Page 38 of The Bride's Desire

“I’m going to get some work done. Come in when you’re done in here.”

“I will.”

She took her time and even wiped down the already clean counters again. When she knew she couldn’t delay it any longer, she went to him.

She watched him work on his computer.

He must have sensed her because he paused and looked her way. He sat back in his chair and held out a hand. “Comehere.”

She walked slowly around his desk to take his hand. He pulled her onto his lap sideways so they could see each other’s faces.

“Now tell me what’s bothering you?” he asked.

Naomi took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. “You know I answered your ad for a wife.”

He nodded and grinned. “More like my mother’s ad. But I’ll have to thank her again.”

She smiled. “One of the reasons—or the main one—was I needed to get away from my home.” His hand slid up and down her back in a soothing motion, and it helped her relax. “When my father died, it was only me, my stepmother, and my stepbrother. Both want to be part of the elite group in our city, and they need me to help them achieve this. They came from nothing and have become obsessed with it since they came to live with my father and me. They started making me go to parties when my father got sick, and I did it to please my father. He was too tired to hear Diana, my stepmother, complain about me. After he died, I was trying to find a way to get them out of the house.”

She stopped and drew in a few breaths. “My father left them a lot of money, several million dollars.” She saw his eyes widen, but he kept quiet. “But it wasn’t enough for them. They wanted it all, but my father gave me the estate, stocks, and most of the money.

“How much are we talking about here?” he asked.

“A little over a billion altogether.” She waited and watched for any anger on his face but saw none. “Anyway, since they had lived there, I couldn’t just kick them out. I had to go through several steps to get them evicted, but it wasn’t going through. Somewhere along the way, I was stalled for some reason. I suspect Diana had something to do with it, but Icouldn’t prove it.”

She took a deep breath. “I thought she didn’t know about my plan, so I pretended and acted like I usually did but kept fighting with help from my lawyer. In the meantime, I tried to keep up appearances. Recently, I started to hear things and conversations between the two. They talked about my stepbrother, Robert, marrying me so they could control everything. I was terrified they’d find a way, so I ran to you. I was isolated and didn’t have anyone on my side besides Elliot, but he could only do so much.”

He squeezed her shoulder when she paused. “Why are you bringing this up now?”

“Well, I planned on telling you before we got married. I didn’t want to drop this problem onto your lap later. I felt it was deceitful.”

“Why, Love?”

“Because you’ll have to help me deal with the mess I’m in, and you don’t have time.”

He swept the hair from her face. “Of course I’ll help. I’ll make time for whatever you need.”

“We’ll have to sell my house, and there are rooms of furniture and antiques that have been in my family for decades. I can’t leave them there. Then there are the stocks and bonds. We’ll have to put everything in your name.”

He shook his head. “No, Love. It all will stay in your name. I don’t need it. But I’ll still help you with it.”

“What am I going to do with that much money?”

Joe shrugged. “Set up accounts for the kids when they’re born, or give some to charity, or you could leave it alone to grow.”

Naomi bit her lip. “I have a few ideas.”

“Tell me,” he said.

“I want to add onto the house. I would love an indoorpool and solarium with a ton of plants. I had a pool at home, but I couldn’t use it because Robert always came out and stared. It gave me the creeps. And no matter when I tried, he was there. I still don’t know how he did it.”

“We can do that, but we could use my money, Love. I can build you twenty mansions if that is what you want.”

She smiled. She couldn’t believe how relieved she was that he didn’t seem angry. “You’re not mad at all?”

He smiled gently. “No, together we can do anything, and I’ll always have your back. No one will ever harm you.”

Naomi tucked her nose against his neck. “I love you so much it scares me.”

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