Page 10 of Pretend Wife (Angels of the Secret Order #4)

EIGHT

Danielle

Hayden

Where are you?

Me

Bubble tea store.

Which one?

Kung Fu Tea.

Again, which one? There are like a dozen of those in this city.

The one in Back Bay.

What are you doing in Back Bay?

We’re not even married yet and you’re already being overbearing. This relationship is going to be so fun.

I’m detecting sarcasm.

Very astute of you, Mr. Blake.

Danielle, for the love of everything holy, please never call me that again.

***

Only people I don’t like call me that.

I’m trying to figure out if that means you like me or if you’re just concerned about blowing our cover.

I’m on my way. Don’t go anywhere.

Please.

Only because you asked so nicely.

I frowned at the sketchbook that was open on the table in front of me.

The dress I was currently working on was my fifth try since Hayden had left my apartment on Saturday, and it still didn’t feel right.

Something was off.

It was everything I’d imagined for my wedding dress when I was young. Except back then I hadn’t imagined I’d be marrying Hayden.

I glanced at my phone where our texting conversation was still visible. I didn’t know what to make of our current relationship. It was so different from what we’d been like before, and at the same time, it felt like the past eight months apart had simply been erased.

It would be so easy to get sucked into his orbit, but I couldn’t let that happen .

I was only doing this for Miles. The only problem was that nothing about the conversation Hayden and I had had Saturday or the way he’d been texting just now felt like a job or a necessity. It felt like taking my first real breath in months.

With one last glare at my phone, I focused back on the dress.

What was wrong with it? The dress itself was beautiful, exactly what I thought I wanted, but maybe what I thought I wanted wasn’t right.

It belonged to the dream I’d had when I was a child, not my reality where I was fake marrying a man who could make me smile when my phone went off—even though I’d hated texting ever since the first one Beelzebub sent—a man who, when he kissed me, made me not care what my family thought.

I flipped to a blank page and started again. My pencil flew across the page as I got lost in my work, feeling the emotions pour out of me in an effortless stream.

“Am I interrupting something?” Hayden’s voice yanked me out of my trance.

I slammed the sketchbook shut and looked up at him with a smile that probably looked guilty as hell.

His dark brows rose. “Well, now I’m intrigued. What were you doing, Sunday School?”

“That’s for me to know and you to never find out,” I said sweetly.

He gave a low chuckle as he slid into the chair across from me. “Harsh, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“You prefer Sunday School? ”

“What are you doing here?” I asked, reaching for my tea, mostly so I had something to do with my hands.

He slid a contract that was about as thick as a dictionary toward me. “This prenup says neither of us are entitled to anything the other owned prior to the marriage. It protects both our assets. You should have a lawyer look it over to make sure you’re happy with everything.”

I scanned the first page of legal mumbo jumbo. The smart thing to do would be to have Sam look at it before I signed anything, but then I’d have to tell Sam about this arrangement.

When all was said and done, Danielle Towler was a fake persona.

Sure, I had an ID and could legally get married, but I could also vanish off the face of the planet and it would be impossible to trace me.

If anyone tried, they’d probably find my social security number belonged to a dead woman somewhere or something.

Honestly, I didn’t know. Sam had been the one to get me all the necessary paperwork.

No matter what I signed, Hayden wouldn’t really be able to do too much damage to me.

“Do you have a pen?” I asked.

“Danielle, there’s no rush. I want you to be sure.”

“It’s okay. I trust you.”

He glared at me, wisps of frustration winding around his aura.

“Pen,” I repeated, holding out my hand, palm up.

He continued glaring at me but placed the pen in my open palm.

“Did you really come all the way here in the middle of the day just to give me this?” I asked as I signed my name and pushed the stack of documents toward him.

“No.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. “I also came to give you this.”

There was only one logical reason he’d be giving me a tiny jewelry box, but I still sucked in a shocked breath when he flipped the lid up to show me the ring nestled inside—a single pear-cut diamond set in a plain golden band.

There were no smaller diamonds or other frills to distract from the giant rock that looked like it had to weigh five pounds.

“Danielle Towler, will you marry me?”

His words broke through the shock enough for me to smile. “Did you just propose to me in a bubble tea shop?”

