“Right. Leave us alone.”
As Daniel closes the door, Minna sits up a little in her chair. Her spectacular tits are about to pop out of that semi-laced bodice and my dick’s about to burst out of my pants. I walk over to the desk to disguise my enormous hard-on. Why am I surprised this utter goddess is having this powerful effect on me? I need to get control of this situation, fast.
“You say you were hired for aphotoshoot? Who told you that?” My words are clipped. “I want to get to the bottom of it.”
“Does this mean I won’t get paid?” A tear slides out of the corner of her eye. The sight of her crying strikes me like a body blow.
“No, of course not.”
She breathes out again. “Good. Horace needs this money.”
“Horace? Your…father? Brother?” I don’t want to say it, my mouth dry. I clench my fists. “Yourboyfriend?”
“No, my cat. He’s had a hip replacement. It’s very expensive. I write gothic romances and they’re not doing very well right now.” Another tear rolls down her face and I can’t bear to see her upset.
I walk over to her and crouch by her side.
“Don’t you worry, goddess. That fifty thousand dollars is all yours. Daniel will wire it to your account immediately.”
She sits straight up.
“What did you say? Fiftythousanddollars?”
ChapterThree
MINNA
I lie back on the chair. I’m light-headed, and not from all the champagne I had earlier. The past hour has either been a dream or a nightmare, I’m not sure which.
Kade stares down at me. His eyes are the darkest, most intense shade of blue I’ve ever seen. The curve of his high cheekbones, the sharp outline of his stubble-covered jaw; this man is beyond handsome. But there’s something else about him, a power that makes my core flutter. It’s in his scent, his commanding voice, and that unwavering gaze, like he’s getting ready to throw me over one of his broad shoulders. The idea makes wetness pool between my thighs and I take a sharp intake of breath.
The ridiculousness of this cultured, polished billionaire acting like a caveman makes me giggle. Once I saw his face I knew exactly who he was. The kind of infamous property tycoon you read about in glossy magazines; feared, respected, and lusted after by ordinary civilians like me. This has to be some kind of dream. A huge misunderstanding. He just said fifty thousand dollars. It’s a joke.
His brows knit together. “Why are you laughing?”
“At you. At me. At all this. It’s a set-up. Where are the cameras?” My voice still sounds weird and shaky. I glance wildly around, expecting a camera crew to jump out from behind the bookcase.
He doesn’t smile. “I assure you, Minna, this is not a joke. It appears the person who was very briefly in my employment has made even more of a mess of this than I first thought.”
I can’t stop giggling. “You’re paying mefifty thousand dollarsfor a fake marriage? You’re Kade Harrington. You could have anyone you wanted. Heavens, they’d probably payyou!”
His lips twitch. “Did you just say ‘heavens’?”
“It was one of my grandma’s favorite expressions. So, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Kade’s voice is clipped. “The Crested Peak club has quite extreme rules. One of which is that all male members must be married. Our family were founding members, but that apparently makes no difference.”
“Aha…hence the need for a fake bride. But why did the advert say it was a photoshoot? For five hundred dollars?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.” His tone is icy. I wouldn’t want to be the one who screwed up.
“But fifty thousand dollars? For a thirty-minute wedding ceremony? I get that you want it to be a secret, but–”
“You didn’t read any of the contract?”
My cheeks flush. “I was a little distracted. The most beautiful building in Snowflake Falls is on fire, I was checking if my family were okay. Thankfully they weren’t anywhere near it but signing what I thought was a model release form was the last thing on my mind.”
Kade looks at me gravely. “Alwaysread the small print, goddess.”
