Page 71 of Temporary Vows

I shrug. “Just like that.”

“And you’d be okay with me having a relationship?” She looks at me as if she’s trying to search for some shred of emotion that shows I’d be bothered.

She won’t find anything. Sure, the thought of anyone touching what’s mine irks the fuck out of me. But she doesn’t need to know that right now.

“Like I said, we’d figure it out.” I drag in a breath.

"Is there a time frame for the arrangement?"

"Not as such. There is no get-out clause, but I can’t imagine that my father would want either of us to stay in a marriage we’re not happy in. That said, we’d need to stay married for a few years." My father is not letting up this time. And I know what he’s like when he gets like this. He’ll find a way to block me into doing everything exactly as he wants.

Slowly, Elodie nods. “Years. Okay. I can do that."

"Good. So, what's the actual question?"

She takes a breath. "I don't want to be embarrassed." She goes still. "If you're seeing someone, I don't want to know about it. And I don't want the world to know about it, either. I don't want to run into her at the mall, or the supermarket, or anywhere, and have her look at me as though I'm…less."

That sounds like it’s coming from a place of experience.

“My father loved us,” she continues. “But he wasn’t a saint. He cheated on my mother. All the time.”

I wonder what she’d think if she knew it was me who first caught him cheating. I told Jack, and it was his decision to keep his mother in the dark. I would have told her to leave, but it wasn’t my place.

"Done," I say. “I will not embarrass you.”

She blinks. "Really?"

"Yes."

She stares at me for a beat too long, as if she prepared a longer argument and doesn't know where to put it now. But her bravado slides back in place. "What about the scandal? And Grace Astor?"

She’s had time to do her homework. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm handling it. No one will expose me in that way again."

I would never put myself in that position again. We have a mole fucking with us, but it was my fault. I was careless. And I shouldn’t have been with such a high-profile woman.

Elodie watches me, cataloguing my reaction. "Are you still seeing her?"

Her guarded eyes give me nothing. She’s almost as good at keeping her emotions on a leash as me, so I can't tell if she's asking because she's genuinely curious or if she wants to know for practical reasons. Like a heads-up, should she ever run into Grace.

"I thought you didn't want to know." I cock my head and give her a flinty stare.

"This is different. It's a known scandal. If we're getting married, I don't want people to think you're still seeing her."

Fair."They won't. And I'm not seeing her. We'll get married in three to four weeks. By then, the scandal will have blown over.”

Her skin pales. “Three to four weeks? For the wedding?”

“Yes.” I already expected the time frame to shock her, so I’m not surprised. “I move fast.”

“You certainly do.” Her brows pinch. “How will we explain such a quick wedding?”

“My team will build a new narrative for the public."

"What does that mean?"

"It means the public will think whatever I want them to think. We build up to the engagement, then the wedding. Everything will look natural. By the time we're standing at the altar, no one will remember Grace Astor's name. At least not linked to me." It’s true. Yes, the whispers will remain, but with the right amount of money, you can paint whatever picture you want people to see.

Elodie considers this. "Okay. I guess that works."