He motioned for her to come back and sit down. She tapped her finger to her leg. If she went, she showed she was interested. She gave him power. But if she didn’t, then she’d never know what happened next when she no longer hated him.
She bit her lip and then decided to sit on the chair opposite him. It wouldn’t hurt to just hear what he had to say.
He took the seat opposite her but kept at least two feet between them. “First, tell me what you do now?”
One Google search about her would answer that question. He’d grown up in the same town she was still in. Florida was a place people settled, even if they had no intention of it. She ignored the knot in her stomach and tried to sound proud as she lifted her chin. “I work as a secretary at Parker High.”
For a third time, his face went white. “Like your mother?”
“With my mother,” she corrected. Her mother didn’t have enough to retire so she still worked, though arthritis hurt her legs when she stood to fill out the attendance forms.
“And this is March.” He clearly calculated. “So this is the spring break for you? No wonder you booked a room—you’re on vacation.”
“Wait, you knew I’d be here?” They’d gone to the same high school so of course he remembered the schedule. They’d met in middle school to be truthful though he was one of the cool kids and she’d been the nerdy, quiet girl. He’d wanted to copy her homework, and she’d said yes, and that had been the beginning of their attraction. “So you searched for me after all?”
“I paid a detective and waited here all day to see you.” He reached for her hand. She didn’t pull away, mostly because her heart thumped, and she couldn’t believe this was her reality. “Sienna, for ten million dollars, I need you to be my wife for the rest of the school year and summer. It has to be you.”
She squeezed his hand and her entire body felt heavier, like a heavenly weight pushed down on her shoulder and didn’t want to let her go. She closed her eyes. “Your wife? I was going to be that for free years ago.”
He scooted closer, his breath warm on her face. “That’s why it has to be you now.”
If she said yes, did this mean she was a sucker? Was this another game of his where he’d leave her broken-hearted—or stand her up at the end? She foolishly hadn’t taken her hand back yet. Somehow, she needed more proof that there really had been a threat against the family. She swallowed and avoided his gaze. “And you’re ready now? Or is there another reason? Why less than a year?”
He kissed her cheek, like she’d already accepted. “I’ll draw up a check for half now, the rest after the time is up. This way, even if something happens to me, you can protect yourself. Meet me in the lobby in an hour?”
How did he still know how to pull her strings? She blinked as he stood. She rose. “Is this Mustafa guy still a threat to you?”
He held her hands near her heart. “I think he ultimately killed my parents.” His expression darkened. “It wouldn’t take much for anyone researching me to find my one weakness.”
“Which is?”
“You. It’s always been you.”
Drat. Her lips shouldn’t tingle, and her body shouldn’t tremble. She knew this, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Why marry me now when you wouldn’t marry me then?”
He traced her face and she felt awareness of him growing over her like a cloud. “Because when I was twenty, my father could scare me and make me think not marrying you protected you. That was stupid of me. I can offer you protection, and show you how to protect yourself, with money.”
The former princes were foreign sheiks and lived in the multimillion-dollar section of town—after years of working and living there, she wasn’t intimidated. Two years ago, she’d been devastated, but now she lifted her eyebrow. “Is there a threat against me? I’ve not seen anything at school.”
“I got sloppy. It’s why I was watching you when you walked into the hotel. I needed to make sure you weren’t followed.” He took a deep breath, brushed his hand on her arm leaving a trail of goosebumps, and then leaned his head closer to hers. “Two weeks ago my computer was hacked and some of the emails now mention you’re in danger and besides I don’t inherit most of my father’s estate until I get married.”
He hadn’t mentioned another woman and her heart clung to the omission. She pushed a wayward hair out of her eyes and met his gaze. “And why for six months?”
He gently squeezed her arm and she felt herself bend, wishing for him. “Because I need time for the court to finalize the will, but once that is over we can go our separate ways and you’ll have the money to ensure your safety.” He tugged on a curl at her collarbone. “I know you must hate me.”
No, she didn’t. For the past two years no one noticed her except to complain about something at work. Aaden made her feel alive. She put her lips together in a pout, studying him. Two years had made him look sexier. His forehead pressed to hers was familiar and made her pulse speed up. But she’d never expected to marry for money, even if it was to protect her from some unknown threat. If she said yes, it was because she wanted to let Aaden back in her heart. She took a deep breath and finally answered him. “I’m only saying yes because I need to ensure my mother can retire. I will buy us both condos.”
“So you’ll meet me in an hour in the lobby?” He stepped back, and his eyes seemed bright with electricity. “I’ll have the chapel booked by then.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She should say no and run for the next ferry. However a part of her wanted to know if he’d show up. A huge part of her actually. She must be a fool for agreeing, but she would wait to see what he did next. She’d survived the first time she’d worn a white dress and he hadn’t shown. She’d survive this too.
Aaden Bentley had no right to Sienna. Despite that, he dressed carefully for her in a light gray suit and new clean white shirt, ready for their wedding he’d planned in the hotel chapel three hours from now.
