Cinderella and the tycoo.., p.5
Cinderella and the Tycoon Next Door, page 5
‘But where would I find this...this fake husband?’
‘Let me think,’ Connor said. ‘Your guy would have to be good-looking and a good actor. So why not an actual actor?’
‘That’s a thought,’ she said slowly. ‘Not that I know any actors.’
‘Actors have agents,’ he said.
Her eyes narrowed. ‘But could you go through an agent with such an unconventional role? I doubt they’d let me through the door. It would also mean another person I’d have to let in on the secret.’
‘Good point. The fewer people who know about the hire-a-husband contract, the better.’
‘Understood,’ she said.
‘Were there any actors on the dating apps?’ Connor asked.
‘You mean the genuine kind, as opposed to the ones who were pretending to be someone they weren’t?’ she said. ‘I thought I recognised two. I wondered at the time why they would put themselves out there on an app.’
‘Genuinely looking for connection, I suggest. Finding a compatible partner isn’t easy for anyone. I reckon some celebrities could have problems being appreciated for their genuine selves.’ He knew now to be concerned that someone—a person like Brandi—could be with him for his wealth. It had been kick-in-the-gut hurtful to find out the truth about the woman he’d been infatuated with.
Ana’s finely winged eyebrows rose in alarm. ‘That might be so. But I can’t have a celebrity. The fake husband couldn’t be someone well-known. That would totally attract the wrong kind of attention to the wedding.’
He nodded. ‘A struggling, unknown actor might be the best candidate.’
She sighed. ‘It’s a good idea. But I’d have to be so, so careful. How on earth could I put that kind of trust in a stranger? They could break the contract and go to press with the truth of a fake marriage. The repercussions of being exposed don’t bear thinking about.’
‘True. There’s a lot at stake.’
‘Not just for me, but for my sisters.’
He thought about it but came to a dead-end every time. ‘What about someone you actually know?’
She paused. ‘There is someone. Maybe. One of my grandmother’s matchmaking efforts. He’s gorgeous, fun and hiding the fact he’s gay from his family. I liked him a lot and we’ve agreed to stay in touch. He’s establishing his own business, so might welcome the money.’
‘Could be worth considering.’
It was strange but all this talk of Ana getting married was stirring up some unfamiliar emotions—the most insistent one being jealousy. One day, each of them would most likely get married. Even him, although that seemed the remotest of remote possibilities right now. It would be lucky if they each married someone who tolerated their spouse having a straight best friend of the opposite sex. Brandi had hated him having contact with Ana. Ana had only had a few serious boyfriends. They hadn’t exactly encouraged her to spend time with Connor. One of them had been outright hostile. But he couldn’t be jealous of a hire-a-husband. He couldn’t be jealous of anyone. Ana was just a friend. That didn’t stop him from wanting to protect her, though, as he always had.
‘Wait, now that I think of it, that won’t work,’ said Ana. ‘My new friend has a partner. He wants to get married as soon as they can, once he comes clean to his family about his sexuality. They wouldn’t welcome not being able to marry for more than a year because he was legally tied to me.’
‘Shame. Count him out, then,’ Connor said. ‘But you’ve only just started thinking about this alternative marriage possibility. There must be other possibilities—an anonymous advertisement on the Internet could be an idea.’
Ana vehemently shook her head. ‘I can tell you right now, I wouldn’t do that. Way too risky.’
‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘Of course you are.’
‘I’ll ask Kartika if she has any thoughts,’ Ana said.
Kartika was Ana’s best female friend and a really nice person. Ana had met her at university. Kartika was Indonesian and now lived back in Jakarta, working in her wealthy family’s business. She was also Ana’s partner in their online jewellery store and was as keen as Ana was to expand it.
‘Is that wise?’ he said. ‘Bringing another person into your confidence?’
‘I trust Kartika implicitly. If I went ahead with this crazy scheme, only you and she would know anything about it.’
