know who Luke is exactly?”

“Not exactly.” She dialed her parents’ house number. “They know Turner Oil though. I remember my dad talking about it one time.”

“Hello, darling,” Marie answered. “I’m surprised to see you calling on a Friday night. Is everything all right?”

“Everything’s fine, Mom. I, um, just wanted to share some exciting news with you guys.”

“Exciting news? Oh, let me get your father on the other phone. Harry! Harry!” Paige winced at her mother’s excited shouts. “Pick the phone up. Paige has something exciting to tell us.”

“Paige?” Harry echoed, equally confused about why she was calling on a Friday night. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, Dad,” Paige said, rolling her eyes. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to skip on meeting my parents. It’ll be over before they could meet him, anyway. “I just wanted to tell you both that I met someone here in the city.”

“You have? Oh, that’s great, honey,” Marie said, but suspicion laced her voice. “You never mentioned you were planning to meet someone while in the city.”

“It just sort of happened,” Paige said with a grimace. “I wasn’t planning on it, but I met him through a mutual friend. My senior sister.”

“I hope you stick to your values, young lady,” Harry said firmly. “Remember what we taught you. Some men out there are a bit fast for a young and kind woman such as yourself.”

“I know, Dad. I’m sticking to the values that you taught me. I promise.”

“What’s his name?” Marie asked.

“His name is—”

Shannon burst through her apartment door with a breathless huff, bags all up her arms.

“I have everything you need per Luke’s command,” she said, gladly accepting Jessica’s help in taking them off her arms. “We need to get you ready. The driver is going to be here in ten minutes.”

“Who is that?” Marie asked. “Is someone there with you?”

“Mom, I have to go,” Paige said hurriedly. “I’m late for a get-together. I’ll call you guys later this weekend, okay?”

“But—”

She hung up before anything else could be said or questioned. Staring at the massive heap of bags on the floor, Paige mentally calculated how much it must’ve cost Luke with Shannon in charge of his credit card.

“This is way too much stuff,” she said, shaking her head. “Seriously, I’m not going to wear it past this month.”

“Consider it a token,” Shannon said, shrugging. “I’m just following Luke’s orders.”

“Yeah, I know you are.”

She froze at the surly tone in Paige’s voice. Shame filled her eyes then.

“I know that I owe you an apology,” she said. “I shouldn’t have done what I did, and I’m sorry if it hurt your feelings.”

“It did,” Paige said. “But, it’s in the past now. Let’s get this event thing over with.”

Jessica exchanged a pointed look with Paige when Shannon immediately started to sort through the bags. “Be careful,” she mouthed, nodding at Shannon. Paige nodded back in wordless understanding as Shannon straightened to show off a gray and gold floral dress with a long see-through skirt.

“This is your ticket tonight,” Shannon said. “Look at how beautiful it is. You’ll get rave reviews on this dress. I can guarantee it.”

“That is a beautiful dress,” Jessica said, trailing her fingers over the soft fabric. “Try it on, Paige. I only see you in leggings and T-shirts ninety-nine percent of the time.”

“Agreed,” Shannon said. “You have killer legs. You need to show them off. Try it on so we can see.”

She slipped into the dress and stood in front of them nervously. “I don’t know if this is a paparazzi-ready type of dress.”

“This is more for Luke than them,” Shannon said. She patted the bed before grabbing a black bag of makeup. “We don’t have much time. The driver Luke sent is a bit of a prick if you’re running behind schedule.”

Five minutes later, her face felt freshened up with makeup and her hair was newly curled. Shannon moved about her gracefully without batting an eyelash, talking amicably with Jessica about everything she could think of. That was one thing Paige noticed about Shannon—she at least tried to make everyone around her comfortable.

“Okay,” Jessica said as they walked her down to the sidewalk where Luke’s driver waited impatiently, “just stay calm as much as you can. Remember what we talked about the other day.”

Shannon looked at her curiously, but she didn’t pry for information. She gave Paige her traditional, cheerful thumbs-up.

“Go for it,” she said. “He’s going to have a hard time keeping his hands off you.”

That’s what I’m worried about. Paige slid into the passenger seat and twisted the soft fabric of her dress around nervously as the SUV pulled away. This was going to be the night that started it all for the arrangement. In thirty days, she would possibly be married to one of the most eligible and wealthy bachelors in the United States, and while it was thrilling, a cloud of nerves was suffocating her.

The SUV pulled up to the curb of a large, ritzy building where tons of cameras were lined up. People were already walking along, pausing for photographs, and then heading into the main lobby.

Luke stood on the corner, away from all the commotion, with Toby at his side, talking about something on his phone. He looked up when the SUV parked in front of them. Relief sparkled in his eyes before everything went expressionless as he opened the door.

“I thought you might have taken the clothes and makeup without any intention of showing up,” he said.

Seeing her heels, Luke held out a hand for her to use to get out. It felt warm against her cool and sweaty one.

“I’d care more about my college education than clothes and makeup,” Paige said. She looked down the sidewalk where all the cameras were lined alongside police tape. Her heart started to pound again. “Do we honestly have to walk past all those cameras?”

“We do,” Luke said. He glanced at them as well with a sigh. “It’s part of what Toby told you. Much of this is going to be publicity, so don’t take it personally if I grab ahold of you. We have to make it look real.”

The last part echoed his earlier sentiment. Paige brushed out the barely visible wrinkles in her dress as they walked toward the cameras.

“Hold on to my hand,” Luke said. “It’s going to get a bit crazy with the camera flashes. You’re going to go blind if you don’t.”

She quickly took his hand as they approached. Just as Luke had promised, the flashing lights nearly blinded her. Questions were hurled at them as well. It took all of Paige’s resolve to hold on to Luke’s hand and not dash in the other direction, away from it all.

“This is my girlfriend,” Luke said in answer to one of the questions. “We’ve been dating for three months now.”

“And these rumors of getting married to Alicia Poole?” one paparazzo threw out, clicking away on his camera.

“Rumors,” Luke said firmly. “This is my woman here. My one and only.”

If she hadn’t known it was all for show, her heart would’ve melted at those words. It did slightly before Paige reminded herself that it wasn’t real. All of it wasn’t real, but she kept a fixed smile on her face.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” another pap asked.

Luke opened his mouth to reply, but she beat him to it.

“Paige Scott,” she said. “It’s Paige Scott. I’m a freshman at NYU.”

That seemed to fuel a fire. Alarmed by the rapid flashing, Paige tightened her hold on Luke’s hand. He tugged her away from the cameras and the questions with Toby right on their heels. It wasn’t until they were in the lobby of the building that Luke glared down at the cameras.

“Why do they have to know so much information?” he asked moodily. “It’s none of their business.”

“Just go with it,” Toby said, unfazed by his mood. “Come on, let’s get inside. They always have great food at these events.”

He left them standing motionlessly by the glass doors. Luke glared out them at the cameras for a second longer before looking back at Paige. The anger in his eyes dissipated when he did, a smile tugging at his lips.

“I know you don’t want to hear this,” he said, “but you honestly do look beautiful in this dress.”

She didn’t pick up anything in his voice besides sincerity. The compliment touched her.

“Thank you,” she said. “Your friend Shannon picked it out.”

“She’s your friend too,” Luke said. “You’ll have to forgive her eventually. She was a pawn in my scheme in all reality.”

“Maybe one day,” Paige said distantly. “We better go inside. I’m starving too.”

“All right. Let’s start this campaign of thirty days of love.”

He placed a hand on her bare back, splaying it out while he guided her through a crowded room. Even if all of it was a publicity stunt, it still felt good to have someone like Luke guiding her around the room. It felt good to have a roomful of people look at her with interest but never approach because of Luke’s steady presence behind her.

She felt protected in an odd way.

Chapter Eight

 

 

Luke

 

 

“Look at this picturesque couple on the front page of the paper,” Toby said. He held up the paper with a grin to show Luke. “I still demand a damn raise for all the leg work I’m doing for you.”

Luke took hold of the paper to glance down at the photograph in mild interest. Despite how tense and nervous Paige had been while walking by those cameras, she appeared flawless in that halter dress that had bared her back for him to touch. Her smile was set and perfect in the photo as she leaned into him and he wordlessly guided her.

It had gone beautifully—more smoothly than he had expected.

“I imagine Peter will be calling soon,” Luke said, lowering the paper to grin at Toby. “He reads this paper every single morning too. Do you think it caught his interest a bit?”

“Very likely,” Toby said. He sat down in the chair across from Luke. “Do we still have plans to head to North Dakota this week?”

“Yes. I have to check on a few rigs,” Luke replied, sliding the paper across his desk. “I want to talk about numbers, too, with a few managers. Why?”

“I was thinking that Paige should come along with us.” Toby held up his hand when Luke opened his mouth. “Hear me when I say this. Now that you have Peter’s attention, he’s going to drill the both of you on the relationship. He’ll ask questions that I’m sure neither one of you will have answers to. Questions about each other.”

“You’re probably right,” Luke said, sighing. “What do you suggest?”

“I have a questionnaire that you two can read and answer together. It would definitely bridge that gap in case Peter gets Paige alone.”

“What type of questionnaire?”

“Just basic questions is all,” Toby said, shrugging. “It’s not that big of a deal, is it?”

“It is a big deal to me,” he said, hesitation building up in him. “I don’t need spill my entire life story to her.”

“Just suck your pride up, bro. You know for a fact that this isn’t going to go over very well if you close yourself off.” He gave Luke a critical look. “I know it’s difficult for you to express human emotion at times, but this is your father’s business and your inheritance that’s up for grabs. I think you can sacrifice and afford to lose a bit of your privacy.”

A headache pounded at Luke’s temples. Even though he didn’t want to think Toby was right, he knew Peter would eventually question everything. He picked up the phone to dial Paige’s number as he let out an aggravated sigh. All this work for just a few tantalizing kisses and touches. Nothing else.

“Hello?” Paige sounded a bit breathlessly. “Who is this?”

“Luke,” he said. Suspicion shot through him when he heard male laughter in the background. “Did I interrupt something? You know that the no sex with other people rule applies to you too.”

The jealousy burning in his chest surprised him, and he twisted around sharply in his chair to guard his expression from Toby, who was watching intently.

“I’m in class,” Paige said, anger filling her voice. “I don’t sleep around like you. What is it?”

“I have to fly to North Dakota on Wednesday,” he said. “Toby thinks it’s best if you come along with us.”

“On Wednesday? I can’t do that. I have classes to keep up with. You and Toby acknowledged that last week.”

“He brought up a good point to me about us not knowing each other,” Luke said. “Our picture is on the front page of a magazine that my father’s lawyer reads every single morning. There are going to be questions, and we have to collaborate our answers.”

Paige sighed into the phone. “I suppose you’re right. I really know nothing about you besides what you told me.”

“Exactly. And if you want that credit card to stay active, we need to figure this out.”

“Fine. I’ll figure it out somehow.” There was a loud crash in the background. “Shit. I just dropped all my stuff on the ground. Just email me the time.”

She hung up without waiting for a reply. Luke twisted back around to hang up the phone.

“She said to email her the time,” he said.

Toby raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay. I can do that. You okay, boss? You look mildly pissed.”

“I’m fine.”

Thankfully, JoAnne spared him from answering anything further. She spoke through the intercom on his phone.

“Mr. Turner,” she said, “your father’s lawyer, Peter, is on line two. He wishes to speak with you right away.”

“Just like clockwork,” Luke said as he grabbed the phone. He punched line two before bringing the phone to his ear. “What can I do for you, Peter?”

“I saw something very interesting on the front page of the paper this morning, Mr. Turner. Care to explain this interesting turn of events to me?”

“What is there to explain? A picture is worth a one-hundred thousand words.”

“You would certainly know that from personal experience,” Peter said tonelessly. “Look, I was not born yesterday. I find this a bit suspicion given the conversation we had in my office two weeks ago. You’re just pretending to be in love on the front page of the paper.”

Luke clenched his teeth. “It’s not pretending. I told you about her in your office two weeks ago. Remember?”

“No,” Peter said shortly. “I don’t remember anything besides that you were very irritated at Alicia Poole not being included in this charade of yours.”

“I have dumped Alicia Poole,” Luke snapped. “We weren’t ever together. I don’t know why you think that.”

“Because Ms. Poole politely informed me this morning that she has every intention of marrying you. That was the voice mail left on my phone this morning.”

Bitch.

There was a part of him that wasn’t surprised. Alicia had never been afraid to let others know her displeasure over something.

“She’s a liar,” he said. “I told her things were over at the beginning of this month. She didn’t take the news very well, obviously.”

“Obviously not. I’ve done some research into this Paige Scott that is on your arm in the picture.”

“She’s the same Paige Scott I told you about two weeks ago.”

“Right. What is a nineteen-year-old freshman from Wyoming doing with you of all people?”

Luke gritted his teeth as he fought to keep control of his fraying temper. He knew Peter was pushing buttons on purpose to see if he snapped.

“We met through a mutual friend,” he said. “Two months ago to be exact. I didn’t mention her until now because I didn’t want Ms. Poole involving herself the way she always does.”

He glanced over at Toby, who was watching him wordlessly. They needed to prepare Paige for that too. He didn’t want Alicia figuring out their plan either. She’d spread it around out of revenge.

“I can see that,” Peter said slowly. “How long have you two been seeing each other then?”

“It’ll be three months this month,” Luke said.

“And the relationship is going well, I presume, if you brought her as a date to the event on Friday night?”

“Everything is going well.” Despite the no sex condition. He ran a hand over his face with a sigh. “She’s special to me, so I didn’t want to bring her into anything too quickly. Everything is complicated with my father’s death, and she was there for me, too, when that happened.”

“Your father never mentioned her before,” Peter said, suspicion lacing his voice again. “He seemed adamant that you were with Alicia Poole.”

“I let him think that,” Luke replied, thinking quickly. “I didn’t want my father meeting Paige. You know the condition he was in during the past few months. Would you want a love interest seeing that?”

