Page 23 of The Marriage Deal (Sunset Falls #1)

STILL JUST A STRANGER

LILAH

The storm they called for never came. I spent the night curled up in my new room alone with Senior, and far too much silence for company.

Clearly, Senior had never been welcomed on the bed because he curled up on the rug that sat in the center of the room, leaving me to sleep alone despite my attempt to get him to climb up.

I can’t say the bed isn’t the best I’ve ever slept in, because it’s phenomenal.

And the room is beautiful. Unlike the rest of the house, my room is pretty and light.

The paint is warm cream, and the wood accents are light oak.

The carpet in the center of the room, tucked under the bed, is a rosy blushed pink.

It’s clear Briggs put effort into making this room mine, and I appreciate the effort.

Still, the house is unfamiliar. The man is unfamiliar.

I hardly got a wink of sleep.

I’d woken before the sun, tossing and turning all while I watched it climb into the sky. I threw back the covers, stealthily cracked my bedroom door, and crept with Senior into the kitchen where I found a pot of freshly brewed coffee and a used mug left by the kitchen sink.

My heart slams in my chest as I prepare myself to see my fake fiancé first thing in the morning. I have bed head and wear my little pajama set of silk shorts and tank top. I prefer nighties but…

Movement catches my eye, and I gaze out through the large window over the sink to see a man on a horse. Briggs.

Relief wheezes from my lungs like a pinhole in a balloon, slow but steady. I make myself a coffee, grab the book I’d bought the other day—I’m already over half finished—and slip with Senior out the back patio doors.

He boogies down the stairs to the land below for his morning business as I settle on the patio sofa with my book and coffee.

Only, my gaze keeps moving to the man on the horse in the distance.

That’s where my gaze stays when he guides the horse to a stop over a cliff.

The backdrop of desert mountains burns a pretty golden color as they stretch high on the other side of the river that surges between cliff and mountain.

What is he thinking about out there? And why do I care?

I force my gaze down to the book, and even though it was a really great book I’d hardly been able to look away from while at my parents, my gaze keeps dragging itself to the man in the distance.

Even with all the distance between us, I can see his power. Can practically feel it.

Hunger I have no business entertaining gnaws at my core. I tell myself it is because of the romance I’m reading. Perhaps I need to pick up a thriller while I stay with Briggs.

I read a sentence and then read it again twice more. Why can’t I retain the words?

My eyes lift again to the spot I’d last seen Briggs, but it’s empty. He’s gone.

My heart starts to strum unsteadily in my chest, because that means he’d turned back for the house.

I’m not dressed, and suddenly I feel panicked at the thought of him seeing me like this. I feel overexposed and a thread away from naked.

“Senior,” I call, leaping to my feet with my coffee and book.

Senior looks up at me from his snoop of the yard, and because he’s a darn good pup, he instantly starts his trot over to the stairs. It’s not long before he’s up on the deck with me, but my heart is still a thundering mess in my chest.

Why hadn’t I thought to at least put a housecoat on?

“Come on, boy.” I slide the patio doors open and step into the house. It’s as I’m hurrying to set my coffee on the island countertop that my attention is snagged by the stack of cream-colored cards on the countertop.

I don’t know how I missed it first thing. I’m grateful I already set my coffee on the countertop, or I might have spilled it.

Invitations. Wedding invitations.

For my wedding.

A chill overtakes every inch of my body as I stare down at the cards, unblinking. They’re pretty. The font is curly and romantic and foiled gold. The design is simple and lovely.

There’s a noise to my left. I look that way to find Briggs rooted to the floor, his eyes darker than usual as they pin me to the spot.

There’s at least a whole minute of silence that stretches between us.

Then I break it with a squeak when Senior’s wet nose brushes my bare thigh. My eyes break away from Briggs to look down at my old guy, and I see big amber eyes fixed on me. He’s checking the pulse of the situation.

Gosh, what a good pup. How could anyone abandon him?

How is no one looking for him? Madelyn has scoured all the missing animal social media groups, and nothing.

Not a single ‘missing’ post for this old guy.

I stroke my fingertips over the soft hair on his head, and he scoots closer on his rump until the flyaway hairs on his chest tickle the bare skin of my legs.

Briggs brings me back to the here and now with a rough, “Morning.”

My heart kicks back into high gear. My eyes whip to him. I squeak again, “Morning.”