‘If you say so.’ Connor drained the last of his beer. ‘We’ve got a ticking clock against us. We really need to put our thinking caps on, as my grandmother used to say. I’ll go get us more drinks and then we can get a recruitment plan into action.’
Ana sighed. ‘Or we can forget all about what is a completely off-the-wall idea.’
‘That too,’ he said. He still felt uneasy at the thought of Ana actually marrying a stranger. What if he became abusive? Tried to scam her? Or what if she chose someone so compatible it actually became a real marriage? He wasn’t at all sure that was a good idea.
There was a queue at the bar. When Connor eventually got back to the table, it was to find Ana scrolling through her phone. She looked up, eyes alight.
‘What you propose is called a “marriage of convenience”. It’s more common than you might think, when oddly worded wills that specify marriage are in play.’ She smiled. ‘And apparently popular in romance novels.’
‘Really? I’m more than a bit miffed to find it wasn’t a brilliant original idea of mine,’ he said lightly.
As he pushed Ana’s glass of wine towards her, Connor was surprised to see how animated she was—excited, it seemed, about a possible marriage of convenience.
‘So you think my idea is a feasible one?’ he said, more than a little chuffed that she should think so. And more than a little concerned about the possibility of her marrying a stranger.
‘The more I think about it, the more I think it could be an excellent solution to an impossible problem.’ She took a sip from her wine and looked across at him, head tilted to one side, very serious. ‘I’ve even thought of the perfect man to be my pretend husband. He fits every criterion we discussed. He is absolutely the one. There could be no other choice.’
‘And who might that be?’ Connor asked.
Ana put down her glass and moved closer to him across the table. ‘You.’
CHAPTER FOUR
ANA WATCHED IN alarm as Connor nearly choked on his beer, spluttering and gasping for air. She slid round in the booth so she could pat him vigorously on his back. Finally, he got his breath back.
‘Me? Are you serious?’ he choked out.
‘Very serious,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why I didn’t think of it straight away. You would be perfect as my pretend husband.’
‘Perfect? Me?’ His green eyes glazed with disbelief. ‘What makes you say that?’
Ana wasn’t sure whether to be offended or amused that Connor appeared so shocked at her proposal. Proposal. There was a proposal in a business context, or a proposal in the context of asking someone to marry you. This was, she supposed, neither one nor the other.
‘The fake marriage was your idea. You’d be able to carry it through better than anyone. When I thought about it, I realised you so perfectly fit all the criteria we discussed.’
Her friend shook his head, obviously bewildered. ‘You know I’m usually not lost for words, but I... I don’t know what to say.’
Ana could see he wasn’t just shocked. Connor was obviously appalled and horrified. She was mortified. His reaction shot her right back to the time she’d so foolishly suggested they lose their virginities together. She’d gone too far. Taken too much for granted. Totally ruined their reunion after six months apart. She shuffled back from where she sat next to him to her place opposite in the booth. She wished she could shuffle right out of the pub.
Her cheeks burned with humiliation. She could hardly bear to look at him. Frantically, she tried to back-pedal. ‘Of course it’s a terrible idea. I’m sorry. Forget I mentioned it. Silly of me.’ She attempted a carefree laugh, but it came out as a strangled, hysterical squeak. She looked down at her watch and faked surprise at seeing the time. ‘Anyway, I think I need to go.’ She went to get up. How could she ever live down this fiasco?
‘No. Stay.’ Connor reached over the table to put his hand on her arm to stop her. ‘I was surprised, that’s all. You know I’m not the marrying kind. Just a mention of the word gives me shivers of aversion. And I don’t like lies or dishonesty. We talked about acting skills, but really it would be lying and deception on a grand scale that would be required.’
‘I should have known better than to even suggest it.’ Ana squeezed shut her eyes, wishing that when she opened them she could be anywhere but here. When she did open them, it was to see Connor, no longer horrified but concerned. Compassion and understanding warmed his eyes. He knew her so well.
