by Amber Heart
“Not the sex. I mean, what happened when we went out again,” he said and now, he threw off the covers from his waist and placed his long feet on the carpet.
“What happened? What are you talking about?” I asked, taking a few steps away from him. I hadn’t given my lack of memory much thought till then. I figured that we had gone out for a few more drinks, come back to the hotel and fallen asleep.
Cole took in a deep breath, looked down towards his lap and then looked up at me again. His eyes told me that he was suffering as heavy a hangover as I was. Was he just talking gibberish?
Then he moved his arm, and held up his hand in front of his face. I saw it clearly now. The cheap thin brass band around his ring finger. My brows crossed as I tried to assimilate the information. My hand raised itself instinctively and I stared down. An identical ring was on my finger too, and my mouth fell open.
“What?” I shrieked and I fisted my hand.
“And that,” Cole said, and when I looked up at him again, I saw that he was grinning. He had tipped his head to the side and I looked in that direction, at the full length mirror at the other end of the room.
A marriage certificate was stuck to the mirror, supported by a fridge magnet. A certificate that pronounced Cole Emery and Nina Philips as man and wife. Of all the years of living in Vegas, I had to pick this night to have a shotgun wedding with a stranger!
Chapter 6
Nina
“This is insane. What are we going to do?” I said, staring at the marriage certificate. Cole had already stood up and started to put on his belt. He hadn’t been responding to any of my panicked questions.
“Seriously! This is insane!” I was repeating myself. When I turned to look at him again, his hair was brushed back and in place. Even though his shirt was crumpled, Cole looked impeccably dressed. There was no way of telling that he had just slept in those clothes.
“I know. Crazy, right?” he said and thrust his hands into the pockets of his pants.
“How can you be so calm about this?” I screamed. I still couldn’t recall a single moment of the previous night after we left the hotel. How had I blacked out like that? How could I not remember getting married?
“Because the only way is to move forward. Nothing will come of panicking,” he said with that same grin lingering on his face. A grin I wanted to smack right off. It may not have meant anything to him, but marriage meant a great deal to me. I had everything planned…my dream wedding to my dream man. And even though Cole looked like my dream man, in fact more handsome than any dream man I could have imagined, this was certainly not a marriage.
“Okay, so what are we going to do about it?” I asked him, crossing my arms over my breasts.
Cole extracted his hand, then holding his finger up, he slipped the cheap ring out of it and slid it back into his pocket.
“For starters, I’ll remove the ring to make you feel more comfortable. So that you don’t feel like I’ve trapped you in this thing,” he said casually and I rolled my eyes. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I had felt a dull pang in the pit of my stomach when I saw him taking the ring off. Maybe I didn’t want him to be so quick in dismissing it. I could dismiss it all I like, but what gave him the right to do it?
I thrust my chin up in the air, and looked down my nose at him.
“And then? I’ve never had a drunk wedding before, although you seem to be an expert at it,” I said and pursed my lips. That Cole Emery charm which seduced me into sleeping with him the previous night had returned. Even though I could see that he had a raging hangover, he looked delightfully poised and calm, and handsome of course.
“You’re mistaken, Nina. I’ve never done this before. And your reaction tells me that you’re disappointed by the nature of our wedding,” he said with a smug smile.
“You’re calling me superficial? You! And so what if I want a beautiful wedding? What’s wrong with that? This one is a sham anyway,” I was shrieking now, and I didn’t even want to think about how messy I looked, standing there with my makeup running and my hair a tangled mess.
Cole smiled again and shook his head.
“It’s a sham because we don’t know each other? Or it’s a sham because you didn’t get to invite all your friends and family to shake with envy as you walked down the aisle to silly soppy songs?” Cole’s voice had turned firm and curt, the smile had vanished. My brows crossed because I didn’t get his logic. Why was he suddenly so angry about this?
“It’s a sham because it wasn’t my sober decision,” I said and he laughed at me mockingly.
“You’re the one who suggested it,” he said and I threw my arms out in exasperation.
“I was clearly drunk!” I replied and Cole nodded his head, like he was indulging a naughty child.
“And…yes, as a matter of fact, this isn’t a marriage. We just met last night. I can’t even believe that I have to explain this to you,” I added and covered my face with my hands, the brass ring felt cold against my cheek.
“I’m only trying to understand why this is such a huge problem for you. I wasn’t going to ask you to keep house for me or bear my children. Your reaction told me that you give marriage too much importance,” he said and I dragged my hands away from my face. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The worst kind of conversation to have when hungover and married to a stranger!
“I do as a matter of fact. I believe in marriage as an institution and I think it’s important, and if you get it right, you only need to do it once,” I said, glaring at him. Cole smiled again and nodded.
“Your naive belief in the world is cute,” he said and my mouth fell open. He was being nasty and arrogant for no reason. Marrying a stranger, how was it not as crazy to him as it was to me?
“So, what is it Cole? You want to teach me a lesson in marriage and how meaningless it is?” I hissed at him, through gritted teeth. Cole stared at me, from under his sharp brows, studying my face.
