Despite their sexual compatibility and mutual business deal, Jax Maroney could never be that man.
"Because when a guy slides an engagement ring onto this finger, I want it to mean something."
She wiggled the ring finger on her left hand and he recoiled as if she'd slapped him.
Confused by his reaction, she shrugged. "Don't ask if you don't want the truth."
"I always prefer the truth," he said, his tone low and ominous. "So here's a healthy dose of it. I need people to believe this marriage is real and if you think for one second they'd believe the best jeweller in town wouldn't wear an engagement ring, you're dreaming."
He picked up her left hand and rubbed his thumb over the shiny new gold band. "I've kept my part of the deal and stopped undercutting Seaborn Mine prices. Now it's your turn to keep yours."
She ignored the sliver of heat working its way from her finger and up her arm. Bad time to get turned on. She had to make a stand against a man used to getting his own way. Though she wouldn't mind if he bossed her around in the bedroom…
She snatched her hand out of his. "You'll have your grand entrance into society at the end of this week with our fake wedding reception. What more do you want?"
For a long, insane moment, she wished he'd say, 'you'.
He had that effect on her. In a short space of time, and though she barely knew him, he'd wormed his way under her skin.
Like a prickly burr.
"I want to take my business places it has never been and your cronies can give me that. So go ahead, set up your social shindigs, but you better make our marriage look convincing, because if there's one thing I do know it's those parasites will watch every step I take."
His bitterness chilled her. She should leave his obvious distaste against people who'd shunned him because of his dad alone. But the bleakness in his eyes cut through her curiosity and called to her on a deeper level.
"How bad was it, when your dad went to prison?"
He stiffened, his face a practised mask of impassivity. Nothing moved, bar the pulse at the base of his throat, the sensitive spot she'd discovered during their marathon sex session at the B&B.
"Bad enough."
Two words devoid of emotion but fraught with unspoken need for approval.
"Want to talk about it?"
Her fingertips brushed his and he jerked back, sending her short-lived hopes for some kind of connection beyond the physical plummeting.
"No."
He spun on his heel and headed for the door, where he paused to fix her with a frigid glare.
"Don't try to get too close to me. I've already told you I'm not that kind of guy."
As she watched his retreating back, for some inexplicable reason, she wished he could be.
Chapter 20
When the elite of Melbourne threw a function, they headed to the Palladium at Crown Casino. Ruby had been to many balls there so it seemed fitting for a grand wedding reception.
People would be shocked by her secret wedding so she wanted to go the whole way and stun the judgemental blinkers off them. A hard task but one she had to try for Jax’s sake.
Jax hadn't bugged her for details. In fact, he'd barely spoken to her all week since she made the mistake of trying to bond with him on a deeper level. He'd pulled all-nighters at work, refusing her one-off offer for supper, and to her chagrin, she'd missed him.
Impossible, when she barely knew him. Though he'd only used the key she'd given him once, the night he'd backtracked, a small part of her kept hoping he'd ignore her stipulation and drop by unannounced.
How could an infuriating, obnoxious, hotshot inveigle his way into her life in such a short space of time?
She'd kept busy, designing settings for her precious pink diamonds, and organising the party of the year. Due to the lateness, every invitation had been delivered Express Post with strict RSVP instructions of twenty-four hours.
