"How?" Natalie asked. She glanced over at Cam, waiting for her to agree with her confusion, but Cam had stopped pacing and crossed her arms over her chest. She tilted her head to the side, her blue eyes focused on the window Drew was pulling the curtains back on to let the sunlight stream through. "Cam?"
"Look, what Drew is saying actually makes sense," Cam pointed out. "Think about it: Chris needs you more than you need him, sure. But that doesn't mean you can't use Chris to your advantage. Think about going to mediation with your new husband, professional hockey player and Stanley Cup Champion. Think about the way Bruce's mouth would fall to the floor. He might want you back."
"Yeah, but I don't want him back," Natalie pointed out.
"Even better," Drew chimed in. The sunlight streamed through the windows, lighting up the area adjacent to it. The warmth tickled Natalie's toes. "Use Chris to show Bruce that your life is better without him. That you don't need Bruce and you never did. That you're so desirable, a hockey player married you the night he met you."
"He was completely wasted," Natalie pointed out.
"Hey," Cam snapped, pointing a finger at Natalie. "No need to be snippy, okay? This might be good for you."
"Okay, but I don't understand how it could be good for me," Natalie said. She shifted her weight and tilted her head, trying to stretch out her neck. She was ready to crawl into bed again, but they had a pool party to attend in an hour or so.
"Because it would make you feel like you deserve something like this," Cam said softly. "It would make you realize that not every guy is like Bruce."
"I know that."
"You could ask for a big payment from Chris," Drew pointed out, "and use it as a down payment for a house for yourself. You could also ask for an all-inclusive trip to Maui. I know you've been saving up for that."
"I don't know," Natalie said, her voice trailing off.
"Well, it's not like you need to make your decision now, you know?" Drew walked over to Natalie and grabbed her hand before tugging her up to a standing position. "Let's go to the pool party and you can meet up with him later, just like you guys planned."
"That sounds reasonable." Natalie glanced at the ring on her finger and gently bit her bottom lip.
"If you want to take it off, we can put it in the safe," Cam said. "I have no idea how he managed to buy a ring like that for you but this is Vegas and nobody sleeps. I bet it's worth at least twenty thousand."
"No, that's all right." Natalie dropped her hand to her thigh. "I'll leave it on - just so I don't lose it."
- - -
By the time four o'clock rolled around, Natalie had received a text from Bruce, asking her to confirm the time of mediation and a text from Chris, asking if they were still on tonight. Natalie was tempted not to respond to either of them, but Chris deserved to know her answer. The problem was, Natalie didn't even know the answer. The money sounded tempting, and she couldn't help but be intrigued at the possibility that Chris could make Bruce jealous since Bruce had never been the jealous type before.
However, the minute she saw him in the lobby of the hotel, wearing a pressed collar shirt and tan slacks, his big, powerful body tucked tightly away in a suit that was just the right amount of snug, her heart skipped a beat. His hair was tied up into a small bun and he looked like Thor. It made sense why Pratt called him Thor the whole night. When his crisp, blue eyes locked onto her, he stood and Natalie felt pink invade her cheeks and she had to look away. Watching him was too much to take.
This is my husband, she reminded herself. I am married to that.
When she reached where he was, they stared awkwardly at one another, their bodies facing each other while simultaneously positioned at sharp angles held together by tension and uncertainty. Chris dropped his arms and reached out to her. Natalie stepped forward and they embraced. The first thing she realized upon hugging him was how tight his body was and how warm he, himself, was. She allowed herself to close her eyes, to feel embedded in such powerful warmth, knowing this man - this stranger - would protect her from anything that might come her away. She inhaled his scent, something fresh and clean, and exhaled silently.
"Good to see you," he said. "Would you like to sit?"
Natalie nodded her head and took a seat in the leather arm chair behind her. They were currently in the lobby of the hotel, a small, brown table between them with a local magazine with a picture of Holly Madison winking on top of it. Natalie slid down in the seat and crossed her legs, rolling her shoulders back so her back was straight. She almost decided to wear the dress she had worn earlier in the day but felt like she wanted to be casual, so she chose skinny jeans and a nice top instead. Now, looking at Chris in a pressed suit, she wished she had sprung for something more formal.
"We can order drinks here, if you want," Chris put his hand up, hoping to flag down a waiter from the nearby bar. Soft music tinkled in the background.
"As long as there isn't any alcohol in mine," Natalie teased. "I think after last night I had enough for a lifetime."
Chris smiled, giving her a friendly look, as a petite brunette dressed in black and white came over.
"Hello, Mr. Worthington," she said. "Are you finally ready to order?"
At that moment, Natalie's gaze dropped to Chris's hand. There, on his ring finger, was his wedding ring. Had he worn it all day or did he put it on just for tonight? Did it even matter? She started fiddling with her own.
"And Ms....?" The waitress tilted her head to the side.
