Page 39 of An Inevitable Marriage

Why the fuck was he calling Snow a dangerous woman? And who exactly would show her this good time he was bragging about?

Blood rushed through my veins in every which way. The thrashing of it so loud, I barely heard her speak over the whooshing inside my ears.

“Actually, I’d like to go—” She swallowed the rest of her sentence and blinked furiously. Her mouth slowly moved, but no sound came. She did this for I didn’t even know how long before she finally released a long, heavy sigh. Her gaze met mine. “Can I go back to your place and unpack?”

Myplace. That wasn’t entirely true anymore, now was it? Sure, I owned it on paper, but for the next five years, she’d live there, too.

In a few short strides, I closed the distance between us. Curling my fingers around her wrist, I lifted her hand and dropped the keys into her open palm.

“It’s not just my place anymore.”

The way her gaze bored into me unsettled every single nerve ending inside my body. So much so I released her and immediately went to where my friends stood.

“Are we celebrating or what?”

Chapter ten

Everlee

“Mrs.EverleeMaxwell.”

It didn’t matter how many times I said it or how long I stared at the simple band of diamonds wrapped around my ring finger; I still couldn’t believe I’d gone through with it.

After I’d hung up with my mom, there was a huge part of me that wanted to listen to her. She was right. I didn’t know Liam. He could very well be the things she’d accused him of.

Or he could be none of them.

The man hadn’t just paid my dad’s hospital bill; he’d had him moved to a private room without me even asking. Didn’t that say a little something about his character? That he cared about the comfort and needs of someone other than himself?

And even if it said nothing and he turned out to be immoral, I wasn’t. I’d made a promise, and I wasn’t about to break it.

This was why, and even though my heart broke, I’d driven myself to the courthouse and promised Liam my next five years.

It wasn’t how I’d imagined my wedding day to go, but it wasn’t all that bad for something that was only going to exist on paper.

Until my new husband sealed our vows with a kiss.

I was still recovering fromthat.

The way Liam’s fingers had wrapped around my neck and pushed into my hair…wow. Such a simple touch, yet my blood hummed in the most delicious way.

Then there were his lips.

I’d only had the tiniest of samples, but it was enough for me to know they were soft and full, and he could probably kiss me stupid.

Sigh.

We weren’t off to a very good start of our fake marriage if I was already thinking about kissing my husband.

Okay, brain, no more thinking about Liam Maxwell and his stupid mouth or the yummy things he could do with it.

With a determined nod, I focused on the bags and boxes littering the floor. The sooner I unpacked them and settled into this new life, the better.

Maybe once Liam and I found our footing around each other, I could go to Portsmouth. See my dad and hopefully explain things to my mom in person.

With that thought, I dragged the boxes closer, one by one. I slowly went through the belongings Natalie and I had picked up at my old apartment. There wasn’t a lot. Since Liam’s place was already furnished, tastefully so—all shades of gray and white with gold accents—I’d left my furniture and crockery behind.

The only important things I simply couldn’t bear to part ways with, besides my clothes and shoes, were my books. The ink on those pages was my one escape and the only thing that kept me company on those lonely nights when Anthony had covered some fancy event or when he’d been away.