For the ceremony two years ago, Sienna had picked out a darker gray tux, but this was the closest he had and he’d told her the whole truth in the end. He’d hoped before they talked that he’d keep any threats against her a secret, but she had a right to know everything.
This time his parents weren’t here to stop him, and his brother and sister had their own pasts to deal with in case Mustafa Attajanazi came after one of them before they inherited.
Sienna had character and strength that was far above his and it was her confidence in her morals that had always drawn him to her, even today. When they were in high school, she made him sit next to a kid being bullied so no one picked on a boy she hadn’t even known. And now that boy was an up and coming actor, if his pilot for television was bought.
Aaden ignored his own morals which whispered that he should leave her alone and not expect anything from Sienna beyond the contract. He needed to protect her, and that was all he could offer her now. Her simple, no-lipstick smile made him ache to kiss her.
The past two years had made her more of an earthly angel and him more the devil. She’d finished getting her degree at FIU and moved back home with her mother, when most people their age run away from their parents.
Listening to his parents talk about a royal past that was no longer relevant and their different religions when he didn’t even believe in religion at all somehow broke his hope that Sienna might accept him again, even after they died. Their voices came to him so strongly still when he least expected it, but thankfully they were wrong. He found his paisley blue and gray tie and fixed it around his neck. This was the best he could do to recreate their ruined wedding.
Done, he left his room and waited in the lobby with the cashier’s check of five million dollars, every penny he had until his lawyer released the funds, now had Sienna’s name on it.
His entire body stilled. If he lost everything, Sienna deserved to twist the knife in his no-good heart.
Aaden waited in the lobby, standing like a nervous groom. The elevator doors opened, and his heart ne
arly stopped as Sienna walked out in an emerald green dress that went to her knees. The color made her skin glow brighter and show off the natural blush of her cheeks. He strode toward her and took her hand. “You aren’t wearing white.”
She stepped back and smoothed the waist on her dress. “Was I supposed to?”
His lawyer was handling all of the details. All Sienna had to say was yes and his money would be evergreen though in divorce he’d lose the royal title he never used anyhow. Not that he’d tell her that. Instead he walked her toward the shop in the lobby, still holding her hand. “Yes, let’s get you something here, before we go.”
She stopped at the door to the boutique and stared at him like he wasn’t to be trusted. “Do you have the money?”
Greed wasn’t something he associated her with, but then again, he’d hurt Sienna and never looked back. If she’d changed, it was his fault. He took a deep breath, winked at her, and said, “Yes, I have it. I’ll give you the check, when we sign the documents. My lawyer is on his way to meet you.”
She winced and headed toward the dress section and sorted through the selection on the rack. “You really want me to wear white? Last time I bought a wedding dress, it ended badly, and I didn’t want to remind either of us of that.”
Sienna had no idea just how much he hated his parents for the past two years or how empty his entire existence became except for finding and stopping Mustafa, freeing he and his siblings of danger. Even angry, Sienna brought life back into his dreary world. He perused the dresses he knew Sienna would never wear because she never saw her curves as beautiful. “For both of us. This is a new beginning.”
“And saves you.” She lifted a white dress with a less plunging neckline and then returned it when she saw that it would reach the top of her thigh. “How much do you stand to inherit?”
He rested his hand on her shoulder and swept her long, brown hair to the side. If any woman deserved happiness, it was Sienna. She smelled like vanilla and cinnamon which was exactly what she tasted like and she didn’t even cook much. “Ten billion,” he whispered, “plus controlling shares in their oil business. My brother, Jordan, would get ten billion as well, and my sister, Arwa, is set to get two and a half billion.”
She lowered her head. “Ten million isn’t much to you then.”
“It’s all I lived on for two years. I am giving you everything I have right now.” Her head snapped higher, fast.
“But truthfully,” Aaden admitted, “I’d rather my parents were still alive, so I could push their buttons.”
“What do you know happened to them?” She brushed against his shoulder like she’d hug him but changed her mind.
She picked up a slinky fringed sheath that was more for dancing than marriage. He handed her another and their hands brushed against each other.
He kept his voice low. Murder wasn’t something he wanted to discuss in public, but Sienna needed to know everything. “Boating accident, though the police had suspicions that someone tampered with their engine. No one cared about the threats from Mustafa Attajanazi as he wasn’t in the US at the time, but he’d published pictures in a local newspaper in Hoskel that proved he ordered everything.”
Her lips didn’t quite close as she stared at him with soft brown eyes. “That’s horrible. I’m sorry.”
What was horrible was that he hadn’t bothered to see them before they’d died. Their last conversation was how they’d ruined his life—he’d refused to talk to them for their interference. Sienna would never understand. In a cold voice he asked, “Why? They were never nice to you.”
Her eyes expressed her agreement until she ducked her head. Sienna never had a poker face. She slid a hanger to the side and he realized she was grouping possible dresses to the left. “Your mom was shocked when I said no to the money they offered me to walk away from you.”