"Oh, uh." Natalie cleared her throat and glanced over at Chris. There was an undecipherable look on his chiseled face. She wasn't quite sure how to read it. "Mrs., actually. I am Mrs. Worthington."
"Oh." The waitress's eyes widened and she shifted her weight. "Please forgive me. Mrs. Worthington, may I get you a drink?"
"Do you have strawberry lemonade?" she asked. "I'll take one of those."
"My pleasure." The waitress looked between the two. "Did you want me to bring you any menus? We have a list of specials you might enjoy if you're staying for dinner."
Chris smiled but his focus was on Natalie. "That would be great," he said. After the waitress walked away, He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. "I take it that means you'll agree to stay married to me?"
Natalie felt her heart slow down. She rubbed her hands together, hoping to rid them of the clamminess. She had practiced what she was going to say in the shower after the pool party; there was no reason for her to get nervous. Now, though, it was as though her voice had disappeared.
"Actually," she said. "Yes, but only if you agree to certain stipulations."
Chris spread his hands out. "I'm all ears," he said., and leaned back in his chair, now much more relaxed knowing she was agreeing to this sham of a marriage.
"I want what you offered - fifty grand per month that we stay married," she said. "I don't want you cheating on me during the marriage and I won't cheat on you. If you want this to work, we need to make this work. We need it to be believable. I also need you to come to mediation with me as my new husband."
"Mediation?" His face scrunched up.
Natalie rubbed her hands on her thighs. "I don't want to get into it but I just got out of a long-term relationship," she explained. "He wants to go to court to decide on division of assets and he wants to talk about spousal support even though we were never married and he cheated on me and -" She cut herself off. "Anyway, that's beside the point."
Chris thought about it for a minute. "I can do that," he said.
"Good."
"Anything else?"
At that moment, the waitress came with their drinks. Once she set them down and left, Natalie picked up her drink and brought it to her lips, buying time by taking a long sip.
"Yes," she said when she finished. "No feelings. This is a simple business transaction."
He smirked. "Agreed."
Chapter 11
Feelings?
Did she just say feelings?
C
hris suppressed a smile as he nodded his head. Feelings. There would be no feelings. Why would there be feelings? Natalie said it perfectly already: this was a business transaction and that was all it was ever going to be. Anything else would be overreacting.
"I'll have my agent get someone to draw up a contract, if that would make you feel better," Chris said before he took a sip of his drink.
"It would," she replied, playing with the condensation in her glass.
"Great." He leaned back in his chair. In all honesty, Chris thought he was going to have more of an issue with Natalie. He already had a huge speech about all the perks of being married to him and what he was prepared to offer her in compensation. "We can discuss everything once we're home, if that's all right with you."
"That's fine." She curled a strand of hair behind her ear. "I have plans tonight later on. May I ask you a favor?"
Chris blinked. He wasn't sure if he was more concerned about what her plans were or that she already needed a favor from him. He nodded slowly. "How can I help?" he asked.
"I just want to come up with a story that has you... well, that we didn't get so drunk and decide to get hitched," Natalie said. "You were emotional. I was emotional. We made an emotional decision about getting married. What I need is I need that whole part about being spontaneous and, quite frankly, pretty fucking stupid, to be kept a secret, at least, from everyone I know. I just want to make sure that was fair, if that's okay with you."
Chris looked down at the amber liquid in his glass. From his peripheral, he took in Natalie's body language, her knees resting on her thighs, the way her hands dipped between her legs. She was nervous - not when speaking to him but about how this marriage would affect her regular life. He hadn't thought about it. He slowly placed his ankle on his knee and leaned further back as he crossed his own legs. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he would have to introduce her parents, to Isa. The guys on the team might be familiar with the fact that this whole thing was a sham, but what about Cherney? What about the people he respected? Hell, he just lied to Seraphina Hanson about the whole thing.
"I just want it to seem like..." She shook her head and glanced away. "Never mind. It's silly."
"No, tell me," Chris said. He set his glass down and rested his arms limply on the arms of the chair. "I want to know."
"I just got out of a ten-year relationship where the guy was cheating on me," Natalie said. As Chris listened, he could detect a slight tremor in her voice. It took a lot of courage for her to admit this to him and he respected that. "I walked in on something no person should ever have to walk in on, happening in my own bed. Where I sleep. I just want to have a story where, I don't know, maybe I feel as though I'm desirable. Like I was worth getting married after a day."
"So let's keep the story as-is, then."
A couple walked behind Natalie, holding hands. The subtle scent of cigarettes was masked by vanilla and alcohol. The waitress walked by to assist with the table next to theirs. However, all Chris could see was Natalie. From her hunched shoulders to the hair that kept falling into her face and the way she would nibble her bottom lip, she was vulnerable. Asking such a question only enhanced it. And more than anything, Chris had this sudden urge to wrap her up in his arms and protect her from everything she seemed so afraid of.