‘Quite rightly, you felt you could ask me,’ he said. ‘We’re friends. We help each other out. I’ve always looked out for you. You need help now. It’s just—’
‘I know,’ she said, wanting to extricate herself from the confines of the booth, feeling edgy with embarrassment.
‘No, you don’t know. You’re jumping to conclusions. You shocked me. Now I’ve got over my shock, I want to hear what you have to say. Run me through those criteria again.’
‘You’ll just laugh,’ she said, knowing she sounded a little sulky, unable to help it.
‘I won’t. Well, I might laugh at the ridiculousness of me being anyone’s husband, even a pretend one. But I wouldn’t be laughing at you. Never would I laugh at you.’
There was an edge to his voice that made Ana put her embarrassment aside and focus on Connor. He’d just gone through a bitter break-up. She knew he feared he could never be faithful to a woman. That was why marriage—a real marriage—was something he didn’t think he could succeed at. He’d grown up being told he was just like his handsome but unfaithful father in terms of looks, brains and personality. Then the image of his father had been shattered and so, in some way, had his image of himself. She hadn’t realised it went quite so deep.
‘You know that’s not true,’ she said. ‘When you find the right person, you’ll be a wonderful husband. You’re a more honourable and loyal person than your father in every way. I really believe that.’
Connor’s mouth twisted wryly. ‘You know I’d like to believe you, but I’m not so sure I’ll ever want to marry for real. So tell me why I’d make a good fake husband.’
‘Are you sure you want to hear me out?’
‘Absolutely sure. I’m not saying I’ll say yes. I just want to hear your rationale for my fitness for the role.’
‘I don’t expect you to say yes. Well, obviously I was hoping you might say yes, or I wouldn’t have suggested it. But in light of your spontaneous adverse reaction, I’ve completely revised that expectation. Weighing up the probability, I—’
‘I love it when you talk like an accountant.’
He was smiling at her, that gorgeous Connor smile that she had never been able to resist. She couldn’t resist it this time either. She smiled back. Then they were laughing together, as they had done so many times before. This was Connor. Her best friend. She had completely overreacted. The husband-hunting thing had her on edge.
‘The criteria?’ he prompted. ‘And please don’t ask me again if I’m sure.’
‘Okay,’ she said, relaxing back into the booth, happy they’d got over the awkwardness. She couldn’t bear it when things weren’t good with them. Those months when they hadn’t spoken had left their mark. She had missed him every day. ‘First, a marriage between us would be believable. We’ve known each other most of our lives. That woman earlier this evening wasn’t the first one to take us for a couple.’
‘There have been others, yes. And we’ve each helped the other out when in need of a date. We would be believable.’
‘We know each other so well, we wouldn’t trip ourselves up with details of our lives that would make people suspicious we weren’t for real.’
‘True.’
‘There are other reasons you’d be ideal. You’re not in a relationship, you’re in no hurry to actually get married and you’re so ridiculously rich you wouldn’t try to blackmail me to cash in on the inheritance.’
‘Correct on all counts,’ he said. ‘But I—’
Ana put up her hand in a halt signal. ‘Can we save the objections to the end? You know how difficult this is for me. Let’s face it, employing a fake husband is tantamount to admitting I can’t find a real one.’
‘Ana, that’s not true. You’re everything a guy would want in a wife—beautiful, kind, smart.’
Just what her grandma had said. What about sexy, exciting, adventurous? But Ana knew, up until now, she had trod the safe path. That was her family’s influence. They were obsessed with security. She owed them so much. As a good daughter and granddaughter, she’d gone along with what they wanted for her—a degree in finance with a sure job at the end of it. A secure role in a big accountancy firm, where she felt both bored and trapped. The inheritance opened new horizons for her. The freedom to follow her creative impulses. Her own business. Security of a very different kind. And the chance to change.
‘Thank you,’ she said.
‘I meant if a guy was ready to marry. Not like me. You know why I don’t have marriage on my radar.’