“See you found the coffee.” I watch him as he rounds the island. He swipes the used mug he’d left beside the sink before his morning ride and carries it back to the pot. He glances at me. “Ready for a refill?”

My gaze falls to my cup. “Uh, sure.”

Ignoring the pounding in my heart, I slide my cup next to his. “How do you take it?”

“Sugar and cream.” I reach for the sugar, plunging a spoon into the canister before dropping the heap into the freshly poured coffee. I mix in cream until it’s blonde and lift it to my lips with a long sigh of pleasure. “Mmmm I love coffee.”

Briggs doesn’t take his eyes off me once. I don’t miss the way they slip down my body before lifting back again. Awareness pebbles my skin with goosebumps, and I feel my nipples harden as red climbs onto my face.

“Cold?” I swear, I hear amusement in his voice.

“A little,” I lie. I’m overheating.

“Mmhmm.” He grunts, then tips his head to the counter. “See you found the invitations.”

“Hard to miss,” I croak.

“We’ve got to get them out soon.”

I nod. “Sure. Whenever.”

He quirks a grin as he lifts his coffee to his lips. “You sound nervous.”

“I’m marrying a stranger. Of course, I sound nervous.”

Briggs appraises me for way too long. I feel another swell of heat rising inside me and try to hide it with a sip of my coffee.

“What do you say we fix that stranger bit, yeah?”

“How?”

He shrugs. “You have questions. Ask them.”

I frown as my mind blanks. Then I ask the question I’ve been dying to know since the moment I first saw the man. “Why are you here?”

There’s silence as he studies me, sipping his coffee. Then he adjusts to lean back against the counter, getting comfortable. “I’m here because Daniel Alder died and left all this to me.”

I feel my nose scrunch at the non-answer. “I mean why are you here, here? You could have sold and added the profits to your already massive portfolio.”

“How do you know I have a massive portfolio?”

I cover my incredulous snort with a sip of my coffee. “You offered me five hundred thousand dollars and all debts paid to enter a short-term marriage with you.” I take another sip of my coffee as he continues to study me. I dip my eyes and mumble into my cup, “There’s also Google.”

“And what did Google tell you?” There’s that amusement again.

“Not a whole lot that I understood, honestly. Just that you’ve sold a couple start-ups and have a lot—like a lot—of money.”

“I did and do.”

My gaze flicks up to him, but even I can feel the deep frown between my brows.

“So, if you’re so wealthy, what are you doing here?

” I pull in breath and explain, “It just seems like Sunset Falls and Alder Wines is a lot. Probably more hassle than it’s worth for you, honestly.

I mean, you are getting fake married in the name of your dark and devious plot. ”

“Dark and devious plot?” His brows wing up.

“You must have one. Why else would you be doing all this?” I shrug. “Marrying me?”

There’s silence again as he continues to study me. The man can make a girl feel stripped raw with only his eyes. It’s intense. Hot. A little unnerving.

“Daniel Alder wasn’t a good man.” I instantly feel alert at the seriousness to his voice. “My mom wasn’t with him for long. But the time she was with him, he hurt her.”

“Hurt her?”

“Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Like I said, he wasn’t a good man.

” Briggs doesn’t take his eyes off me as he speaks.

“He played mind games with my mom. Games that took her years to heal from. To recover. She didn’t trust easily after Daniel.

His abuse was subtle in the beginning, so subtle she didn’t realize she was being abused at all.

He had her on a loop. Give her praise then tear her down with blame and shame.

Then he’d tell her he loved her, that he needed her.

That went on for years before he started getting physical.

I don’t know the extent of that, she never told me.

All my life, she refused to talk bad about Daniel to me.

But she also did her best to keep me from him. ”

“She never talked about his abuse to you?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know about it?”

“My stepfather. And the way my mom raised me.”

He watches my frown. “How did she raise you?”

“To be a gentleman. To care for women like they’re precious, something to be cherished.

To be a good man. At the root of every lesson she ever taught me was to always be a good man.

A loyal and kind man.” He chugs back the last of his coffee, sliding the cup to the counter.

“But it was my stepdad who told me the truth of Daniel Alder. The ways he’d abused her.

The damage a narcissist could inflict on a good person.

It was him who entrusted me with the truth. ”

“I’m sorry.”