Even if it was a lie, if his father were still alive, there would be no chance in hell that Luke would ever let his father meet Paige. The last few months of Roderick’s life had not been graceful or easy. His liver had started to shut down. Bones had begun popping out everywhere from beneath his yellow-tinged skin. His eyes had been the worst though. Even Luke couldn’t shake the image of them: sunken in, bloodshot, and parchment yellow.

Death had chipped away at his father for months until his heart and liver had both finally caved in. He had told the doctors to let him go. There was no point in saving a man who had literally drank himself to the bottom of every bottle of alcohol he had tastes. His mother had tried to help him for many years, but once she had passed away, there was nothing left to stop him.

“You’re right,” Peter said, and Luke could hear his grimace. “I wouldn’t agree to that either. Your father was in horrible condition when I visited him in the hospital before he passed.”

“He drank himself to death,” Luke said flatly. “What else did you honestly expect to see?”

“Nothing. I expected nothing. Speaking of alcohol, I want to ask how your drinking has slowed down.”

“Is that another term of my father’s?” Luke asked defensively.

“No. It wasn’t brought up. Your father wasn’t going to tell you how to control your drinking when he couldn’t control his.”

“Right, so it’s none of your business,” Luke said coldly. “All we are talking about here is Paige, and believe it or not, I have purchased a ring.”

The second he said those words, Luke smacked his head in exasperation. The other line was silent. He had to find a ring fast now to back those words up.

Toby sighed as he wrote that down on his pad of things to do.

“You bought a ring for her?” Peter finally asked, surprise filling his voice. “Two months into dating and you bought a ring for her?”

“Yes,” Luke said stiffly. “I did. Is there a problem with that?”

“Here’s what I think,” Peter said. “I’m tired of you running games around me, trying to figure out how to get through a loophole that doesn’t even exist. If this relationship is real—”

“It is real!” Luke said angrily.

“Then you better have a strong connection with this Ms. Scott, because I will be asking questions that only couples in love would know. Got it?”

“Whatever you say.”

“Lose the attitude, Luke,” Peter said. “You aren’t going to get anywhere with me. I’ll schedule a meeting with you both in two weeks. I expect a wedding announcement in the paper along with a date, too. Have a good day.”

He hung up before Luke could even think of a reply. Dropping the phone down onto the desk, Luke looked over at Toby with a scowl.

“We’re in over our heads,” he said. “In two weeks I have to bring Paige to meet him. I also have to buy a ring, announce this shit, and set a date.”

Toby scribbled that down on the paper as well. “We can manage these things, Luke. It’s not going to be a big deal.”

“What if I have to go through with this entire thing?” Luke demanded, rubbing his aching head in distress. “I’ll have a divorce on my record then.”

“It won’t matter,” Toby pointed out. “You’d have everything by then. Just settle with Paige on the amount if you have to go through with it. That’s all you really have to do.”

“I want a fucking drink,” Luke growled, standing from his chair. “This is too much work for me when I’m not getting anything in return.”

“What? Sex?”

“Yes, damn it. She won’t give in no matter what I say or do.”

“Play it to your advantage,” Toby said sagely. “Someone like Paige is going to work when it comes to Peter. She’s not like the other women you’ve been with. I’m telling you to have some faith in what I’m advising you to do. Have I ever steered you wrong?”

“No,” Luke replied, deflating. “You’re right. I just don’t know how much longer I can take this shit.”

“Well, work that out with Paige. In the meantime, we need to find a ring.”

 

****

 

The lodge felt pleasantly warm when they arrived in Bismarck the following week. A weight eased off Luke’s shoulders when he stood on the back patio, inhaling the crisp, fresh air. Nothing could ever replace the serenity he always felt in Bismarck when he came to check on the oil rigs. Compared to the pollution and the bustle of the city, it felt as though they were in a different universe.

He sipped from a cup of hot tea while he waited for Paige to change her outfit. They had done a quick press appearance at Toby’s bidding to add even more publicity. Paige had played the part perfectly by sticking by Luke’s side without straying. He was relieved that there were only two cameras around this time rather than a swarm of them like the previous weekend.

Now they had a dinner party to attend with some of his father’s old friends—to help spread the word to Peter more.

The sliding glass door opened behind him.

“Toby said you wanted to see me before we took off,” Paige said, stepping up alongside him. “Something about going over questions?”

“We need to go over them soon,” Luke said. “In two weeks, we will go in to see Peter when he calls with a time. It’ll most likely be up here because this was my father’s life—this lodge at least.”

Paige ran an appreciative gaze along the log walls. “It’s so beautiful here. I don’t blame him for loving it.”

The chilly wind stirred the loose brown waves of her hair. Shivering, she crossed her arms over her chest to fight off the cold. While he loved the clothes Shannon had picked out for her, nothing beat the sight of her in a pair of tattered jeans, UGG boots, and a thick navy and gold sweatshirt that said NYU on the front. Her freckles were on vibrant display as well thanks to the gray clouds over them.

“What?” Paige asked. “Why are you staring at me like that?””

“I’m not,” Luke said, clearing his throat. “I was just thinking of something is all.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “Right. I’m supposed to believe that. Do you know what the questions are about?”

“Toby has a draft of questions for us to look at,” he said. Then he pulled out the small box he had been carrying around since the beginning of the week. His throat clenched before he shook off the feeling. “I got this because we need to put the rumor in the press that we are engaged.”

Her mouth parted in surprise when he lifted the box up for her to take. Shaking her head, Paige took a step back with a grimace. “That’s way too much, Luke. I can’t take a ring from you. It feels a bit—”

Real. That was how it had felt when he’d been picking one out, too. Luke kept his face straight as he pushed the box into her hand.

“It has to look real,” he said tightly, and then he changed the subject before Paige could say anything else. “We’re going to go visit one of those oil rigs I told you about. Stay by me, because most of the roughnecks there haven’t seen a pretty woman in a long time.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Don’t trust your employees?”

“I trust them to do their jobs and to make money. That’s about it.” He glanced up at the overcast skies. “Let’s go before the snow comes in. First snowfall of the season too.”

When Paige climbed into the SUV after him a short while later, Luke glanced down at her hand to find the ring glittering there. He looked away sharply when that unexpected and indescribable emotion filled him again. They spent the next few hours down at one of the rigs, Paige staying at his side as he had asked her to. Still, he caught the men’s lingering glances on Paige, and it caused his chest to tighten with possessiveness.

The drive back to the lodge was a tense and silent one, aside from Toby chatting absently with the driver in the front passenger seat. A trickle of snowfall had started on the drive back from the rig, but now it was a downfall. The roads to the lodge were slick and snow-packed. They would be snowed in with Roderick Turner’s friends in his lodge, much to Luke’s frustration.

At least the lodge was big enough to house twenty something guests in either separated or shared rooms. There were only two bedrooms that were private and away from everyone else’s—his and Paige’s.

That realization caused him to harden with the possibility. He still had his hopes and plans to get Paige to back down from the no sex rule. Desire, lust—the feeling that had been in some of his employees’ eyes as they had looked at her—all of that swirled in Luke’s veins.

He was going to burst if he didn’t find a way to release himself.

They arrived back to the lodge to a fully cooked dinner and several of Roderick’s friends already drunk and happy. It took little on Luke’s part to convince them he had known Paige for a while now and had just kept their relationship out of the tabloids as long as possible to protect Paige’s privacy as a freshman student at NYU. The lies came as easily as his ability to drink without pause, and the stress lifted from his shoulders.

Luke glanced down the dinner table they had been seated at to where Toby sat. He was in the middle of a conversation with John Miller, one of his father’s closest friends, and only glanced up at him in a wordless question. Maybe it was the whiskey, or the lust searing through him, but Luke reached underneath the table to place his hand on Paige’s knee.

She visibly tensed in surprise at the contact, but the smile on her face never faltered as she continued the conversation she was in. She wouldn’t risk losing her precious NYU education. Everyone had their price when it came to helping him.

Bitterness shredded through his heart when Paige shifted her knee away without even bothering to glance at him.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Luke tried to keep the scowl on his face under control. He reached for Paige again, but she shifted away with a pointed glare. That was when he felt Toby’s intense stare as well.

“Let’s get up and go for a walk,” Toby said, grabbing him by the arm. “Sorry, gentlemen. We need to have a quick conversation. Paige?” He turned to look at her. “Do you mind coming with us?”

She rose from her spot after hesitating for only a moment and grabbed ahold of Luke’s arm to steady him when he felt gravity give out. They stumbled down the hallway together as Luke breathed sharply through his nose to get control over the swaying world.

“We need to slow the drinking down a bit, bud,” Toby said, sighing. “You’re about to rip everyone’s head off in there.”

“I didn’t drink that much,” Luke growled, and he tugged away from Toby to lean on Paige, who stumbled under the extra weight. His lips and throat felt parched. “I need some water to get rid of this feeling.”

“We’ll get you water,” Toby said. “Just come sit out here in this hallway with Paige while I get some water.”

They coaxed him to sit down on the bench. Paige took a seat next to him as Toby hurried down the hallway. Burying his aching head into his hands, Luke tried to regain control of his rapidly fraying senses. Too much. Way too much.

“Why do you drink like that?” Paige asked quietly.

Luke looked over at her with surprising clarity on his part. “I don’t know. Maybe I have dark and horrible things to kill inside me.”

“So you’re going to drown yourself in the process of trying to kill those things?”

“It’s working to a degree,” he remarked snidely. “I don’t feel half those things anymore thanks to the bottle.”

Paige chewed on her bottom lip. Concern filled her eyes when he sank back against the wall behind them with a groan.

“Your father was an alcoholic, right?”

His eyes fluttered closed when the world gave a nauseating tilt. “You could check every hiding spot in this lodge and still find bottles hidden in random places. Does that answer your question?”

“It does,” Paige said. “I just see you doing the same thing now.”

“I’m—” He couldn’t finish that sentence even if he had wanted to. That dark and ugly part of his father festered inside him too. They both tried to fill it with alcohol, but it was bottomless. It never filled up.

Toby returned a minute later with a glass of cold water. He handed it to Luke, who snatched it immediately to down it and clench his thirst.

“You need to get this drinking under control,” Toby said, gravely. “You’re going to kill yourself going this direction. You’re lucky your father’s friends are a bit too drunk themselves to notice this shit.”

“I know,” Luke said, and he opened his eyes to focus on Toby. “No more for the night. Just let me drink this water with Paige for a few minutes. I’ll be down there as soon as it gets better.”

Toby glanced over at Paige. “You okay with him here?”

“I’ll be fine,” Paige said, nodding. “Maybe we can figure out the endless drinking part.”

“Let me know what you find,” Toby replied, and he walked away to leave them alone in the hallway with the echo of their dinner guests’ chattering.

Swallowing another blast of icy water, Luke looked over at Paige with a surge of gratefulness. He reached out to gently clasp her hand in his own. Much to his relief, she didn’t pull away from his touch this time.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Who’d think someone like me is a prick?”

Her lips curved up at the sarcastic question. “You’re not if you don’t drink. You’re normal when you’re sober.”

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been sober,” he said, snorting harshly. “It’s always been one hazy blur for me.”

“You can change that. It’s your life.”

“You’re always so positive,” he murmured with a shake of his head. “I got lucky when Shannon told me about you.”

Paige tensed. “I don’t want to talk about that, Luke. I’m still angry about all of it.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and he was. “It was fucked up. I know it was, but wouldn’t you agree that we both benefit from the situation now?”

“Benefit how?” Her eyes narrowed. “My life is complicated right now because I agreed to this. I changed my life to fit yours. And how is this benefiting you?”

Anger crashed over Luke as he returned her intense gaze. “It certainly isn’t because the only thing I’m getting out of you is a few damn kisses that drive me crazy. I’m going crazy.”

“Poor Luke,” she said, and stood up from the bench with an angry huff. “Someone is making you responsible for once. If you didn’t agree with my vows, then why did you ask me to do this?”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Luke said, rising from the bench as well. Thankfully, the world didn’t sway beneath his feet. “You were my only option at the time. I didn’t know what exactly I wanted then.”

“And what the hell do you want now?” she snapped. “What do you want? You want your money? You want me? What is it that you want exactly?”

Chapter Nine

 

 

Paige

 

 

“What the hell do you want then? What do you want? You want your money? You want me? What is it that you want exactly?” Her words echoed in her head as silence surrounded them.

Luke stood motionlessly on the other side of the hallway while the party inside the dining room continued. She watched the conflict in his eyes before something else entirely covered them.

Desire. Lust. It made the cerulean color of his eyes go dark and stormy. It made him dangerous, and she instantly realized she was trapped. Run. What are you doing? RUN.

“I want you to stay,” he said, his voice a low husky timbre. He stalked toward her with casual grace. “I want to kiss you again, badly.”

Her heart pounded hard. Her back collided with one of the wooden pillars, and before she could slip away, Luke’s arms circled her, trapping her between him and the pillar. Her eyes widened in fright, but also from the desire she felt sparking inside her.

“I want to kiss you,” Luke repeated, one hand reaching out to cup her jaw in his hand. “I just want to feel you underneath me, squirming in pleasure. That’s what I want right now.”

“Th-that wasn’t what we agreed upon with your lawyer,” Paige said, her voice wobbly from his proximity. He smelled fresh too, like he had just jogged through the cool air outside. “Remember? We agreed that there wouldn’t be any physical contact unless—”

“Fuck that contract. I’m going to kiss you, Paige, and I know you want to kiss me too.”

His lips crushed against hers. This kiss wasn’t like the one they had exchanged that day in the garden. It wasn’t a brush, a peck on the lips. Luke kissed her greedily and coaxed her lips open to sweep his tongue into her mouth. The taste of him overwhelmed every bit of her senses as his hands smoothed down the sides of her body to grip her hips.

And Paige responded to the passion sparking inside her. Wrapping her arms around those broad shoulders, she kissed him just as fervently, letting out her pent-up frustration and tension. She poured herself into that kiss and took the opportunity to feel the strong muscles coiled under the fabric of his shirt.