The opposite of him. They imposed so much guilt on his family honor and name and when that didn’t work, they used his love for Sienna as a reason he needed to leave her alone. Sienna never had anyone suppressing her own desires, but he traced her cheek. Until his parents were killed, he hadn’t wanted to believe they’d been right.
He just needed Sienna to be safe. Once she divorced him, that meant he’d never inherit. He’d be written out of the royal chain and so would Sienna. It was the best plan he had. Her skin was soft and sweet. “You were always stronger than me.”
She made a sound that wordlessly said yes. She looked at the dresses one more time and simply said, “They did offer you more money.”
Was she joking? “If my parents upped their offer, would you have taken the money?”
She shrugged and wouldn’t look at him. “Then, no.” She turned and met his eyes. “Now that I know you’d break my heart…”
She didn’t need to finish that sentence. He’d been stupid enough to leave her. He kissed her forehead. “I always admired you for your strength of character. It’s something I never had.”
She hugged him despite the dress hangers in her hand. “Why do you still lie to yourself about stuff like that? You never once in your life cared what people thought about you. It was why you even noticed me in the first place because I wasn’t exactly popular.”
“But you were sweetest woman I ever met. That doesn’t make me strong.” He eyed her pile of white dresses and put his favorite for her on the top. She went to the changing room and he found a seat near the door.
“When I come out, I want you to list just one of your many good qualities, Aaden.”
For the next few minutes he thought about how best to answer her question. Protecting her was because he let her name be known to the people who killed his parents. This didn’t make it honorable. Leaving her without explanation made him a horrible choice for her too. If he told anyone only truth, even Sienna, he’d never have a friend or even a potential lover because he really had no redeeming qualities unless he counted joking his way out of any situation.
Marrying Sienna today made him want a wedding night that he’d been denied—that they’d each been denied. And every cell in his brain knew he shouldn’t. The divorce would save her, not the marriage.
Sienna came out in a floor-length Greek-style gown of lightweight material, the bare shoulders was perfect for the tropics and made her seem like a goddess. It was the one he’d chosen for her. “Perfect.”
“So keep?” She asked without looking at him. Her cheeks were red.
He nodded, and his skin buzzed with the need to touch her, though he knew he shouldn’t.
She let out a sigh, glanced up to look at him, but then nodded. “Okay. Since this isn’t a long-term wedding or anything, we won’t talk about bad luck—I’ll wear this.”
She went inside and changed. However as she came out in her pretty green dress, he took the white one from her and walked toward the cashier. “We can talk about that kiss you laid on me an hour ago.”
If she was safer leaving him then no more spine-tingling kisses. She tasted too sweet and tempting otherwise.
The saleswoman put the garment in a plastic bag as Sienna laughed out loud. “The one designed for you to tell me the truth?”
“Are you saying you didn’t feel anything?” He handed over his credit card to the saleslady. It would be easier if she didn’t care anymore.
She crossed her arms. “I’m not saying anything.”
Not good. He needed to convince her to leave, not think this was a real marriage for long term. He knew her better than he knew himself in some ways, and if she married him, she’d want forever. How many times had she said she only ever wanted one marriage in her life? He remembered that conversation from the high school lunch table to the time they could drink wine at a Christmas party. He signed for the dress and handed Sienna the bag.
Once they were done, he waved at the man waiting for them in the lobby, in the same seats he’d waited in to see Sienna again. With her on his arm, he felt whole, but once the six months ended, he’d have to force her to leave hi
m again. Heaven, and hell. He guided Sienna toward the seats without explaining his feelings and said, mostly to invoke her defense mechanisms. “Before we reach my lawyer,” he whispered, “I should mention I intend to seduce you during this marriage of ours.”
She slowed her pace and stared at him. “Guess I have something to look forward to tonight.”
He swallowed, unsure what he could do to convince her to stay married but in her own room. Soon, she’d see he meant his casual comment. His lawyer pulled one of the side tables usually used to hold alcoholic drinks in front of him, and now had manila envelopes and his briefcase set up. “I was trying to get you to be wary of my intentions.”
“Aaden, we’ll talk tonight, after the wedding.” He held her seat for her and she took it. Once she sat he joined her, but she said, “And you’ll find I’m not a fool, not anymore when it comes to you.”
Instead of responding, he motioned toward his twenty-something lawyer, who had light brown hair and blue eyes and wore a store-bought suit that was slightly too big. “This is my lawyer, Donovan Johnson.”
She shook his hand and stressed her name. “Mr. Johnson, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Sienna McKenney. Aaden Bentley never had manners.”
Johnson sat back in his seat and opened a manila folder, scanning a stack of papers. He then handed Sienna the wedding contract. “Mr. Bentley said you almost married him two years ago, but his parents interfered. You’re willing to marry him now?”
She glanced at the prenuptial that granted her far more than he’d offered, though that wasn’t on page one. Aaden wanted her to live in luxury and safety even after she left him—and he knew she would. She took the pen that Johnson offered and initialed. “That about sums it up. Aaden left me at the chapel and never showed up to marry me. Guess you can call me a glutton for punishment.”
She wasn’t reading, just signing.
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