“No. I’ll get my lawyers to take care of it, you can go now if you like,” he said and I saw the way he clenched his jaw, like he wanted to bite into something hard. With my nostrils still flared, and my breasts heaving, I whipped around from him and crossed the floor of the suite.
“Have a good life,” I lashed at him, before I opened the door and walked out, banging it shut behind me. Out in the deserted hallway of the lush hotel, I took a few moments to take some deep breaths before I went on my way.
It was clear that this made no difference to Cole, but to me, this had completely changed my world around. In all the wrong ways.
Chapter 7
Nina
“Cole Emery? The Cole Emery?” my sister, Clara, had her mouth open wide in surprise.
“Shhh….keep it down!” I looked around me suspiciously, as I sipped my glass of Bloody Mary hungrily, hoping that it would magically cure my hangover somehow.
“Nina, do you know who he is?” she continued, dropping her voice to a whisper.
“By the sounds of it, I should?” I said and fixed the large dark sunglasses that covered half my face. I hadn’t wasted any time in calling Clara to meet me for brunch the moment I left the hotel. She worked for a financial firm, made a lot of money, worked crazy hours and never had time for anything. But when I told her over the phone what had happened the previous night, she dropped everything and met me in fifteen minutes. She was the only person in the world who I could be completely honest with and receive no judgments for my actions.
“He is one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the country, Nina,” she said, tipping her head to one side, like she was disappointed that I didn’t know who he was. Her words took a few moments to sink in. Cole Emery was a billionaire?
“What does he do?” I asked her in a meek voice, and I watched as Clara’s cheeks flushed to a bright pink.
“He’s a private wealth manager. Runs his own firm. He made his first million when he was just twenty-five. The man is a genius,” she said and leant towards me o
ver the small table we were sitting at. My eyes widened, I would never have imagined Cole to be that guy. It was obvious that he was rich, but I couldn’t have guessed that he was that rich.
“The hotel you spent the night in, he owns it,” she continued, when I hadn’t said anything for a few moments. When I looked back at Clara, I saw that she was glaring at me. Eventually, I shrugged my shoulders.
“That doesn’t change anything. I still don’t know him. We got drunk and got married. It doesn’t matter who he is or how much money he has,” I said, and drank some more of my drink. Clara sighed loudly and sank back in her chair, glaring at me rapidly the whole time.
“It’s just crazy, that’s all I’m saying,” she said.
“I know!” I replied and slammed the glass back down on the table.
“Cole Emery…he just never appeared to be the kind of man who would make such a rash bad decision. He heavily calculates every step. He only makes right decisions,” Clara said, shaking her head.
“Right business decisions maybe,” I replied and Clara continued shaking her head.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” she continued, looking away from me now. She seemed to be more in shock than I was.
“What are you saying, Clara? That he married me last night because he had a reason to? We were drunk out of our minds. So drunk that I can’t even remember it happening,” I hissed at her. I wanted her to give me a solution. I needed her to be on my side, rather than drool over Cole. She snapped her head back to look at me and licked her lips nervously.
“Yeah, you’re right…he was just drunk,” she said and I glared at her with my brows crossed.
“What else could it be?” I asked her and Clara bit down on her lip.
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine that you have something he wants,” she said and I sat back in my chair and looked away from her. She must have caught the distant faraway look in my eyes, because she suddenly reached over and caught my hand in hers.
“It’ll be fine, Nina. It was just a drunken mistake. In a few years, you won’t even remember it,” she said and I realized that hot tears had begun to prick the back of my eyelids.
“My wedding was supposed to be special. It was supposed to mean something, Clara. I was holding on to the hope of that for so long…and now this happened, and it just feels like there is no hope for me, for the real thing,” I said, and sniffed. Clara tightened her grip on my hand and shook her head.
“This means nothing. You’ll be laughing about it. If he said he’ll take care of it, I’m sure he will. You don’t even have to see him again,” she said warmly and smiled. I forced myself to smile as well and then nodded my head.
“I hope so. I’m so embarrassed and angry. Especially by all the things he said in the morning. It felt like he was making fun of me for being upset about this. I wonder how many times he’s done this before,” I added.
“He said he hasn’t done it before. And even if he has, just forget about him and lets move on,” Clara offered and I sighed.
“That’s the thing…I can’t just forget about him. Even when I knew it was just supposed to be a one night stand, I had a feeling that he was leaving an impression on me. There’s something about him…” I said and allowed my voice to trail and fade away. Clara was looking at me like she pitied me.
“I know what you mean. Cole Emery has the reputation of being a heartbreaker. He is the perfect combination of power, brains and good looks. I’ve never met him, but I can imagine being totally floored by him if I did. And he clearly seduced you, so I don’t blame you,” she said in a sympathetic voice. I felt a sudden bubbling sadness inside me, the kind that I knew I wouldn’t be able to push down. I should have simply walked away from him when I could, and now my life was tangled up with his.