A low groan rumbled in Luke’s chest as he tore his lips away to trail down the column of Paige’s neck. She tilted her out of instinct, giving him better access while letting out a shaky moan.

It wasn’t until Luke’s hand slid up the front of her torso to cup her right breast that Paige felt alarm shoot through her. What am I doing? She yanked herself out of Luke’s strong grasp to stumble away into the cold air of the hallway.

Luke shook his head as frustration filled his eyes. “Paige—”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, shaking her head. “I-I-I can’t do this. I have to go.”

“You can’t go,” Luke said, the picture of calm. “Look outside, dear. There’s snow coming down. My drivers have been drinking as well. You are stuck here with me whether you like it or not.”

She glanced out the window with a sinking realization that Luke was right. It was snowing heavily, the first snow of the season, and no one was sober enough to drive her far into the night. She was utterly stuck with the one person who could undo her within a matter of seconds. And judging from his calculating expression, Luke had every intention of figuring out how to get her into his bed.

Eventually.

“Leave me alone,” Paige said, taking a step back. “I mean it, Luke. Leave me alone.”

“You’re in my lodge,” he said, shaking his head at her. “You are not in control here.”

He reached for her again, but this time Paige slipped away. She walked unsteadily down the hallway in the direction of her suite, Luke’s eyes threatening to burn holes in her back. Slamming the door shut, Paige sank back against it with a shaky sigh.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered to herself. “I can’t do it. All of this is too much.”

She needed to get out while she could. Damn the consequences, or how furious Luke would be for losing his inheritance.

There wasn’t any cell service when Paige pulled out her phone from her purse. The snowstorm had effectively knocked out the cell towers, apparently. She moved through the front sitting room and to the joined bedroom, where she sat down on the edge of her bed to reach for the landline phone on the nightstand. It rang, much to Paige’s relief, after she dialed her parents’ house number.

It went to voice mail a few seconds later.

“It’s me,” Paige said shakily. “Can you guys give me a call back at this number? I need your help with something.”

Hanging the phone back up, she started the process of unbuttoning her blouse to get ready for bed. There was no chance in hell she would be returning to that dinner party to appease Luke or anyone else there. She was exhausted from trying to fight and pretend that the entire thing wasn’t getting to her head.

The door to her room opened abruptly. Paige’s fingers stalled in sheer surprise when she saw Luke walk in without pause. “Excuse me! I’m getting undressed here. Get—”

“Would you like me to help you with that?” Luke asked dryly. He shut the door behind him and then locked it.

That click made Paige’s heart pound furiously in her chest. She rebuttoned the two buttons and pointed a finger at him.

“Leave,” she said. “Get out, now.”

“No,” Luke said, and took a step toward her with narrowed eyes. “I’m tired of fighting this attraction, Paige. I’m damn tired of fighting against it.”

“Fighting against what?”

She took a step back when he took another step toward her. Pivoting on her heel, Paige backed away from the side of the bed to the leather couch that sat directly in front of the fireplace. A fire still smoldered there from earlier. The heat of it touched the back of her bare legs.

“I’m tired of fighting against the attraction I feel for you,” he said, a notable tremble to his voice. “Do you have any idea how hard this is for me?”

“What? Keeping it in your pants?”

He stopped walking. “It’s not a crime to be attracted to someone. I don’t know why you talk about it that way. Did something happen to you?”

“I have my reasons,” she said flatly. “Don’t push it, Luke. This wasn’t in the criteria of information you needed to know.”

Paige turned away from him, which proved a fatal mistake. Strong hands touched her shoulders then, but it wasn’t a sexual touch. It was a consoling and concerned touch that unarmed her immediately.

“Hey,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know this was such a sensitive thing for you.”

“You have no idea,” she whispered back, her eyes fluttering shut. “Please, Luke. Just let me be and go away.”

“I’m not going to leave until you tell me why you feel the way you do.”

“You don’t need to know any of this information,” she said, shrugging out from beneath his hands. “Why do you care?”

“Because I—”

He stopped before he could say the last part of that sentence. Paige opened her eyes as she turned around to look at him. Standing there in front of the fire, she watched an inner conflict wage a war in Luke’s eyes. Because I care. She could read that sentiment loud and clear, even if he looked uncomfortable letting it show.

Running a hand through her hair, she debated whether she wanted to hash out what had happened with Marcus a few years ago. She had already had a few glasses of wine, and she didn’t want to become a blubbering mess over something that had happened four years ago when she’d been a teenager and an idiot.

“Here,” Luke said, and he sat down on the edge of the couch. “Come sit down and just tell me what the issue is.” He smiled thinly. “Spare us both the fight, Paige. Whatever it is that is bothering you needs to be said.”

He patted the leather cushion next to him. Paige lowered herself onto the couch while she twisted her hands nervously in her lap.

“I honestly don’t know where to begin,” she said.

“The beginning is a good start,” Luke said, shrugging his shoulders. “Just a suggestion. Start wherever you want.”

“It was just a prank when I was sixteen that I can’t shake.” She trailed a hand over the cool leather to avoid Luke’s eyes. “It’s stupid. It was four years ago, but I was sixteen when the football star of my high school took up an interest me. I thought it was a dream come true, because no one had ever paid attention to me.” She swallowed thickly as that painful humiliation crashed over her again. “We had a class together, so we were spending tons of time together working on a project. We hung out behind my parents’ back quite a bit because they didn’t approve of me dating until eighteen. I knew something wasn’t right, but I kept hanging around him because it felt good to be wanted. Well, it was prom night when he asked me to go outside with him to his Jeep.”

Luke’s hand reached for hers. Their fingers interlaced, and it provided a nice distraction from the swell of emotions in her. She concentrated on the feeling of Luke’s calloused fingers twined through hers as she continued. “We started to mess around in the back seat. I kept thinking we should stop, but I didn’t want to risk losing him. It was so painfully awkward too.” Her nose wrinkled at the memory of Marcus’s hands fumbling at her. “We didn’t go all the way, but what he did do hurt, and he wouldn’t stop when I asked him to. That’s when the cops rolled up to find us in the back seat, but I also found out that his ex-girlfriend had been filming the entire thing. She posted it on the Internet out of revenge, so it’s followed me every single day of my life.”

“What a bitch,” Luke said, shaking his head. “People do fucked-up things out of revenge. I know how it feels to have something recorded that you wish wasn’t.”

She looked at him in surprise. “You do?”

“It was years ago,” he said, nodding. “I had too much to drink and left the bar with this woman I barely knew. I know, a real shocker.” Paige straightened her face with an apologetic grimace. “We ended up having sex in the elevator, but neither one of us realized there was a camera there. It recorded us the entire time until we go out. An employee posted it to TMZ, and then reporters started following me around after that.”

“It’s humiliating,” Paige mumbled, wiping at the tears that were stinging her eyes. “It follows you everywhere too.”

“I know. I’m sorry that happened to you. It shouldn’t have happened to you. You don’t deserve that type of shit.”

She shrugged while trying to fight back emotions. The past two weeks filtered through her along with the already conflicted feelings she had for Luke. Everything felt like a confusing blur as Luke pulled her sideways into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her while they sat together in silence, watching the fire smolder in the fireplace.

Despite the warning bells still in her head, Paige let herself sink into the strength of Luke’s body as he pressed his lips into her neck. He then kissed his way up to press a gentle kiss to the corner of her lips, and it prompted her to turn to face him.

Their lips met in a slow and heated kiss, their tongues tangling. They stayed like that for a long time with the dying fire glowing in the fireplace. Luke’s hands start to trail up her legs in a northerly direction, and those couple glasses of wine suddenly felt too much.

Paige’s heart repeatedly slammed into her ribcage. She felt every inch of Luke’s calloused fingers as they ran up the curves of her legs and gripped in all right places to make her squirm in pleasure. When he reached for the hemline of her skirt, Paige shot a hand down to grab his strong wrist before it could continue upward, despite the ache between her legs that begged her to let him touch her.

“Luke,” she warned, her voice hitched with desire. “We have to stop before—”

“Before what?” Luke asked. His eyes were dark with desire, a cloudy and violent storm lingering over the ocean on a hot summer day. She sweltered under the intensity of it. “What is it that you want?”

Those sinful fingers reached up to inch their way past the hemline of her skirt. Her fingers tightened around Luke’s wrist while indecision washed over her. He had to make it so incredibly hard—sticking to what she had promised herself years ago in high school.

“You’re an adult, Paige,” he said smoothly. “Heaven is not going to crack open and smite you down despite what your family has told you.”

“I never said it was because of that,” Paige said, a bit defensively. “I just—” Those fingers crept up even farther until they rested on her upper thighs. She bit her lip to keep herself as motionless as possible. He was teasing her, pushing her limits.

Her eyes fluttered closed when his hand drifted up further to sensually trace the lace of her underwear. One touch wouldn’t be so bad. It’s only one touch.

Luke let out a soft groan before leaning forward to press his lips against her neck. He teased the skin there, nipping softly and then trailing down to the crook of her shoulder. It was damn impossible not to feel the heat that wanted to consume her. Every little touch, every kiss, all of it, she wanted it. She couldn’t resist a man like him easily. He knew his way around a woman’s body even if she didn’t know what she wanted.

His index finger dipped down beneath the elastic band of her underwear. Paige’s eyes widened in shock when she felt that finger move farther.

“Luke—”

“Shh,” Luke murmured against her neck. He shifted her easily onto his lap so that she sat sideways. It put her left thigh in contact with a hard and throbbing bulge in his pants. “Just relax, Paige. Just enjoy this.”

His words were honeyed. They floated over her in a soothing wave that calmed the ebb of nerves in her. No one had ever touched her like this before. She had only ever experienced fumbling around in the back of Marcus’s car a few years ago.

There was no fumbling when it came to Luke’s fingers. One strong arm curled around the back of her waist to steady her. The fabric of her skirt hitched up her thighs. Her fingers were still tight around Luke’s wrist as that finger inched closer and closer until it made contact with the center of her.

The intensity of that brush of his finger against her nerves and core crippled her. A gasp escaped her lips. That flicker of heat and pleasure filled her rapidly. She dimly felt Luke growl into her neck before that finger was replaced with even more. His hand moved against her mound expertly, teasing her in a sensual rhythm that she was utterly powerless against.

Luke’s lips pressed up against hers in a fluttering series of kisses to let her gasp and moan at the sensations spiraling through her body. She could feel the heat radiating off Luke as well while his hips ground up against her thigh with eagerness.

“You feel so good,” Luke whispered hotly against her mouth. A finger dipped into her. “You’re so tight. I don’t even know how the fuck I’m going to last in you.”

“I-I—” Words were lost to her. She couldn’t even formulate a coherent thought with the feel of Luke’s fingers pressing against her intimately.

He increased his rhythm then until her hips were twitching with pleasure. Sweat poured down the back of Paige’s neck as something delicious built up inside her. It caused her hips to twitch upward while an abrupt cry escaped her lips. She was dashing blindly toward what felt like a sweet orgasm.

Her back made contact with the cool leather, but Luke’s fingers didn’t stop. Instead, he knelt between her bent knees while pushing her skirt all the way up. His eyes flicked over the exposed skin hungrily, and if it weren’t for that hot feeling coursing through her, she would’ve flushed with embarrassment.

“Keep going, baby,” he said. “Let yourself go. I can feel how close you are.”

Paige’s fingers clutched desperately at the leather to root herself there. It all became too much. She felt herself come hard in violent shudders that ripped through every inch of her body. Sated, she fell against the leather cushions and pillows while trying to regain her breath.

She came back to when Luke reached down to unzip his pants. Nerves crashed down on her, chasing away that thumping pleasure in her body.

“Luke,” she started, shaking her head, “we can’t do this here. Toby or someone is going to be here any minute.”

That caught Luke’s attention. A wicked grin tugged at his lips.

“You’re right,” he said. “So, I’ll settle for something else in the meantime.”

Wariness filled her when Luke reached into his pants. Her eyes flicked down to take in his hard erection, and she swallowed the thick lump of desire at the back of her throat.

He has every right to walk around the way he does.

She stood stone still, taking in the sheer size of him. The tip of his cock glistened as he reached forward to grab her trembling hand.

“Touch me.”

Paige’s eyes widened at the command. “What?”

“Do it quickly,” Luke said, guiding her hand to his arousal. “I can hear Toby coming up the hallway outside.”

The heat and hardness surprised her as Luke circled her fingers around him. It would never be possible for them to have sex. The size, the length of him. Paige swallowed thickly as Luke guided her hand up and down him in a hurried fashion.

Those nerves faded away as she watched pleasure contort Luke’s face. His head was tilted back slightly as low-throated groans left his mouth. His skin was a simmering rosy red while his hips bucked under her hand’s movement.

“Keep going,” he gritted out, thrusting openly against her hand now. “Keep going, baby. Don’t stop.”

His hand released her wrist to clutch at the couch when his body spasmed with his own orgasm. He let out a sharp cry while he released himself onto her hand and thighs. Paige let go of him quickly as the front door opened, followed by Toby’s voice calling out for them.

Luke lifted his head to look down at her. There was something about this gaze that was different this time around. She couldn’t decipher it though.

Footsteps approached the bedroom.

“Better make yourself decent,” Luke said. “Although, I’m sure Toby’s used to stumbling in on me like this.”

He laughed while quickly zipping up his pants. Distantly, she wiped herself dry with the edge of the blanket that was on the back of the couch before rising to her feet. Her legs threatened to give out from the conflicted feelings rushing through her. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Luke as he wiped his forehead clean of sweat.

“I need to go back to New York,” Paige said. “I need to get back to my dorm to study for my exams I have to make up tomorrow night.”

It was a flat-out excuse and lie to run from the intensity of the situation between them. Luke knew it, too, from the cool look he sent her.

“You don’t have to regret what happened,” he said a bit sharply. “I don’t know the bullshit your parents put in your head—”

Spite filled her at the mention of her parents. “Don’t talk about my parents like you know them, Luke. They are good people who raised and loved me.”

“They filled your head with bullshit. It’s okay to be attracted to someone, and to be with them in whatever way you want.”