Ana knew Connor feared his capacity for fidelity because of his father’s multiple betrayals. It was why he got out of relationships when talk of commitment came calling. She hoped his experience with dollar-signs-in-her-eyes Brandi wouldn’t embitter him.
‘I don’t want to get married either,’ she said. ‘I want to fly, Connor, without having to take into consideration someone else’s needs. I don’t want to be tethered any longer by other people’s expectations of me. I’ve loved studying part-time for my jewellery-design qualifications. It’s not just a hobby for me. I want it to be my career. You know that. I want to invest my time and my money in my business with Kartika. I need to be free of obligations so I can travel to where we source the materials and have the jewellery made on a more commercial scale. We need to do marketing and publicity too. The inheritance will give me all that. I can’t be tied down by a marriage. Not a real one. Or a fake one with someone I don’t trust.’
‘Trust has to come into it on both sides,’ he said slowly.
‘I know I can trust you above anyone else. I know you would play the role convincingly and with sincerity. With you as my fake husband, I know there would be no leaks to the press and no blackmail attempts down the track. I can trust your integrity.’
‘You can always trust me. That goes without saying. I know I can trust you. We’ve kept each other’s secrets since we were kids. But this is really serious, Ana. I believe the fake marriage idea is a good one, considering your circumstances. But you and I have so much history, and so much to lose if it didn’t work out.’
Connor leaned closer across the table and took both her hands in his. They rarely touched, so Ana could tell how seriously he took her proposal.
‘You’re going to say no?’ she said. She swallowed hard against a lump of disappointment that threatened to choke her.
He looked directly into her face in that way he had. ‘I’m going to say I want to think about this. You know I’m always on your side. But something about this “marriage of convenience” proposal scares me. And that’s apart from the prospect of lying to our families and friends.’
She frowned. ‘Scares you?’
‘You know how much I value your friendship. What if we went through with this and it didn’t work out? It would be a really big thing to go into, and an equally big thing to come out of. I don’t want to risk losing you. You know what I say: girlfriends come and go, but Ana is for ever.’
Ana wondered if he would again say he thought of her as a sister. Because ever since that kiss they’d shared, she’d never thought of him as a brother.
‘We’d be aware of that,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t want to risk losing my friendship with you either. I value it so much.’ She tightened her grip on his hands. ‘Don’t think I would ask this of you if I had any other choice.’
‘I’m aware of that,’ he said.
‘We’re both intelligent people; I think we could make it work. Please, Connor, help me out. This was your idea, after all. I can’t even contemplate a fake marriage with a stranger. It’s too risky and I fear it could backfire on me. Yet I have to marry within six months. It would be so unfair if my sisters missed out on their inheritance because I couldn’t find a man. Unfair on me too, because Garrison Downs and the wealth it generates is as much my birth right as it is theirs.’
‘Understood,’ he said.
‘I also want to claim that birth right for my mother, who brought me up pretty much as a single mum. She put her own life on hold for way too long. And for my grandparents, who spent so much time and love on me and were civil about Holt—a man they loathed—for my sake.’
‘You make a compelling argument for me to consider,’ he said.
Ana realised it was so compelling that, by trying to talk him into the plan, she’d talked herself into it one hundred percent. Now she believed there could be no other way to meet the requirement of the will than to go through with a fake marriage to Connor. Panic gripped her at the thought of him refusing to step up.
But there was one big problem that suddenly blazed into her consciousness. Something she couldn’t share with him. If he agreed to her proposal, she would spend way more time with him than she had since they’d been children. They would be thrust into an enforced intimacy. What if she found herself unable to keep up the pretence that she wasn’t attracted to him?
* * *
Connor realised his hands were still entwined with Ana’s across the table. And that they had leaned so closely towards each other, their heads were nearly touching. Just as well. That way, no one could possibly have overheard what they were saying. And they really didn’t want this conversation to be overheard.
