Page 102 of Between Now and Forever

“Hey Lizzy.” Duke's voice is an octave too high to be congruous with a man his size. When he speaks publicly or to someone he doesn’t know for the first time, he always deepens it. It’s the one thing he’s self-conscious about.

“What are you doing here?”

“Umm, well Fiona said you wanted to talk to me,” he looks at Fiona.

I grimace as he skims the bruise on my face. I shrink under his scrutiny. I can’t imagine what I must look like to him.

“Why are you here?” I ask again, this time, more demanding.

“I want to make a deal.”

I glance at Fiona. She smiles reassuringly.

“I’ll leave you two to work out the details.”

As soon as the door shuts behind her, Duke starts to talk.

“My father is going to back your father in the next election for governor. And in return for that, he’s giving me a senior management role at Wolfe with the understanding that I’ll be groomed to run it all one day.” He pauses and swallows audibly.

That job should have been my brother’s. He’s giving it to Duke.

“So, what do you need me for?” I ask when he doesn’t continue.

“Well, I realized that if I married you instead, I could skip all that,” he says in a big rush.

I swear, I’m sure my eyes are going to fall out of my head.

“Skip it?”

“Yes.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, when you come home, I’ll court you, propose to you, and then, we’ll get married. Then we’ll get our money and we split it and tell this town to kiss our asses and go our separate ways.”

I pick my chin up off the floor and give him an assessing look.

He stands and starts to pace.

“We both know I’m not cut out to run that company. I wasn’t born with my brother’s brains. I need money to make my way in the world. And a chance to do something I’m good at, not what my father wants.” His words come out in a growl.

It’s such an honest assessment of himself that I feel a flicker of respect for him.

“I know the feeling.”

“Listen, we’re in the same boat. You don’t want to be in here. I don’t want to work for your father.”

Encouraged by my nod of agreement, his voice slips into its naturally higher octave as he rushes on excitedly.

“It’s going to be a long game. And you’ve got to get yourself back together before we actually start dating,” he says and watches me expectantly.

“You want to…date me? Like for real?”

“Yes. Why not?” he asks.

“I’m not attracted to you,” I say.

His head jerks slightly. “Well, that’s a first. Especially considering you’ve already fucked me.”

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