“Get out,” Paige cried, rising from the couch to shove him in the chest. “Get the fuck out of my room, you heartless drunk.”

“Luke?” Toby called out, knocking on the door. “Are you in there?”

“Yes,” Luke said. His eyes glittered angrily as he rounded the couch to the bedroom door. He paused before opening the door, giving Paige a look that rooted her to the spot. A long moment had passed between them before he opened the door to step out. Then the door slammed shut, vibrating in the frame, and she heard them walk away and out of her suite.

She let out a trembling breath before collapsing on the side of the bed. There was no hope of escape tonight. Even if a part of her wanted to get behind the wheel and navigate through the blizzard conditions, Luke was right. She was stuck in the lodge with him no matter what happened.

“What have I gotten myself into?” Paige whispered, rubbing at her face in frustration. She had told Luke about one of her biggest scars, but that hadn’t mattered when it came to the magnetic tug she felt between them. She didn’t think of things like that when she was with him, and that unnerved her more than anything.

Rising, she readied herself for bed by slipping into a sleeping shirt. Sleep took her surprisingly fast, and it wasn’t until blankets were being tugged back from her legs that she woke to a completely pitch black room. The fire in her fireplace was now completely out.

Luke’s spicy and familiar cologne filled Paige’s lungs. She lifted her head to gaze him as he slipped into the bed next to her, a mixture of alarm and sleepy confusion filling her.

“Luke?”

Strong arms wrapped around her waist in response. A scruffy and wet cheek pressed up against the back of her neck.

“I’m not trying to do anything,” Luke said. The tremble in his voice disarmed the tension in Paige’s spine. “I just want to lay here next to you. Please.”

She could smell the whiskey on his breath again, but true to his word, he didn’t make any advances. The muscles in Luke’s body relaxed a moment later, and the mattress shifted from the extra weight. He was asleep and snoring within a matter of minutes, one arm wrapped around her waist tightly.

Paige let her head fall back down on the pillow, because it was pointless to try to move away. If she moved, he would wake, and her head already ached from their previous argument. She was still angry with him, though, for his harsh words—even if it had been the alcohol talking.

These were the moments that made it hard to see Luke as any other man. He was the type of man haunted by demons who lashed out at anyone or anything. She also had a feeling he didn’t just sleep with anyone. Ever.

Her heart skipped at the thought.

It’s just an arrangement, Paige. She forced her eyes to close, trying to drift back to sleep with Luke’s strong body curled up against hers in a protective gesture. It’s just a business deal for us both.

Chapter Ten

 

 

Luke

 

 

Luke felt a warm body curled up next to him when the sound of the snow plow stirred him back from a drunk but surprisingly peaceful sleep. A pair of soft and shapely legs were tangled with his own beneath the blanket. His arm was curled over a slender waist.

Luke forced his eyes open and stared at the back of Paige’s head as snippets from the night before replayed in his mind. He had kissed Paige out frustration after dinner. They had argued vehemently in her room, too, before passion had taken ahold of them both. He had been so close to having her. He could still remember the feeling of Paige’s thighs gripping his hips, the cotton of her underwear rubbing against him.

He hardened just thinking about it. He was surely going to explode if he didn’t find a way to get Paige’s defenses down.

And lying in bed with her, her curled up on her side and only wearing a large sleeping shirt, didn’t help anything.

Lifting his arm slowly so as not to stir her, Luke let that hand slip beneath the hemline of her shirt. A strong back and warm skin greeted his fingertips as he traced the bumps of her spine with a painful longing. Of all the women in the world, this one was the perfect one, but she refused to let him be the one place he wanted to be.

It hit him hard then why he had come stumbling back down the hallway drunk. It hadn’t been over the nightmare of his father. It had been because he’d craved that sense of comfort he found in Paige’s presence at all times.

Luke swallowed thickly at the realization. He had to get himself in check before he let things get out of control in this area that was foreign to him. Falling in love was not on the agenda. Staying married was not on the agenda either, and he had a feeling there was a part of Paige that hoped they would remain that way.

I’m going to break her heart by doing this.

For a moment, though, he savored the intimate feeling of Paige’s warm body curled against him as she slept on peacefully, unaware of the torment raging inside him.

He untangled his legs from Paige’s slowly and then slipped out of bed. He ghosted his side and then tucked the sheets and blankets back up over Paige’s shoulder before he left the room to return to his own for a shower. The entire lodge was motionless, as he expected at such an early hour.

Father down the hallway, though, he heard the kitchen staff over the bubbling of freshly brewing coffee as they prepared for breakfast.

His room was still toasty thanks to the now-smoldering fire he had made in the fireplace. The whiskey bottle and glass were still on the table where he had left them the night before. He realized it was a right damn miracle that he hadn’t done something irrationally stupid when he saw the level of the amber liquid. He needed to slow it down a bit. His head even ached from it.

There were five missed phone calls from Alicia, too, when he checked his phone.

“Who is this bitch I see you with all over the papers and tabloids?” she demanded in one voice mail. “This was your big and grand loophole and plan to get your inheritance? What sort of bastard are you?”

“The worse one,” Luke answered, and tossed his phone onto the table with a frustrated sigh.

He let the hot shower water soak every aching muscle in his body. When he finished, he heard the rest of the lodge stirring awake as he walked into the kitchen. Toby was sitting at the breakfast bar with snowflakes dusting his broad shoulders.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he said cynically. “Coffee?”

“Yes,” Luke said, grimacing at the headache throbbing in his temples. “I need some Tylenol too.”

He sat down on the breakfast bar stool next to Toby as one of the kitchen staffers poured a cup of coffee and handed him two Tylenol. He gulped them down with a hot swish of coffee.

“Where is everyone at?” Luke asked, setting his mug down on the countertop. “Did my father’s friends leave yet?”

“Yes. They plowed the roads and left while you were in the shower.”

“What about Paige?”

Toby frowned at him. “She didn’t get up and leave with them, if that’s what you are wondering.”

“That was what I was wondering.” He felt the weight of Toby’s stare on him as he took another gulp of coffee.

“You weren’t in your room this morning,” Toby said slowly. “Please tell me that you two—”

“We didn’t,” Luke cut in, shaking his head. “Nothing happened between us last night. I just—”

He had no explanation for what had prompted him to go straight to Paige’s room for comfort after a nightmare he couldn’t even remember. It had made sense to him at the time.

And she hadn’t kicked him out either. They had slept curled around each other all night long without waking once until the snow blowers.

“Nothing happened,” he repeated again. “That’s all I can think of to tell you.”

“Well, whatever is going on between you two is working. Your father’s friends seem to think that you and Paige have some connection that is once in a lifetime.”

“I’m sure Peter will love to hear that. They only wanted to eat and drink here to see if my relationship with Paige was real.”

“And you made it real by disappearing for a good portion of the night with her. Here.” Toby scooted a pile of stapled papers across the countertop to him. “These are the questions you and Paige need to go over this week.”

Luke flipped through the questions as he gulped down his coffee quickly. He raised his mug to ask for more when the kitchen door pushed open.

Paige froze when she caught sight of him sitting next to Toby at the breakfast bar. Her brown locks were damp from a shower, and she was back in her normal attire of leggings, boots, and a loose gray sweater. Their eyes met. His chest clenched when Paige approached them after getting herself a cup of coffee.

She didn’t want to talk about last night, or at least not a good portion of it. They needed to go over the questions, though, if they had to meet with Peter in a week. Ignoring the awkward tension between them, Luke scooted over onto another stool to give her a place to sit. He cleared his throat when images from the night before replayed in his mind.

“These are the questions we have to go over,” he said, handing Paige a copy. “We should go over them on our way back to New York.”

She glanced down at the questions. “Can we do this some other time? I really do have a lot of homework to do on the plane trip back.”

“We should do them today,” Luke said. “I don’t want Peter finding some hole between us.”

“Fine,” Paige said shortly. “I’m going to have my coffee in the study. Is that okay with you?”

He didn’t know what to make of her abrupt change of attitude. Paige slipped off her stool with the papers in hand, leaving the kitchen just as quickly as she had entered it. Guilt lodged in his stomach when Toby looked at him with a sigh.

“I know you don’t want to hear this—”

“I don’t,” Luke snapped, grabbing his coffee as well. “I need to talk with her. I did and said some shit last night that wasn’t right.”

“Whiskey makes you a mean son of a bitch,” Toby said, shaking his head. “I’m telling you that you need to cut that shit down.”

“I’ll figure it out,” Luke said.

His hands were shaking as he walked down to his father’s old study. It was his study now, but he found himself raising a hand out of habit to knock. Not that it had ever mattered. There had been too many times in Luke’s life that he burst into his father’s study to find him passed out over his desk, in his chair, and even on the floor.

Paige was standing in front of one of the windows that overlooked the back part of the lodge. She turned to look at him as he closed the door behind himself.

“I wanted to talk to you alone,” he said. “About last night—”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” Paige said abruptly. “Let’s just forget about it, okay? You were drunk, and I was upset. Things were said, and we did things we shouldn’t have done.”

“What’s wrong with being close to someone?” Luke asked.

He ran a gaze along his father’s study with a mixture of bitter feelings. A fine layer of dust had covered the bookshelves, and he had a feeling if he pulled out certain books, he’d fine empty shooter bottles—most likely full and unopened ones too.

“I never said there was,” Paige said. She glanced around as well. “Was this your father’s office?”

Luke nodded.

“If you think my drinking is bad, pull out a few books to see what my father used to hide from the rest of the world.”

Paige set her mug of coffee and the papers down on the desk. She pulled out a few books, and three plastic shooter bottles fell to her feet. Sadness filled her eyes as she pushed the books back onto the shelf.

“Do you want to be like your father?”

“No,” Luke said adamantly. “I don’t want to be like him.”

“Not even the rich billionaire part of it?”

“Maybe that part of it isn’t so bad. The other part, not so much.”

Paige gave him a piercing look. “You do realize that you are walking in those same footsteps, right?”

That dark and painful part of him gave a jolt just thinking of all the ways he had turned out exactly like Roderick Turner. They both enjoyed the bottle too much. His heart and insides hurt every single time he woke with the bitter taste of vomit and repulsion in the back his mouth. It was the same feeling that had pushed him to sex. At least that gave him a better feeling than whiskey.

“You need some help,” Paige said. “I can—”

“I don’t need any help. Try being me for a day, and then you’ll understand why I drink.”

“All I’m asking is for you to tone it down. None of this is going to work if you are going to be a fall-down drunk.”

She retrieved her coffee and the papers. “I’ll see you in the car to head back to the city. I’ll study these questions for the plane ride there.”

She left him standing there motionlessly in the center of his nightmares. The money, the wealth, the power, it had caused all the Turner men to fall. It took a different amount of time for each, but it happened eventually.

Luke reached out to smudge dust off one of the bookshelves. Pulling a book free, he caught a full shooter bottle of amber liquid. He didn’t hesitate in twisting the cap off to let the liquid burn the back of his throat.

It wasn’t his time to fall just yet.

 

****

 

“We seriously have to answer all these questions?” Paige asked. She flipped through a packet of questions that Toby had given them earlier.

“Yes,” Toby said, looking up at them both in exasperation. “What’s the problem?”

Luke shrugged his shoulders as he reclined in his seat. He glanced out the plane window at the blur of colors below.

“Some of these questions are a bit personal,” Paige said. “More personal than what Luke really needs to know about me.”

“If you don’t answer them, you’re gambling with Peter.” Toby reached forward to tap her packet. “I know he’ll be asking these types of questions. So, ask Luke a question, he’ll give you an answer, and you do the same.”

Luke grinned when Paige, irritated, looked over at him.

“Fine,” she said. “Where were born?”

“Bismarck, North Dakota,” he responded. “You?”

“Portland, Oregon. We moved to Wyoming when my grandpa passed away when I was two years old to take care of the farm.”

“What do your parents do on the farm?” Luke asked. It wasn’t a question on the paper; he was genuinely curious. He didn’t plan on meeting them, though, despite what Paige thought.

“They raise cows to be shipped out for meat,” Paige replied, flipping through the packet. “Do you have any siblings?”

“No. You?”

“No. What are your goals for the next five years?”

“I’m tapping into the gold mining business,” Luke said, folding his hands behind his head. “Or at least, I hope to if I can get my inheritance.”

“That’s what you plan to do with your money? Make more of it?”

He tensed at her baffled tone. “What’s wrong with making more money?”

“You already have an abundance of it,” Paige said. “Do you honestly need more?”

“Everyone always needs money, sweetheart.” He ignored the cynical look she shot him. “What about you? What are your goals? Be a famous painter in New York City?”

“That’s the plan,” she said. “I’d like to have my own exhibit.”

Luke’s eyes landed on her sketchbook on the airplane tray next to him. “I still haven’t seen any of your work.”

“That’s because I won’t show you anything yet,” she said, grabbing and holding her sketchbook possessively when she followed his line of sight. “If you’re that curious, you can see my finished pieces by the end of the spring semester.”

“Right.”

“Favorite food?”

“Italian or Greek.” His head throbbed painfully. He needed another drink to curtail the headache. “Can I order a drink before we continue?”

“You said you were going to slow it down,” Paige said harshly. “What’s the problem?”

“I have a headache,” he said, and, miffed by her attitude, he grabbed her sketchbook from her hands to flip through it despite her protests. “I want to see where two hundred thousand dollars of my money is going.”

“Don’t look at them,” Paige said, clawing at her sketchbook. “Nothing is finished.”

He easily stretched out an arm to keep her back as he glanced through the sketchbook with interest. She had talent. He would give Paige that credit. Many of her sketches appeared to be done. They were mostly of Wyoming’s rugged landscape and what he assumed was her childhood home. She was close to her parents, too, judging from the tender sketch of them holding hands.

Envy rushed through him. At the end of their arrangement, she would go back to a loving family in Wyoming while he would return to a business. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had been embraced with love.

His attention shifted to where Paige’s hand rested on his upper thigh from her trying to retrieve her sketchbook. Realizing where it was, Paige quickly withdrew it before he could comment on it.

