Page 75 of Who Needs a Billionaire

He placed his hands on the counter on either side of her hips and looked her in the eye. “Truth.”

“I’m not jealous, Augustus.”

He gave her a cocky grin.

“You agreed not to see other women during our marriage, and then I find out you and Rhonda have a history.”

“What?” His eyes widened. “We do not. I met her once at a bar with Genevieve. She was just getting out of a bad marriage, and all we did was have a drink and dance to one song.”

“It must’ve been pretty memorable for her, because she was talking about how she was shocked that you got married and what a flirt you were.”

“I am a flirt.” He grinned.

“Maybe she has a thing for you.”

“So what if she does.” He reached up and cupped her cheek. “You are my wife.”

Merritt’s stomach flipped.

“And I will not break our agreement. Have I given you any indication that I would?”

She shook her head.

“Trust me.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, causing tingles to spread across her skin. “Come on. Let’s go finish the game.”

She took his hand and returned to the great room. She wanted to trust him, and while his words did comfort her a little, she still had an uneasy feeling. Gus was friendly and charismatic, not to mention extremely handsome. She wasn’t naive enough to think that there weren’t many women out there who would give anything to be with him. And whether or not Rhonda was one of them, she couldn’t stop thinking about another woman being in his arms when this whole arrangement was over.

TWENTY-FIVE

On Tuesday morning, the family took a horseback trail ride through the snow. Merritt had never ridden a horse before, so Gus stayed close to her. But she didn’t have to do much other than ride as her horse followed along behind the rest.

The ride was quiet except for the sound of the horse’s hooves crunching along the snowy path. With the mountains around them and the tall trees of the forest, it was like being in a winter wonderland with the most beautiful landscape she had ever seen. The cold was not her favorite thing, but she now understood the draw of living in a place like this. The views were breathtaking at every turn.

“You’re cute in your winter gear.” Gus pointed to her knit hat with the pom-pom on top.

She glanced over at his hat. “I like your pom-pom.”

“I like your pom-poms too.” He stared down at her chest.

“Augustus!”

He chuckled. “You make it so easy for me.”

“Oh my gosh! You are such a child.”

“Hey, I’m a guy.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not all guys are like that.”

“I beg to differ.”

“There are plenty of guys out there who keep their inappropriate thoughts to themselves.”

“Name one.”

“Sebastian. I don’t hear him saying things like that to his fiancée. Maybe you should take a page from his book.”

Gus stared over at her in shock, and her stomach sank as she realized her mistake.

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