"What do you mean?" Natalie asked, picking her head up so she could look at him. More brown hair fell in her face. This time, Chris reached across the small table between them and coiled it back himself. He let his fingers linger on the side of her neck and was surprised with how soft her skin was.
"What do you think actually happened, Nat?" he asked. "We got drunk, sure, but I've been to Vegas for years because the NHL Awards are here. I've gotten drunk more times than I've been to Vegas. I can guarantee you that I've never married anyone before. That says something about you."
"What does it say?" She seemed more confused than flattered.
He grinned. "It says you must be desirable," he pointed out. "I must have wanted to spend the rest of my life with you at some point that night, to the point where I literally married you. I don't know about you, but that's a big deal." He pulled his hand back and rested it in his lap.
Natalie nodded her head. "Great," she said. "So, we have a deal then? We'll take the rest of the vacation to ourselves, and once we're back in Orange County, we'll meet up and figure out the living situation?"
"Oh, sure." Chris brought his glass back to his lips and closed his eyes, enjoying the way the amber liquid burned his throat as it went into his body. "But you'll be living with me. That's one thing that's nonnegotiable."
- - -
Despite the fact that they were supposed to take the rest of their time here for themselves, Chris kept running into Natalie the rest of his trip. He might have assumed she was stalking him if, on the majority of cases, she weren't already present. If anything, he was stalking her. Concerts, shows, even walking down the boardwalk. And each time he saw her, it was like a shot to the heart. Like he had already forgotten what she looked like and upon seeing her again, realized just how fucking beautiful she really was.
By the fourth time it happened, they were at a pool party where mainstream music was pumping, drinks were pouring, and people were dancing in the pool, on the chairs, anywhere they could. Each time he saw her, he would go over and say hello, wrap her up in his arms, whisper hello. He told himself he did this as a way to really play up the fact that they were married because it might look silly for a husband and wife -especially ones so recently married -to avoid seeing each other completely. However, part of him - a small part he didn't even realize he had - would glance around at other guys, his eyes looking for anybody who had been recently checking her out and glaring.
Glaring.
Chris was not the sort of person to get jealous, especially over a fake bride. But he could not deny that, regardless of what Natalie thought of herself, she was beautiful. Any guy would be lucky to have her, lucky to have her wear his ring on her finger. He watched guys check her out each time he saw her, but she seemed completely oblivious. He never saw her engage with them when they went over and tried to talk to her, but he would step in and wrap his arm around her waist.
"You know you don't have to do that, right?" She looked up at him with big, brown eyes.
"What do you mean?" Chris ripped his gaze away from her so he could watch some asshole leave, all the while letting everyone else know that Natalie was already claimed.
"I'm here with my friends celebrating someone else's upcoming wedding," Natalie pointed out. "I'm sure when I'm not around, girls go up to you and fondle you and want to take pictures with you. You can trust me. I'm not going to do anything that would make you out to be a fool for being my husband."
"I know," Chris said, but he could feel the tension leaving his body as she told him.
She gave him a look. "Okay," she said. She smiled up at him and his heart skipped. "I'm fine. You have friends waiting for you. I appreciate the fact that you're playing up the fact that we're married, but go have fun with your friends and I'll have fun with mine and -"
"Why can't we just party together?" Chris asked. He pressed his hands in the small of her waist, liking the way she fit in his arms. She was wearing a retro bathing suit that looked like it came straight out of the fifties. It wasn't one of the more revealing bathing suits at this pool party, and yet, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. There were women here with their bathing suits painted on their body, and yet, they did nothing for him. There was nothing attractive about anyone else, at least, in comparison to Natalie.
"I don't want to be rude," Natalie said. "This is a girl weekend."
"It's fine," Celeste said. Chris hadn't realized her group of friends were so close to them. Had he really been so involved in the conversation he was having with Natalie that he didn't realize they had an audience. "I'm sure we would all love to party with Stanley Cup Champions. Gary is going to be so fucking jealous, let me tel
l you. He's a hue Gulls' fan."
Chris looked back down at Natalie and gave her a grin. "Is that okay with you?" he asked. "I don't want to intrude."
Natalie tilted her head to the side before dropping her hands from behind his neck and resting them on his forearms. The feel of them on his skin made him shiver. He wondered what it might feel like to have those hands on other places of his body.
"Why?" she asked. It was difficult to hear her with the loud music, but he saw her lips. He used her whisper as an excuse to lean closer to her so that delectable mouth was centimeters from his own.
"Why, what?" he whispered back.
She seemed captivated, freezing under his touch. He smirked inside, making sure there was no amusement that could easily be discerned on his face. The last thing he wanted was for her to think thois was some kind of joke, when the truth was, she would be doing him a favor rather than the other way around. He wanted to party with her. He wanted to be around her more. Not the other way around.
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