“You’re talented,” Luke said, closing the sketchbook. He handed it back to her. “You’re going to do well in this area if you stick to it.”

“I have two hundred thousand dollars of your money,” she said, tucking her sketchbook back in her satchel. “You’d hope that I’d stick to it now.”

“Good point,” Luke said, chuckling.

On of impulse, he reached his hand out to rest on Paige’s, which was on the armrest between them. She tensed, but she didn’t pull away as their plane descended for their approach into New York.

They landed twenty minutes later to much warmer fall weather. The trees and shrubbery around the city had started to change, but it didn’t compare to the cold and early snowfall of North Dakota. The sound of usual traffic filled Luke’s ears as they waited in the airport terminal for his driver to pull up.

It wasn’t until they were piled into the SUV that Toby turned to look at them with a frown.

“What is going on between you two?” he asked.

Paige looked up from her phone in surprise at the question. She looked over at Luke, who shrugged his shoulders.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Something has shifted between you two,” Toby said, looking back and forth between them. “I don’t know how to explain it, but something has shifted. I can see it.”

“How so?” Paige asked.

Toby’s eyes went to where their hands were clasped loosely between them. “Because you’re holding hands without any cameras around to prove your point.”

Luke let go of Paige’s hand just as quickly as she let go of his. He ran a hand through his hair in agitation when he realized that Toby was right. Something had shifted between them over the weekend.

He mentally flicked over the past weekend. What changed? He couldn’t pick a certain event with confidence. There was no, “That’s it!” type of moment that had happened over the weekend.

Although, having Paige’s hands on him intimately was still a vivid memory he planned on acting upon again.

“Nothing has changed,” Luke said, giving Toby a warning glare when he looked at them skeptically. “Don’t make shit into a big deal like you always do.”

Toby snorted indelicately. “When do I ever do that?”

“All the time. You do it all the damn time.”

They pulled up to the curb of Paige’s freshman apartment. Luke immediately spotted two reporters, the same two who followed him all the time, standing on the corner. He glowered at them. “How did they figure out where Paige’s apartment is?”

“What?” Paige asked, glancing over her shoulder to where Luke’s gaze was directed. Her face paled at the sight of them. “Are they are seriously waiting for me?”

Their cameras were pointed at the SUV, poised and ready for her to get out with Luke.

“She said she was an NYU student at that first event,” Toby said. “It was only a matter of time before they figured it out. I’m sure someone said that Paige’s apartment is here.”

“I have to get out,” Paige said, sighing. “I honestly have so much work to get caught up on. What are we going to do?”

“You get out,” Luke said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ll give you a good-bye kiss, and they can talk about it in the papers. It’s all publicity.”

It was also an excuse for him to kiss her again without Toby questioning any of it. Paige chewed on the inside of her cheek as she weighed out the suggestion. Finally, she grabbed her satchel from the floorboard of the SUV.

“I suppose I don’t have much a choice,” she said. “Let’s just get this over with. I hope they don’t follow me around wanting information.”

“If they ask questions, don’t reply,” Toby said. “They’ll eventually come find Luke to harass if they don’t get a story out of you.”

Luke climbed out of the SUV and into the warm morning. The flash of the camera immediately followed. He reached out a hand to help Paige out of the SUV.

“Please tell me they won’t follow me around,” Paige muttered, shouldering her satchel with an irritated sigh. “I really don’t want any more drama to deal with while I play catch-up with my schoolwork.”

Luke didn’t bother turning around to face them. He knew their cameras were poised on them, ready to get the perfect shot. Which would be of them kissing.

“If they bother you,” he said, “call me. I will phone in a couple of threats to their boss if they follow you around too much.”

“Thanks, I suppose.”

They stood in front of each other while a stream of people went by them without paying them any attention. He didn’t care that the reporters were watching them, along with Toby. Unable to resist it any longer, he cupped Paige’s cheeks in the palms of his hands.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her eyelids fluttering.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he said. “Not because of the publicity, but because I want to kiss you.”

“Luke—”

He pressed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss that effectively silenced whatever she had been going to say. Her lips were soft and tasted of vanilla lip balm. Pulling back, Luke grinned down at her stunned expression.

“I’ll call you soon,” he said. “I imagine Peter is going to want to talk with us soon.”

“Right,” she said. She cleared her throat. “I’ll see you when I see you.”

Slipping out of his hands, Paige disappeared through the door that led to the freshman apartments. She peeked through the glass window before he caught sight of her retreating from going up the stairs.

“Luke!” one of the reporters yelled at him. “Is it true that—”

Luke slipped into the SUV and slammed the door shut with an aggravated sigh. He turned to look at Toby, who was gazing at him with a frown.

“I can’t wait until the day they forget who I am,” Luke said. “You know what I mean? Find another person to follow around for a story.”

“Your life is one hell of a story,” Toby said. “That’s why they follow you. I was serious before, though, Luke. What has changed between you two?”

The SUV pulled away from the curb. Luke kept his face fixated on the traffic around them as he tried to think of a reasonable explanation. He didn’t have any answers for the shift.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t tell you what it is. I’ve never felt it before.”

“I’m not going to tell you what to do, but keep your eyes focused on what you really want here. Don’t step all over that poor girl to get to it.”

“What makes you think I’d do that?” Luke asked angrily. “I’m not that big of a prick.”

“You can be,” Toby said, shaking his head. “I’m just saying that you know she’s saving herself for someone special. Don’t masquerade yourself as that special person.”

Bristling, Luke reached into the pocket of his jacket to grab one of the flasks he had found in his father’s office before they’d left. He ignored the exasperated glance Toby gave him.

“Maybe I happen to like her,” he said defensively. “Did it ever occur to you that I might like some love every once and a while?”

The second that word slipped out, Luke grimaced while realization filled Toby’s face.

“It makes sense now,” Toby said, and he grinned. “You’re falling in love with her. That’s why you’re having such a hard time. You are falling in love with her.”

“I’m not falling in love,” Luke snapped, taking a long and angry drink to contain the part of him that agreed with Toby. “I’m not a good person to love anyway. This is just a business deal. She knows that.”

“I know she knows that,” Toby said. “I’m just wondering, crazily, if you are the one remembering that this whole thing is a business deal.”

“I just want my inheritance,” Luke said, repeating that inside his head. “That’s all I want from this entire situation—my money. That’s it. I don’t want anything else.”

Even if he did, it wasn’t possible. Being around him had already complicated Paige’s life, what with the damn reporters already following her around in search of a good story to put in the tabloids.

He wasn’t even confident he could remain in love with one person for the rest of his life.

And someone like Paige, a soft and innocent type of woman, didn’t deserve to be tied to a prick like him.

Keep your eyes on the prize, Turner. You’re only in this for the money. That’s it.

Chapter Eleven

 

 

Paige

 

 

She wasn’t surprised when she found Jessica camped out in front of her dorm door.

“I knew you’d be back today,” Jessica said, rising from where she had been sitting on the floor with her laptop. “I didn’t want to risk missing you before you holed yourself up somewhere.”

“The library is where I plan to go,” Paige said tiredly. “How long have you been sitting out here?”

She unlocked her door. Grateful to be back in her private space, Paige collapsed on her bed with a long and relieved sigh. The past few days had exhausted her in a lot of ways, but it had also elicited a lot of confusion and guilt. She had caved a bit into her desires, something Luke had taken advantage of gladly. If Toby hadn’t walked in when he had, there was no telling what would’ve happened.

“Just for a few minutes,” Jessica said, closing the door behind her. “So, how did this weekend go?”

Paige lifted her head from where it was buried in her pillow. “I don’t even know how to explain how this weekend went.”

“Why is that?” Jessica asked, frowning.

“Because we—” She cut herself off, not even sure how she could describe what had happened over the weekend. If there was one thing she did know, it was that Toby had been right: something had changed between them. Neither one of them wanted to think about it either.

Jessica took a seat next to her on the bed. A frown tugged at her lips as took in the uncertain expression Paige’s face.

“What happened?” she asked.

“We almost, you know…” Paige trailed off with heated cheeks while Jessica’s eyes widened in realization. “It didn’t happen, but it almost did. Things were just different this weekend.”

“So you’re telling me that you almost slept with him this weekend?”

“Almost, yes.”

“And you think something changed this weekend?”

“I don’t know if it did. It just—”

“I don’t want to ruin this for you, Paige, but you need to remember that Luke is going to leave you after he gets his inheritance.” Jessica shook her head while pushing back a strand of her hair. “I don’t want to see you get your heart broken here. Luke’s older. He’s got experience on you. He could be making you feel these things on purpose because it has to feel real to his father’s lawyer.”

“I don’t think so though,” Paige said, sitting up to look down at the engagement ring on her finger. She toyed with the gold band. “I don’t know how to describe it, Jess. It just felt so real.” She looked up at Jessica. “People can’t be that cruel when giving someone an engagement ring, right?”

Jessica smiled grimly. “I’m not a good person to ask that question. I don’t think you’d like the answer if I told you the honest truth.”

“You’re probably right. I don’t want to think any of this is fake. It feels so real now.”

Tears filled her eyes. There was no denying it. The arrangement between them had transformed into something else entirely. Paige slipped the ring off her finger and placed it on the table next to her bed. Keep it off as a reminder that it’s only a business deal.

“Are you going to be okay?” Jessica asked, patting her shoulder and giving her a sympathetic smile. “At the end of this, it’s only going to be you. Just try to remember that over the next few weeks, or else it’s only going to get more complicated.”

Paige wiped at her eyes with an irritated sigh. “I know. It’s already complicated enough. Did you see the reporters out there? They took pictures of Luke and me kissing good-bye.”

“It’s only going to get worse,” Jessica said. “And you should tone the kissing down if you aren’t sure what is real or not.”

Paige opened her mouth to reply, but her phone went off from inside of her bag. She slid off the bed to dig through her bag, grimacing when she found it and recognized her parents’ house number. She had completely forgotten about calling them the previous night when she had been upset.

“Shit,” Paige muttered, briefly debating letting it go to voice mail. “I forgot I called my parents last night because I was upset with Luke. They’re probably freaking out from trying to get ahold of me all day.”

“You better answer it then,” Jessica said. She got up from the bed. “Be honest with them too. Like I said, it’s only going to get more complicated the more you let this continue. Come find me when you’re ready to get something to eat, and we’ll talk more about it as we do homework.”

“Thanks,” Paige said, smiling at her in appreciation. She hit the answer button. “Hi, Mom, Dad. Let me—”

“Is everything okay, sweetheart?” Harry asked curtly. “We got this unsettling message from you last night. Your phone has also been off a good majority of the day.”

“I know. I’m sorry. It was just a stupid fight that Luke and I had is all.” She grimaced at the memory of it. “Everything is fine now. I’m back in New York in my room.”

“I don’t know if I approve of you traveling all the time,” Harry said. “You’re only nineteen years old. You shouldn’t be just jumping on a plane whenever he beckons.”

“Oh, I think it’s okay, Harry,” her mother said with a sigh. “Flying is the safest form of traveling these days, but a heads-up would be nice, Paige.”

“Right,” she said. “I will let you know.”

“And what was this fight about?” Harry asked suspiciously. “This Luke Turner is ten years older than you, Paige. His grandfather and father are oil tycoons, too, from what I’ve read on the Internet.”

“And we are hearing rumors that you two are engaged,” Marie said. “We saw the pictures of you two at an event when visiting Bismarck. Don’t you think this is moving too fast?”

“The press is making it seem like that. Nothing is going fast.” She hesitated before saying the next part. It was the only thing she could think of that would appease them aside from being honest. “You can meet him if you want. Come down to the city on family weekend.”

Not that they planned to be together still by then, but a part of her hoped that maybe the change she felt was a sign of something else brewing between them.

“That would be a good idea,” Marie said. “Don’t you think, Harry?”

Paige let out a relieved breath. “Yeah, Dad. Let’s plan for you two coming out here in two weeks.”

“I suppose,” Harry said slowly. “I just hope you remember what we talked, about sticking to those values you were raised with. Men like Luke Turner have a tendency to be a bit fast.”

No kidding. She swallowed thickly. “Yes, I know. Don’t worry about it, Dad. I’ll talk to you guys next weekend. I have a lot of homework to do.”

As soon as they bid their good-byes, Paige dropped her phone on the bed with a sigh. She had no idea how this was all going to end, but now her parents were going to be affected by it too.

It wasn’t until Wednesday morning when Luke left a voice mail on her phone telling her to call him back that Paige sucked up her courage to tell him what she had planned.

“If you want me to do this, you have to meet my parents,” Paige said, washing out her paint brushes as Luke sighed in aggravation in the phone. “It’s the only way they aren’t going to disown me after all of this goes down.”

“You honestly can’t live without your parents?” Luke asked.

“No,” she said shortly. “I can’t. I didn’t come from a dysfunctional family like you.”

“Is that supposed to hurt me?”

“No. That’s the condition you agreed to. Remember?”

“I guess I have no choice then,” Luke said dryly. “We need to fly out tonight by the way.”

Paige lowered her paint brushes into the oil can she kept them in. She grimaced at the thought of getting on a plane when she had tons of homework to do already.

“I can’t—”

“You can,” Luke said. “It’ll only be for tonight too. We can fly right back if you need to get back to NYU right away.”

“Why tonight?” she asked grumpily. “We were just up there.”

“Peter wants to meet with us tonight. All you have to do is come with me, talk with Peter, and that’s it. We’ll fly back late tonight. I promise.”

“I guess I have no choice then too,” Paige said, sighing. “Fine. As long as you bring us back tonight after meeting with Peter.”

“I promise I will.”

It wasn’t until they landed in Bismarck a few hours later that Paige realized with a sinking feeling there would be no flying back as Luke had promised. A snowstorm came sweeping through the northeast right as they pulled up to the lodge where Peter waited for them with a large smile. He led them into the living room, where he had hot tea waiting.

