“You’ll need to get married immediately.”
He wasn’t joking. There wasn’t even a hint of humor in his tone. Just exhaustion and quiet certainty, like this was just one more item on a long list of things that were necessary to seal this deal.
When I turned to Kate, she was already looking at me. For a second, we just stared at each other, the reality of what we had to do settling between us.
Like we didn’t have enough on our plates already and the last couple days hadn’t turned both our lives completely upside down, we now had a wedding to plan—and actually attend.
No. Shit. We need more time. Time to think. Time to breathe. Time to figure out what the hell we’re even doing.
But time wasn’t something this world handed out freely. Not even to people like us.
Alex rubbed a hand over his face, and for a moment, he looked older than I’d ever seen him. “I know this is a lot, but it needs to happen. Quickly and cleanly. Hinds wants stability and he’s not signing those papers without it.”
I nodded, managing to force my head into completing the movement even though it felt like I’d gone numb. “He’s made his expectations quite clear.”
Across from me, Kate’s lips twisted into something I suspected was supposed to have been a smile, but she didn’t even make it halfway there. “Of course.”
And that was it.
We’d be married by the end of the week. As it turned out, time was a luxury even billionaires couldn’t afford and she and I had officially run out of it.
CHAPTER 36
KATE
Back in Nate’s office, the door clicked shut behind us, and somehow, that made everything feel more real.
You’ll have to get married immediately.
The words still rang in my ears, too loud to ignore and too absurd to fully process, but it was happening and this would be our first conversation since finding that out.It’s going to be telling, for sure.
I was determined to handle it better than I had when I’d found out he was CB, though. That was the only thing I knew for an absolute fact.
Nate walked around his desk but didn’t sit, taking off his tie instead, like the pressure of it around his neck had suddenly become unbearable. I stayed near the door for a moment longer, trying to beat my thoughts into some kind of coherent order.
Finally, after staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows, Nate slid his hands into his pockets and turned to me. “Well, that was a fun meeting.”
I huffed out a quiet breath that might’ve been a laugh if anything about this had been even remotely funny. “Yeah, a real barrel of laughs.”
He looked into my eyes, his head tilting as he held my gaze. “First things first, I suppose. Are you okay?”
Taking a page out of his book, I didn’t give an immediate answer. I didn’t offer a platitude or say what I thought he wanted to hear. Instead, I turned the question inward, honestly considering it.
Am I okay? I’m definitely overwhelmed. I’m also stressed, confused, and emotionally bruised from everything that’s happened between us in the last forty-eight hours. And yet…
“Yes,” I said out loud as I came to my conclusion. “I think so.”
His brow furrowed slightly, like he didn’t believe me. “This is a lot, Kate.”
“I know.”
“It’s more than we planned.”
I almost smiled.Plannedfelt like a generous word for the chaotic series of events that had landed us here, but he wasn’t wrong. Finally moving farther into the office, I rested my hands on the back of one of the chairs across from his desk.
“We were always going to do this,” I said, my voice surprisingly calm. “Granted, not this fast, but we’d already agreed and we knew everyone was pushing for the acquisition to happen as soon as possible.”
He nodded slowly. “We don’t really have a choice, but if you’re not okay with it, I’ll create one for you. You will always have a choice with me. This has to be your decision.”