“Technically, I think I proposed to you on the front stoop of your building. Without a ring. Like a douche.”

“Proposing without a ring doesn’t make you a douche.” A piece of jewelry wasn’t important when it came to asking someone to share their life with you. “I had more of an issue with you not asking if I was single first.”

“Just take the damn ring, Sunday School.”

I shook my head. “It’s too much.”

“You’re helping me inherit billions. I can afford to give you a diamond.”

“That’s not just a diamond, Hayden. I’m not going to be able to lift my hand.”

A slow, satisfied smile curved his lips, and my breath caught for the second time in three minutes. There was something downright wicked about the way he was looking at me .

“I know,” he said in a low voice that made my stomach dip.

“Wh-what?”

He didn’t answer as he reached across the table and took my left hand in his.

A second later, he was sliding the ring onto my finger, where it sparkled like a beacon in the light filtering from the picture window of the café.

It was impossible to miss, a neon sign announcing to the world that I was taken.

Hayden lifted my hand to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss directly next to the ring. The scrape of his beard was rough against my skin, and I almost shuddered. Why did this have to feel so good? It was just a freaking hand kiss.

I really needed to get a grip if we were going to pretend to be in love for the next nine months or however long it took for Hayden to secure his inheritance.

Because no matter how it felt, none of this was real.

Soft material slipped through my fingers. Some sheer fabrics were stiff or scratchy, but this one felt like water against my skin. It would make the perfect top layer on the skirt, light and pretty without changing the shape of the dress.

My phone alarm blared through the silent apartment, and I cursed under my breath.

I didn’t want to stop. I was in my ultimate happy place, where my mind was blissfully clear of worries and responsibility, and I didn’t want to leave, not even for book club at Kylie’s apartment. Or maybe especially not for book club.

Usually it was the highlight of my month, but honestly I was sort of dreading it tonight.

I glanced down at the ring on my left hand. I was getting married in a week, and I had no idea how to tell my friends. Who fake married their ex-boyfriend whom they might have been in love with and who demolished their heart when he left without an explanation?

My phone pinged just as I was pulling up my Uber app.

Hayden

What are you doing tonight?

Me

Book club at Kylie’s.

How are you getting there?

I’m taking an Uber.

Can you do me a favor?

Depends on what it is.

Give me five minutes to get there.

I don’t need you to come pick me up.

I know, but I’m doing it anyway.

I thought billionaires were supposed to be busy people.

I’m not a billionaire yet. Meet me outside your front door.

Don’t make me regret this.

No promises.

I hated the way little butterflies stirred in my stomach as I read his words.

Hayden had always managed to make me feel a strange sort of giddiness.

Like life was more exciting when he was in it.

And that feeling was dangerous. Because I knew exactly how addictive it was.

And I also knew I couldn’t keep him. This relationship had an expiration date.

I twisted the engagement ring Hayden had given me four days ago around my finger as I waited for him to come pick me up. It was the size of the freaking moon, and there was no way my friends would miss it.

Would it be so bad if I just took it off and postponed this whole conversation for a few more days?

It was the coward’s route, but I slipped the ring off my finger and tucked it into my bra where I could feel it pressing against my chest. There was no way I was going to risk putting it anywhere I could lose it.

Minutes later, a silver Audi pulled to a stop right in front of me. The back door opened and Hayden climbed out.

“Where’s your coat?”

I glanced down at the light dress I was wearing. The cold didn’t bother me, and I tended to forget humans didn’t wear short sleeves outside in the winter without a bulky coat covering their clothes. “I guess I forgot to grab one.”

“How did you forget a coat in January?” he growled at me .

I glared at him. “Is this what our marriage is going to be like? Because I draw the line at being told what to wear.”

He ran a hand through his hair like I was the one being difficult. “I’m not trying to control you. I just want you to be safe.”

“Said every dictator ever.”

He let out an aggravated sound that was a cross between a growl and a sigh, and I couldn’t help the way my lips twitched. Was getting under his skin supposed to be this much fun?

“I’m sorry for being concerned about your well-being,” he said through clenched teeth. “Now get in.”

I raised my brows at him. “You realize you sound like a bad movie villain right now?”

“Just get in the damn car before you freeze to death.”