“Let me first congratulate the both of you,” Peter said, swirling his tea bag in his cup. “I have to say that I’m impressed Luke found you, Ms. Scott. You are not the type of woman I expected to stick around.”

Paige kept the smile on her face straight and fixed as Luke wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders. She leaned up against him without thinking about it, savoring the warmth and strength radiating off him.

“Well, it happened a bit fast,” she said, catching Luke’s eyes. Her stomach fluttered at the grin tugging at his lips. It’s not real, Paige. All of it’s an act. “For us both, I think, but I can’t wait to spend my life with him.”

A wintery blast of wind pushed against the lodge. The lights flickered off before the generator kicked the electricity back on.

Peter glanced out the living room window with a sigh. “I suppose I’d best be going before this blizzard hits full force. I hate to cut this short because I have many questions, but when is the date exactly?”

“Tomorrow,” Luke said immediately, and that filled Paige with a rush of heat. “We decided to make it official tomorrow privately. She has school, so we’ll do a celebration this summer with her family. We want to surprise her parents when they come in next week.”

“Let’s talk tomorrow then,” Peter said. “I have to drive back to my hotel.”

Luke’s face tightened in displeasure. “I’d rather do this now if—”

“I don’t have the time, Luke. We will talk tomorrow. If this is real, as you both say, then you will be here tomorrow to do that marriage license.”

Peter shot them both a smile as he set his teacup down on the table. Grabbing his jacket from where it was draped over the couch, he nodded good-bye to them both. As soon as the front door clicked shut, Luke lifted his arm from Paige’s shoulders with a sigh.

“That bastard is determined to see us through,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Paige. We can’t leave tonight. Look outside.”

Paige looked out the windows with a sinking feeling at the sight of the snowflakes blowing about the landscape. The lodge groaned from the strong wind. A second later, it went dark, and Luke let out a string of curse words as he rose from the couch.

They were alone at the lodge with no electricity and heat. She couldn’t shake the fluttering sensation in her stomach she’d had the last time Luke had reach out to touch her in the dark. They were utterly alone this time with no one to bother them and their “wedding” tomorrow morning.

God only knew what would happen.

 

****

 

It was cold—so bitter cold that Paige couldn’t stand it any longer. She threw her lighter down in frustration before rising from her crouched position in front of the fireplace. Shoving her bare feet into a pair of UGG boots, Paige draped a wool blanket over her shoulders before hurrying out of the room she had insisted on having to herself. Luke hadn’t been able to fix the generator no matter how hard he had tried to figure it out. They were stuck using the fireplaces in their rooms, but Paige couldn’t get hers to light, and she had no intention of freezing to death.

It’s back luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. She shook her head. It’s only bad luck if you’re actually getting married.

The hallway was dark, and Paige found Luke’s door firmly shut. Firelight danced out beneath it, and she heard him flipping through what sounded like papers or a book. Nerves took over then, but her cold limbs won that fight. She knocked twice before taking a step back, hugging the blanket close to her.

The door opened. Firelight spilled out, but it was the sight of Luke standing there in a pair of cotton sweatpants that dipped low across his hips and bare chested that took her breath away. His long blond locks were pushed back messily, and he gazed at her with a frown.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I-I-I can’t start a fire in my room,” she said, her teeth chattering from the cold. “I thought I could get it to work, but—”

Luke reached out to grab her by the arm. “Get in here before you freeze.” She stumbled into the room. “I told you to let me know right away if you couldn’t get that fire going. It’s going to be -32 tonight.”

“It certainly feels like it.”

He shut the bedroom door. Ushering her to sit down in front of the fireplace, he got another blanket from the bed to drape over her. The heat of the fire warmed the chill on her skin, but so did Luke taking a seat next to her on the floor. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rubbed them to help her get warm again.

“It’s so cold here,” Paige said. “I don’t know how you survived out on those oil rigs during the winter months.”

“You get used to it,” he said, the corner of his lips curling up in a smile. “You should be used to this type of cold. You’re from Wyoming.”

“It was never this cold there.”

“Perfect time for the generator to go out too,” Luke said, sighing. “I need to have someone come up here to check everything again. No one has been here for months besides us.”

Paige nestled into the warmth of Luke’s shoulder. “It must be nice to be able to have houses you can leave behind for months and not worry about. How do you even remember to pay for them?”

“Everything is paid off. It was a long time ago.”

“Debt free then, huh?” She tilted her head back to grin up at him. “Maybe I should tap into the oil business after tomorrow.”

Luke chuckled. “I’d be in great fear of that competition.”

“Shut up,” she said, laughing. “You better be afraid of me.”

His eyes darkened then. Several emotions filtered through Luke’s gaze as he looked down at her and tucked an errant curl behind her ear. Paige’s heart quickened as the tension in the room changed into something electric.

“I am afraid of you,” he murmured. “I don’t know how to explain it, but everything is just different with you now.”

“Luke—” she started, shaking her head. This was not something they had agreed to—to let their feelings get in the way no matter how much she felt it.

“I’m serious,” he said. “I'm not trying to play. That’s the God’s honest truth. I just feel something different about you.”

“That’s because you’re going through the motions of a committed relationship,” Paige said. “It’s different than what you are used to. It’s a lot more secure than jumping around.”

“Maybe.” He reached forward and grasped her hand, gently playing with her fingers. “I want you to know that I am thankful that you and I crossed paths last month. Even if I messed it up.”

“You obviously didn’t if I’m here.”

“I screwed it up,” Luke said resolutely. “You developed an unfavorable opinion of me because I was an ass.”

Paige lifted her head to look at him closely. Firelight danced off the long golden strands of his hair. Shadows flickered over his broad chest as he shifted underneath an invisible weight.

“The alcohol makes you an ass,” she clarified. “You aren’t too much of one when you’re sober.”

“Thanks.” He chuckled deeply. “That should be motive to stay away from it then.”

“Only you can stay away from it. Nobody can tell you what to do when it comes to that sort of thing. This is your life, not anyone else’s.”

“It’s your life too,” Luke said, squeezing her hand tightly. “Your wagon is hitched to mine.”

“Until you receive your inheritance in a few days,” she reminded him, but Luke shook his head at her. “What? You changed your mind?”

“I think Peter is right about a few things is all.”

“Like what?”

That dark and stormy tone filled his eyes again. Hot waves of desire crashed down upon them both, but there was something else there, a subtle shift as Luke had commented on that she felt too. It was strong but indescribable. There was nothing she could do to fight against it.

“That we feel things for each other,” Luke said quietly. “I know that I do for you.”

Her heart pounded—a repeating gesture that seemed to happen quite a bit with Luke around.

“And I don’t know if I can let you go,” he continued, dropping her hand to clasp the back of her neck with warm, strong fingers. “I know you can’t ever imagine yourself with someone like me—”

“Of course I can,” Paige blurted out in a whispered confession. “Who wouldn’t imagine themselves in my position? I feel it too, Luke. I honestly do.”

Those fingers on the nape of her neck curled protectively. “Then what’s holding us back from each other?”

“You know what,” Paige said. She closed her eyes to keep herself steady. “You know how I feel about this.”

“I know how you feel, but we are going to be married tomorrow. We have to see this through.”

“And then what, Luke?” She opened her eyes to look at him. “We file for divorce after you get what you want from your father’s lawyer and me?”

“I already told you,” he said firmly, passionately, “I don’t want to let you go. It’s the eve of our wedding, Paige. I don’t think you should use it against yourself for giving in eight hours before the actual night.”

Paige chewed on her lip anxiously while those wicked fingers started to stroke through her hair intimately. She couldn’t bring herself to think of any logical reason to argue against Luke’s point. They were getting married tomorrow. Neither one of them had intention to let the other go.

Still, nerves crashed down on her just thinking of being underneath Luke’s naked and muscular body.

“I’m just nervous,” she whispered. “I just don’t know what to expect.”

“Pleasure for one,” Luke whispered back, and he shifted around her. “I will make sure it feels so good for you.”

She opened her eyes to find him kneeling on his knees in front of her. Strong arms straddled her waist. Heat seared through her as Luke shifted forward to press his lips against hers in a long and soft kiss that eased her nerves slightly.

He pulled back to whisper against her lips. “Do you trust me?”

Of their own accord, Paige’s hands smoothed their way around the strong muscles of his shoulders. Goosebumps erupted underneath her fingertips. A violent shudder went up Luke’s spine from it.

“Yes and no,” she said honestly. “Right now, yes. I trust you.”
“Good,” he said, and the corner of his lips curved up. “Just trust me through this, okay?”

She nodded mutely before Luke leaned forward to gather her lips in a heated kiss again. This time, they held nothing back. The intensity of their kisses grew quickly in fervor as Luke’s tongue battled against hers. He nudged her to lay back on the fuzzy cotton blanket. A moan left both their lips when their bodies pressed against one another’s.

Luke’s hands were everywhere. He only let their lips break contact so they could catch their breath, but he always dove back in while his hands explored. Trails of fire erupted on Paige’s skin wherever his hands went. Those expert and skilled fingers were squeezing her in all the right ways.

Her mind was blissfully blank as Luke shifted to kneel between her legs. Both their bodies were under control, but also under Luke’s guidance as his lips tore from hers to nip their way down her neck.

His hands had been massaging her hips, but he slowly let one slip up inside her sleep shirt so he could touch her. The touch nearly burned her, and her hips arched up instinctively.

Luke groaned at the contact when her hips pushed against his. Taking advantage of the moment, Paige let her primal desires take control. Her hands smoothed up the strong curve of Luke’s back, feeling every muscle there coiled and ready. Years of working on the oil rig in harsh conditions had built him. The strength of him brought a trickle of fear and anticipation in her.

His lips were back to trailing hot kisses down her neck. The hand that had been grazing the planes of her lower stomach gripped the hemline of her shirt. He looked at her for permission, and Paige held her breath as she gave a tentative nod. He helped her out of the shirt before tossing it onto the couch.

It took all her shredded self-control to not cover herself as she lay there exposed in nothing besides a pair of underwear.

“Finally,” Luke breathed, sitting back on the heels of his feet to gaze down at her. “This has been worth the wait, Paige. You’re fucking gorgeous.”

She blushed hotly. Leaning back over her, Luke kissed her until she was panting and squirming beneath him. The delicious feeling of his naked chest pressed against hers nearly drove her crazy with desire. His lips trailed down her neck again, past her collarbone, and down the slope of her breasts.

A pink and taut nipple disappeared into his mouth, and he sucked tenderly but with enough zest to make her cry out in pleasure. Paige slipped a hand through the locks of his hair to grip there as he suckled at her breast without any mercy. Every touch, kiss, and suck was driving her toward oblivion. Nothing could beat the feeling of Luke’s hands hooking in the elastic band of her underwear, tugging it down her thighs, and then sliding them back up her legs quickly.

The first brush of his fingers against her core brought an array of feelings—similar to the ones from before when he had touched her. Except, his lips were trailing kisses down her stomach with no hesitation or any sign of stopping.

Nerves crashed through the haze of pleasure in her head. Propping herself up on her elbows, Paige glanced down at Luke as he flattened himself against the ground with his teeth sinking playfully into her hip. She jumped in response.

“Luke.” He looked up from where his scruffy cheek was nestled against her pubic bone. His eyes glittered teasingly. Words were lost to her. “You aren’t going to—”

“I am,” he confirmed, and pressed a hot kiss to her delicate skin. “Lie back, Paige. Enjoy it.”

“But, I—oh.”

A hot tongue flicked against her bundle of helpless nerves, and it rendered her into a hot and messy puddle as Luke’s mouth worked wonders on her. His fingers had brought a quick release before, but nothing could have prepared her for how good it felt to have his mouth sucking at her intimately.

Bright lights popped in her line of vision. Paige stared up at the ceiling through watering eyes as her impending orgasm came crashing down on her fast and hard. She couldn’t have fought against it even if she had wanted to. It came hard and fast. Pain erupted in the back of her head when it thudded back against hardwood floor.

Panting heavily, she looked down to see Luke grinning smugly as he massaged her thighs while he waited for her to ride it out.

“Told you,” he said.

He didn’t give her a chance to respond. Jamming a thumb in the band of his sweatpants, Luke shoved the cotton fabric and his underwear down his muscular thighs. His arousal throbbed hotly against the side of her leg as he kicked the fabric away impatiently.

We’re actually going to do this. Her heart rate quickened for an entirely different reason this time around.

Luke knelt before her, completely bare, gloriously naked, and all hers to have. He nestled himself comfortably between her legs. A hardness nudged her intimately, and she sucked in a quivering breath to keep herself under control.

“Relax,” Luke murmured, pressing a kiss to her lips. “I promise it’s not going to be torture.”

Her hands hovered over his waist as indecision crashed over her again. There was no possible way Luke thought they could fit.

“Paige.” She looked up at him. Brushing her hair back from her sweaty forehead, Luke gazed down at her in concern. “I’m right here with you. Do you honestly think I’d hurt you?”

“No,” she replied, her voice trembling. “I don’t think that at all. Keep going. I’m just—”

“Nervous, I know.”

His hips rolled forward gracefully. Digging her fingers into his forearms, Paige gritted her teeth at the painful sting of Luke entering her in one smooth thrust until he was buried to the hilt. She let out a wavering breath as tears slipped from the corner of her eyes.

Luke pressed soft kisses to her temple. “Take a deep breath. Every inch of you is stiff as a board.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Relax. The pain is going to fade, trust me. Just breathe.”

She sucked in a harsh breath through her nose. True to his word, the pain radiated away into something else entirely as her muscles adjusted to the intrusion. Luke glanced down at her in a wordless question, and she nodded in response.

Inhaling sharply, Luke rolled his hips back before thrusting gently. He continued that rhythm while Paige gripped his forearms as pleasure quickly overtook the stinging pain. Instinct took over again under the movement of Luke’s hips. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she squeezed his hips in encouragement to pick up the pace.

A low groan rumbled in Luke’s chest. Pleasure filled his face as he gripped her hips, and thrust deeper and faster. His eyes popped open a second later to gaze down at her desperately. Sweat beaded at his hairline.