Chapter 8
Nina
The next day
I had no idea what I was doing there. I should have been in my own apartment, behind closed doors, practicing my set for that night’s engagement party. But I had barely been able to sleep. The conversation with Clara the previous day, only seemed to have made matters worse. Now I couldn’t stop thinking about Cole, about why he had chosen me to spend the night with, why he had made such a rash decision when he was known for all his good ones. And most importantly, I was curious to know what my husband was like in his world.
My husband! I was a fool for even thinking of that word in my head. Who was I kidding? I didn’t even want to be married to him. But there was something inexplicably attractive about Cole that I couldn’t shake off. And my curiosity had got the better of me.
So, I was standing there, in the lobby of his office building, silently facing the receptionist’s desk as she typed away at her computer. I only wanted a peek inside his world, and I was hoping that I wouldn’t bump into him. The building was lavish, sleek, designed to minimal tastes, quiet and reeked of wealth and success.
Outside in the parking lot, only the fanciest cars were parked, a beautiful driveway greeted me and a manicured lawn was being tended to by a smiling gardener. A calming koi pond was stationed in the waiting area, and now I stared at it, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. What was I doing here? Why was I spying on Cole’s life? He had said he would take care of everything. I had no need to see him again. But somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to completely forget about the man I had married, even if it was only for one night.
“Can I help you with something?” I heard the receptionist’s voice, which snapped me out of my thoughts and I forced a smile on my face.
“Yes…y yes,” I was fumbling with my words as I walked towards her. I could see that she was looking me up and down, trying to figure out who I was. I doubted that someone, as casually dressed as me, ever walked into this building.
“I was wondering if Mr Emery is in?” I asked, completely surprising myself. This wasn’t the plan! The plan was to quietly survey the territory and disappear. I was here to only quench my curiosity. What was I even going to say to Cole? I would die if he thought that I was spying on him.
“Do you have an appointment with him?” the receptionist asked, and suddenly I felt relieved. The problem had solved itself. I smiled at her more genuinely now.
“No, I don’t. I’ll come back with an appointment. Thank you,” I said and turned to walk away from her.
“Excuse me, may I have your name for my records please?” I heard her say and I half turned to look at her.
“No. I mean, I’ll just call you later for an appointment and give you my name then,” I wasn’t speaking clearly. I was just desperate to leave at that point without making a scene.
“Nina?” I heard his voice, loud and clear. While I had turned in that moment to speak to the receptionist, Cole had walked in through the glass sliding doors of the lobby.
“Cole!” I said, in a much louder voice than was appropriate.
“Sir. She doesn’t have an appointment,” the receptionist came running towards us, sounding nervous. That made it obvious to me that Cole ran a very tight ship around here. He held up a hand to her, with his brows crossed and his gray eyes focused on me.
“It’s fine, Maria. Thank you,” he said gruffly.
I had stopped in my tracks, just a few feet from him, clutching my hands together in desperation. I knew my cheeks were flushed, I was growing hot under the collar of my plaid shirt. Cole was looking me up and down, trying to figure out what I was doing there.
He was in a sharp steely gray suit to match his eyes, and a dark navy shirt underneath with the collar left casually open, so that I could peek in and be reminded of his rock solid chest from the other night. Just the sight of him, how the stubble on his chin was still there, how his dark wavy hair was lazily brushed back, how tall he was…his presence just struck me and I felt like my feet had turned to jelly. I couldn’t move or say a word. This was the man I was married to. I couldn’t stop thinking that in my head, no matter how silly it was.
“I didn’t expect you to take you
r wifely duties so seriously. Have you come to lunch with me?” he asked, with a sudden absolutely unexpected smile breaking out on his face. His eyes were still narrowed and focused on me, and I could feel my cheeks burning. I shook my head.
“Of course not,” I said stupidly.
“I just wanted to find out if you’ve made any progress on the annulment,” I added and Cole squared his shoulders. The smile dropped from his face as suddenly as it had appeared.
“Lets talk in my office,” he said and walked past me. I had no other choice but to follow his lead.
“And Maria, going forward, Ms Philips doesn’t need an appointment to see me if I’m in my office,” he said to the receptionist as he walked past her.
My heart was beating out of my chest. Why did I deserve this special treatment? And also, I had not expected him to remember my last name.
Chapter 9
Nina
“Have a seat, Nina,” Cole closed the door shut behind him, as I walked into his office and looked about me curiously. It was an impeccably decorated space, with no clutter or even a speck of dust anywhere. A large oak office desk was aligned to an eggshell white wall and Cole walked towards it now.
I had my hands clasped together, my lips pursed, and was feeling completely out of place. We hadn’t spoken much yet, and I was certain that he knew I was here out of curiosity.
“I wanted to save you the trouble of trying to locate me, and thought I could leave my contact details with your receptionist,” I said in a meek voice. Cole had walked around his desk and sat down on a plush swivel chair. I was standing in front of the chair he had offered me, feeling too uncomfortable to sit down.
“My lawyers can find anyone. I’m sure there would have been no trouble in locating you,” he said in his calm smooth voice. Even though he was in the most luxurious formal clothes, Cole exuded charm and sexiness. I couldn’t stop thinking about the night we had spent together, although it seemed to be the last thing on his mind.