“Paige—”

“I know,” she panted, squirming against him when that familiar warmth of an orgasm pressed against her.

She cried out in pleasure a few seconds later and felt Luke follow right behind. He grunted low in the back of his throat before going rigid inside her. Something hot and wet filled her from the inside before Luke collapsed against her with a satisfied groan.

Their sweaty and sated skin meshed together as they lay there together, tangled up in each other’s limbs, for a long moment.

Paige rested her chin on Luke’s quivering shoulder as she rode out her twitching muscles. Her eyes fixated on the ceiling again as a strange feeling took over her. She had no idea what it was, but it was chased away when Luke’s arms curled around her possessively. He pressed a kiss against her shoulder, and she couldn’t think of anything else for the rest of the night besides Luke’s strong body pressed against hers.

Chapter Twelve

 

 

Luke

 

 

He didn’t know what startled him awake hours later, but all Luke knew was that Paige slept peacefully on next to him. Her warm breath fluttered across the plane of his chest. Every inch of her naked body was pressed against his right side.

Two times in a row. Luke swallowed thickly at the realization. Two times he had allowed himself to fall asleep with her.

Images flashed through his head from the night before, of Paige naked underneath him, squirming in pleasure. Everything he had fantasized about before didn’t compare to the actual feeling of finally having Paige in his arms.

And there was a part of him that felt quite confident that he would never be able to let her go. Falling asleep with women had never been something he could do, but with Paige, everything was different.

Cold morning light filtered through the curtains of the bedroom. The entire lodge was eerily quiet without the sound of electricity. Carefully, he shifted his head to glance at the fireplace. The fire he had built the night before had lasted all night, but it was in desperate need of more wood before it fizzled out. The room felt chilly, but not frigid like he imagined the rest of the lodge felt.

Sucking in a deep breath, Luke debated whether or not he wanted to stay curled up with Paige at his side and catch a few more hours of sleep before having to face the rest of the world. He glanced down at Paige as she continued to sleep on, oblivious to the conflict brewing inside of him.

After he had exhausted every trick in the book to get her in bed next to him, guilt filled him thinking about the upcoming weeks. Peter had promised to sign everything over when they went in with their marriage license, but he couldn’t bring himself to stir Paige awake for that. It would be the end of their arrangement, and he felt empty thinking about it.

She doesn’t deserve to be hitched to a man like me. I have all the money in the world, but I can’t even find it in me to keep it to just one drink. I don’t even know if I could stick with one woman for the rest of my life.

He relished in the feeling of her soft skin pressed against his for a few minutes longer before slipping out of bed with reluctance. Much to his relief, Paige didn’t stir from her sleep as he placed more logs in the fireplace to keep the room warm. He slipped back into his thick cotton sweatpants, a shirt, and a sweater to fend off the cold.

Pausing with his hand on the doorknob, Luke glanced back at Paige with a pang in his chest. One of her arms had curled over a pillow, holding it tightly to her chest in her sleep.

What was going to happen when she woke? The question caused apprehension to rise inside him. There was a part of him that wanted to wholeheartedly believe Paige hadn’t given into her passions because she truly believed they were going to remain married. Even if he had his doubts about letting her go, the concept of marriage didn’t sit well with him.

There was nothing they could do anyway until the snowstorm cleared out. Luke slipped out into the frigid hallway and closed the door behind him with a soft click. His breath puffed out in front of him as he walked down the motionless hallway to the basement door. Outside, snow had piled up on the patio deck and would need to be shoveled off. He couldn’t even see the fence that surrounded the property line.

Fifteen minutes later in the chilled basement air, the generators booted up, much to Luke’s relief. The electricity kicked on with a gentle whir, followed by the furnace. He returned to the main floor to turn off the living room lights. Grabbing the phone, he dialed Toby’s cell number.

“I don’t know when I’m gonna get out of here,” Luke said, closing the door to his father’s office. “It snowed like a son of a bitch here last night. I’m sure it’s a fucking mess on the roads and at the airport too.”

“You guessed right,” Toby said. “Give it a few hours. The roads and airport should be open by then. How did the meeting go with Peter?”

“It was cut short because of the snowstorm. He left before he could hand over any paperwork.”

“It sounds like he wants to make sure you and Paige actually get married.”

“I have no idea,” Luke said, running a distressed hand through his hair. “I just need to get out of here, Toby. I’ve gotta leave before Paige wakes up.”

“Why? What happened?”

He let his pointed silence do all the talking.

“Oh, bro,” Toby exclaimed, sighing into the phone. “I warned you not to cross into that area of being a prick. You slept with her?”

“I couldn’t help it,” Luke said. “I just couldn’t resist it any longer, and she didn’t fight against it because she thinks—”

“That you love her and won’t leave her even though you plan to?”

Luke grimaced at the harshness of it. “Fuck. I’m a piece of shit for doing what I did, but I can’t think like that right now. I’ve gotta get to Peter’s office here before catching a plane back to New York.”

“And what about Paige?” Toby asked. “You’re just going to leave her there while you drive off in the snow?”

“Just send someone to come get her,” he said flatly. “I can live in hell with this decision if it saves Paige from marrying a man like me.”

“What’s so wrong with you staying married?”

“I just can’t stay married.” He ran a hand over his eyes. “Why can’t you understand that I’m trying to do the right thing here?”

“You’re not trying to do the right thing, Luke. You’re running away from your feelings. You’re running away from Paige because this is what Roderick would’ve wanted you to do.”

Luke tensed. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“That means that if your father approved of it, you hated it. You’d do everything you could to fight against it.”

“I would not. My father is the damn reason I am the way I am.” He glared at the dusty bookshelves around him. “I’m going to go tell Paige good-bye. She’ll understand once I explain it to her.”

“I doubt she will,” Toby said. “No one understands you. I don’t even understand who you are.”

“Just arrange a damn car to get Paige to the airport later this afternoon. I’ve gotta go do what I need to do to get my damn business.”

He put the phone back down in its cradle. Opening the door, Luke stepped out and jumped in surprise when he found Paige standing there wrapped in a thick blanket. Her eyes were narrowed at him with an unmistakable look of hurt.

“Did I hear you right?” she asked quietly. “You were going to just leave me here in the middle of an icy lodge because you’re too much of a damn coward to face me?”

“I’m not afraid to face you.”

“Really? Why aren’t you able to look me straight in the eye then?”

He brushed by her to continue down the hallway. “You knew this was going to end today. I never once told you I planned on staying committed.”

Angry footsteps followed behind him. Luke found a heavy coat that smelled of dust and years hanging on the coatrack by the front door. Slipping into it, he checked a pair snow boots for spiders before stuffing his feet into them. The entire time, he couldn’t bring himself to look up at Paige, because she was right.

He was a damn coward, but he refused to regret what had happened between them. It had been everything they’d both wanted for weeks—it hadn’t been just his own lust and desire.

Straightening up, Luke finally turned around to face her. There were tears in her eyes, but not the type of tears that fell. These tears were the true and painful ones. He couldn’t stand it any longer.

“I’m sorry that shit got complicated,” he said. “Last night—”

“Last night was apparently a mistake,” Paige said flatly. Her eyes glittered up at him. “I hope you’re happy with yourself.”

His temper flared. “I’m not happy with myself. I think it’s rather obvious that I am not happy.”

“So you think inheriting this new money of yours will fill in what your precious alcohol bottles can’t?

“It’s worth a damn fucking shot,” Luke snapped, yanking the door open. Cold and snowy air came billowing inside. “You got your end of this arrangement. Now it’s time to get mine.”

 

****

 

Peter’s office was uncomfortably warm when Luke stepped into three hours later with a sullen Paige in tow. He paused before opening the office door to look over his shoulder at her.

Every inch of Paige’s body was rigid with tension. Her eyes were bloodshot from undoubtedly crying in the shower while he had shoveled off the snow from the SUV and driveway. She refused to look directly at him, and her lips thinned into an angry line.

“That’s not the look a newlywed has,” Luke said.

“I don’t care,” she said. “Let’s get this over with. I want to go back to New York.” She paused to look at him. “You don’t have a good look on your face either.”

Luke gritted his teeth as he forced a smile on his face. “I have something that will fix that on the plane ride home.” He opened the door. “You’re right though. Let’s get this over with before the entire thing falls apart.”

“It already has.”

Paige pushed by Luke to step into the office. Much to his relief, it wasn’t Peter sitting in the office. It was his secretary, Chelsea, with the papers for Luke’s inheritance and his father’s business.

“Peter apologizes for not being able to be here,” Chelsea said, handing Luke a pen. “He wishes he could’ve come in to speak with Ms. Scott, or, should I say, Mrs. Turner." She beamed at Paige, who didn’t even return the smile. “Except he is snowed in at his home right now. I think he personally just didn’t want to come into work this morning. It’s quite chilly.”

Luke glanced over the papers as he half-listened to Chelsea chatter away about nonsense. He signed his name on the dotted lines as instructed by Chelsea, and then he set the pen down. His relief was short lived when Paige abruptly turned to him.

“I want more than what I asked for,” she said.

Chelsea immediately stopped talking.

“I’m sorry. You want more what?”

“Money,” Paige said coolly, fixing her gaze on him. “I want more than what I asked you for.”

“We agreed on what we agreed on,” Luke replied through clenched teeth. “I am not going to discuss this with you here.” He turned to look at a startled Chelsea. “Can you scan these documents so I can have a copy for my lawyer?”

“Don’t scan them,” Paige said, looking over at Chelsea, who looked between them in confusion. “He doesn’t deserve this money if he isn’t willing to share it.”

“He should be,” Chelsea said, baffled. “If you two are married, and you didn’t sign a prenup, then half this money is yours.”

Hot anger seared through Luke when Paige looked at him. Neither he nor Toby had thought of that detail. Judging from the look on Paige’s face, she hadn’t thought of it either until now.

“That’s a good point,” Paige said, a bit too sweetly. “Never mind, honey. Go ahead and scan those papers. We’ll just go on down to the courthouse to sign our marriage license.”

Chelsea paused in mid-shuffle of the papers. “You haven’t done the license yet?”

Desperate to regain control, Luke grabbed ahold of Paige’s elbow to squeeze there tightly. She grimaced in response but yanked herself free to stomp out of the office. The door slammed shut behind her.

“I’m sorry,” Luke said, forcing a charming smile on his face. “We had an argument this morning. Typical couple fight.”

“I can’t let you have these papers yet, Mr. Turner,” Chelsea said. “There are some very intricate instructions in here, but Peter warned me that he had his suspicions about your relationship with her.”

“Suspicions?” he echoed, spitting the word out. “Why would he be suspicious? He only talked to us for a few minutes yesterday.”

Chelsea gave him a long and critical look.

“No one believed you in this office when you first appeared with her in the papers. It just seemed to be too much of a coincidence.”

A headache pounded in Luke’s skull. He needed a drink—a stiff one without any fillers. Just a straight shot of alcohol to help his brain process what he needed to do.

He didn’t bother replying. Stomping out of the office, Luke fumbled through his pockets to find his phone as he came out into the lobby. He scanned the area for Paige and spotted her sitting on a leather sofa facing the large windows.

“I hope you are happy now,” he gritted out, pulling up Toby’s number. “They won’t even consider giving me the papers until we get that damn license.”

Paige looked up at him with tears streaming down the sides of her cheeks. “I don’t care anymore. The money doesn’t matter to me. It only matters to you.”

“It mattered to you when you walked into my office that day and named your price in all of this.”

“Then take it. Take it all back,” she said, rising from the sofa. “I’m done. This isn’t my problem any longer. Your problems are no longer my problems.”

“And neither are your problems mine,” Luke said coldly. “What is the point behind all of this? To get revenge on me?”

“There was no point to any of it. I’m not going to do this anymore.” She wiped at her cheeks in aggravation. “Not after last night. I’m not going to put myself out there for your benefit.”

“The last I checked, you didn’t tell me no, and you were enjoying yourself. Don’t act so innocent about it.”

Paige reeled back at those words. His fingers clutched his phone numbly as she stood up on wobbly legs and gazed at him sadly.

“I feel sorry for you,” she said, her voice trembling. “I may be young and all, but I know better than to be this stupid when it comes to having a good thing in front of you. I wish you well, Luke. I hope you figure out how to get your money.”

She looked down at her left hand then. Slipping the ring off, Paige set it on the coffee table in front of the leather couch. Her eyes were distant and cold when she looked back at him.

“Maybe you can pawn this,” she said. “It’s obviously worth something since money is the center of your universe.”

Not sparing him another glance, Paige slipped out into the frigid morning. He followed her petite figure with his eyes until it disappeared out of sight before he slowly walked across the lobby to grab the ring. The morning light glittered off the diamond as he twirled it between the pads of his finger and thumb.

It was indescribable, but another hole had opened wide within him. There was nothing he could say or do to make anything right with Paige. He had pushed for what he had desperately wanted, and now it was gone before he could even hold on.

The media would have a field day knowing that their arrangement had been a setup for his inheritance.

Luke sank down into the couch cushions with a heavy sigh. It didn’t matter how much it hurt. He deserved it.

He had a creeping thought that this was his father’s lesson from beyond the grave. Roderick Turner never missed an opportunity to provide some sort of life lesson he felt was critical for Luke.

“I didn’t get the papers,” Luke said when Toby answered the phone. “We came into the office, but Paige walked out.”

Toby sighed. “Do you blame her for feeling the way she does? I told you not to get involved, but you didn’t listen to me, as usual when it comes to things like this.”

“I don’t need the lecture right now. I just need you to contact Adam so we can—”

“I think you need to figure some other things out first,” Toby cut in firmly. “You’re turning into your father, Luke. I know you don’t want to hear that, but you are. That’s exactly what you are turning into.”

“How am I turning into my father?” Luke demanded angrily. “If I were my father, I wouldn’t have seduced someone into a fake marriage. You know how he felt about this sort of thing. That’s the only reason I’m in this damn position.”

“You’re different in that regard, but the both of you are bastards to deal with. And you both go to the bottle every time to deal with unwanted things. It’s no wonder Paige told you off.”

Luke opened his mouth to retort, but the reality and truth hit him harder than any shot of whiskey ever could. Along the way of trying so desperately to be different from his father, he had turned into him in a lot of ways. It had cost him something that could have been greater than in his inheritance too.

“I fucked up,” Luke said, cradling his aching head in his hands. “What do I do now? I lost Paige. I lost this business.”

“I have a suggestion,” Toby said. “Now, listen to me, and it could save you both things if you listen with an open mind.”

Luke swallowed thickly. “Anything,” he rasped. “I’ll do anything you say at this point.”

Chapter Thirteen

 

 

Paige

 

 

“Oh, honey. I wish you would’ve come to us before you got yourself into this type of mess.”

Paige wiped her eyes dry as her mother set a mug of steaming black tea in front of her.

“I know,” she said. “I should’ve told you both the truth about what was going on, but I just loved New York too much to let it go.”

“We understand that you wanted more independence to do what you loved to do,” Harry said, nursing his cup of tea. “You’ve done so well on your own, but this mishap is hard to look past.”

“I know.”

Tears filled Paige’s eyes again just thinking of the past week. She had no idea where Luke had gone after leaving Peter’s office. The lobby had been empty when she’d returned an hour later after sitting in a small cafe drinking coffee to calm her wavering emotions. And for some unknown reason, that had stung worse than everything that had happened.

It had left her with no option besides calling her parents for a plane ticket home. She had called Jessica from the airport to explain that she wouldn’t be coming back to New York right away—if ever besides to gather her things from her dorm.

Luke was a businessman. They had signed a legal contract, and knowing how much money meant to him, he had probably already called NYU to cancel the payments. She had gone back on her word.

And then she’d done the one thing she knew would sting him just as much as he had hurt her—publicly admitted that the entire thing had been fake just to benefit him.

“It was my mistake,” Paige said. “I should’ve listened to my heart when it said this wasn’t going to be a good thing.”

“You’re right,” Harry said coolly. “You should’ve listened to what I told you about the kind of man Luke Turner—”

“Harry,” Marie cut in, giving him a pointed stare. “Now is not the time to lecture our daughter. She’s having a tough time.”

“I am not lecturing. I’m just angry at this man for taking advantage of our daughter for his own financial benefit. It’s been a week, and not once has he called to apologize?”

“I don’t know if he has tried to call,” Paige said. “I turned my phone off after telling Jessica that I needed some time at home to figure things out.”

“I guess we will wait and see what happens then,” Harry replied, sighing. “I doubt Mr. Turner is going to give up this easily when it comes to contracts.”

Paige chewed on the inside of her cheek. It had been a week, and no repercussions had come just yet despite her anticipation for it. Nothing. Nothing had happened. She scoured the news every single morning, but there was nothing there to provide clues on what Luke’s temperament was.

She spent the rest of the day helping her mother clean around the house before they ventured into town together to do some shopping. Even if she loathed the idea of never going back to New York, it still felt good to have the comforting presence of her family around her. It provided a distraction from the horrible ache in her stomach whenever her mind started to wander back to the night before they’d gone into Peter’s office.

She never wanted to admit it out loud, but she had fallen in love with Luke in such a short amount of time that it was surreal. She had a suspicion that Luke had fallen in love with her too. No matter what he said, she couldn’t forget that look in his eyes while they had made love. It was the type of look she had read about in books and seen in the movies—a hardened heart letting someone in to get close enough to love them.

The color of the trees had changed overnight it seemed, Paige noted while walking slowly down the sidewalk as she waited for her mother to finish up the grocery shopping. She took a seat on one of the benches. It seemed so strange that in North Dakota, there was already a couple feet of snow. Winter had hit there first, and while it felt chilly in the shades of the trees, the sunlight was warm.

A part of her did burn with curiosity to see if Luke had at least tried to call her. Reaching into her purse, Paige pulled out her phone to power it on with a pounding heart. There were a few text messages from Shannon asking what had happened, but nothing else besides a voice mail from a number she didn’t recognize.

“Paige, it’s Toby Patel.” She held her breath. “I know your phone is off, but when you get this message, call me back. It’s urgent.”

Don’t call. It’s none of your business anymore. It doesn’t matter. Her finger pressed down on the number anyway to call it back.

Toby answered within two rings. “I’m glad you finally called me back. I was wondering what the hell had happened to you.”

“You were?” she asked skeptically. “I figured you were calling to yell at me like I’m sure Luke wants to yell at me.”

“I have no reason to yell at you,” he said. “I’m on your side here, Paige. I warned Luke not to mess with you, or else it would get very complicated for you both behind the arrangement.”

“Well, it is complicated. That’s for sure.” Paige tilted her head up to feel the warm sunshine on her face. “What is it that you needed to talk to me about?”

“I wanted to make sure you’re okay first off.”

“I’m fine.”

“And then I wanted to make sure you got back home okay.”

She opened her eyes. “How did you know I went home?”

“Shannon asked your friend if you had gone home or if you planned on coming back to New York.”

“And what did Jessica tell Shannon?”

“That she had no idea what you planned on doing exactly,” Toby said. “You didn’t give her a straight enough answer.”

“That’s about right. I have no idea yet.” Bitterness washed over her. “I’ll probably stay here in Wyoming, maybe take some online classes.”

“What about NYU?” Toby asked, and she could hear the frown in his voice. “You were so adamant about staying enrolled there and not putting your education on hold for anyone.”

“I’m pretty sure my days are limited there,” Paige said. “Why are you asking me about it anyway?”

“I’m just confused is all about—” He cut off abruptly before changing topic. “You haven’t heard from Luke at all?”

“No,” she said tensely. “Why? Should I have?”

“No phone calls or messages?”

“No,” Paige replied impatiently. “Why do you sound so surprised about that?”

“No reason, I suppose. I just thought he would’ve contacted you by now judging from the last conversation I had with him.”

“What was the last conversation—”

A beeping sound filled Paige’s ear.

“I’m sorry, Paige. I’ve got to take this phone call real quick. Call me tomorrow to let me know what happens.”

“What—” The line went dead.

Paige stared down at her phone in bafflement. She had no idea what Toby knew exactly, but knowing he was close to Luke, she summarized he knew something about Luke.

He just didn’t want to tell her.

 

****

 

The drive back to the farm was a long twenty-minute drive in silence. Paige gazed out at the blur of scenery along the highway as she replayed her brief conversation with Toby.

What is Luke up to?

It made her uneasy knowing that he was up to something. What it was exactly, she had no idea, and Toby hadn’t seemed too keen on telling her anything. She tapped the screen of her phone as she debated calling Luke’s cell. He won’t pick up. Why would he? He got what he wanted from you, partly.

She was caught on that part of it all. Luke had taken something he knew meant the world to her and then trampled all over it on his way to get what he truly wanted—money.

“Mom,” she said, turning to look at Marie with a grimace. “I have to tell you something that I hope you won’t tell Dad. Just woman to woman.”

Marie looked at her with a grim expression. “I had a feeling you needed to tell me something. What is it?”

Paige spent the next ten minutes explaining everything that had happened over the past thirty days—including the night she had given in to her passions with Luke.

“It makes sense now how you feel,” Marie said once Paige had finished telling her everything. “Sex brings out complicated emotions. I’m not surprised you feel the way you do.”

“I’m not crazy then?” Paige asked, wiping her eyes dry. “I feel like I’ve gone crazy trying to figure out why I feel the way I do.”

“It’s a big thing, Paige. That’s why your father and I have tried to tell you that it’s better to wait for someone you love.”

“I thought I did love him.” She looked out the window at the acres of sweeping land filled with evergreen pines. “I do love him. That’s how I feel, and I know he feels the same way about me. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“You can love someone with everything you have but not have it be the right time, Paige.”

“I know. It wasn’t the right time.”

Marie reached over to pat her on the knee. “Everything is going to be okay, honey. We’ll help you through whatever you need help with.”

Paige smiled in appreciation. “Thanks, Mom.”

A black truck was parked in front of the farmhouse when they pulled up a few minutes later.

“Who on earth is that?” Marie asked, leaning over the steering wheel to stare at the truck in confusion. “I don’t recognize that truck. Do you?”

“No,” Paige said, also leaning forward to look at it. She caught sight of the paper tags on the back. “It looks like a rental though. Maybe dad knows whose it is.” She scanned the fields where he had been cutting hay. “I don’t see him in the fields, so he must be talking to whoever drives the truck.”

“Must be.”

Once the engine was cut, they hopped out of the truck to head around to the back door that led into the kitchen. Her arms full of groceries, Paige entered the kitchen and nearly drop them in sheer and utter surprise when she found her father sitting at the table with Luke directly across from him.

“Luke?” she gasped out, holding onto the bags before they could fall to the ground. “What are you doing here?”

Luke rose from the table where he had been nursing a cup of coffee. He reached out to grab the grocery bags from her hands.

“I needed to talk to someone about a few things,” he said. “You talked about how wonderful your dad was at giving advice.” He set the bags down on the counter. “And you’re right. He is.”

She was at an utter loss for words.

Paige swiveled to glance at her mother, who stood rooted in surprise as well with groceries in her arms. Her heart pounded furiously against her ribcage as she ran her eyes over him, willing him to disappear like she was in a dream, but he remained standing there.

He looked worn out from the dark bags under his eyes, but in much better shape than she had seen him in Peter’s office. His blonde hair was tied back. A bristle of a beard covered his strong jaw, and he wasn’t dressed in his normal attire of fancy clothes. He was in a pair of tattered jeans, sneakers, and a sweater.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Just seeing him for the first time since in Peter’s office brought a fresh wave of emotion over her. “If you came here to tell me off for going back on our deal, then—”

“I’m not here for that,” Luke said smoothly. He glanced back at her father, who nodded in some sort of understanding. “Can we go for a walk together? I only have an hour before I have to get on a plane to go to Florida.”

“Florida?” Paige echoed, but she reluctantly let her arms drop. “I guess we can talk since you’ve obviously won my father’s stamp of approval.”

Harry stood up from the table to help his wife with the bags of groceries. He sighed at Paige in exasperation.

“I am not heartless,” he said, and he patted Luke on the shoulder. “Mr. Turner arrived here after you two left to go to town. He came clean to me about everything that has happened between you two.”

Paige’s eyes widened. “And you're okay with that?”

“Not all of it,” Harry said. “I made my opinions very clear to him, and he has responded with respect. He respects what I told him.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Go for a walk,” her father said, ushering Paige out the door with Luke in tow. “Listen to what he has to say.”

Dizzy with confusion, Paige stood on the back patio as Luke gazed at her with an indescribable expression. There was nothing she could think of to say. She had no idea why Luke had come all the way out to Wyoming, and it unnerved her that he had just shown up without warning.

It gave her little time to sort through her feelings.

“I thought you would be in New York,” she said finally. “I’m a bit surprised you’re here.”

“I wanted to come find you,” Luke said. He glanced out over the acres of land stretched in front of them. “The only place I could think you’d go to was your parents’ house—even if you didn’t want to go back.”

“I was confident that if I went back to New York, I’d be kicked out for lack of payment.”

Luke sighed as he shook his head. “I know you’re upset—”

“Damn right I am,” she blurted out, fresh tears streaming down her face. “How could you do what you did to me?”

“I’m sorry, Paige. I shouldn’t have—” He stopped talking and turned to look at her. Gathering her cold and sweaty hands in his own, Luke looked at her with a passionate gaze. “Just hear me out. Yes, it started out with me not caring if I got you into my bed; I just wanted you there. But things started to change for me over the past thirty days. You saw parts of me that even Toby doesn’t see.”

Her eyes fluttered shut as confusion crashed over her. “Don’t do this to me, Luke. I’m already confused enough about how I feel toward you right now. I don’t even know if I want to see you.”

“Well, I know how I feel about you,” he said firmly. “After you left Peter’s office, I got drunk—drunker than I have ever been in my life—because I knew what I had to do to make all of this right.”

“Which was what?”

“I needed to tell you that I love you.” Her eyes opened in surprise at hearing that. “I had to tell you that in person, because I do love you. It took me some time this past week to figure out why I ran from you, but it’s because I love you. I didn’t want to prove my father right, but I realize he wanted me to be in love. He wanted me to have a good life and not turn out like him.”

Paige scanned his face intently for any flicker of deception. There was nothing but genuine love and care there. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had seen Luke appear so honest and carefree.

“And that involves me?” she whispered.

Her heart lifted in relief when Luke nodded. His strong and steady fingers gave her hands a tender squeeze.

“Yes,” he whispered back. “I came out here to apologize to your father too. I told him everything that’s happened, and what I plan to do to fix all the damage I have done.”

“What’s your plan?”

“I managed to get into a treatment center in Florida for alcohol abuse,” he said plainly. “I’m getting on a plane today to go there, but I had to see you first.”

“What about—”

“My inheritance?” he supplied, smiling slightly. “Peter agreed to look over my father’s business while I still run it after I take some time to myself. I want to do things properly— the way it was originally set up.”

Pressing a kiss to the back of Paige’s knuckles, he fished something out of the pocket of his jeans. Paige’s heart skipped a beat when she realized he was holding the ring she had taken off back in North Dakota.

“I still want you to be my wife,” he said. “Not tomorrow. Not even at the end of sixty days when I’m done with this program. I want it to be when you’re done going to school, or when you feel the time is right.”

He slid the ring on her finger with a smile. “This ring belonged to you in the first place. I know it’ll take some time to forgive me, but I hope that you do.”

It had to be a dream. That was all Paige could think as she stared up at Luke with the chilly fall breeze stirring his hair. But it wasn’t a dream. The past two weeks seemed to fade away from them.

He had come all the way to Wyoming to apologize, to tell her that he loved her and planned on waiting as long as it took to get her back. She couldn’t have asked for anything else.

“I love you,” she said. “I’ll be waiting for you too.”

Luke smiled at her before leaning down to kiss her. They kissed each other with a cold breeze circling them, but they were warm in each other’s arms.

 

THE END