Page 30 of The Exception

“I mean…yeah. I guess.”

I only had six months until my forty-fifth birthday. Yes, my marriage to Liliana would likely seem a little too convenient. But I was running out of time.

Hell, sometimes, I felt as if I were racing the clock. I was closing in on the age my dad had been when he’d died in a plane crash that had also claimed my mom’s life as well as those of my aunt and uncle. It felt so long ago and yet as if it had happened just yesterday.

“Even so, you’re going to need to do something more than that.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“A honeymoon would definitely be a good start.”

“Honeymoon?”

“It’s this trip that newlyweds go on. Romantic. Alone. Lots of sex.”

“I know what a honeymoon is, smartass.”

“Good. Then you’ll realize that a honeymoon would not only help cement the legitimacy of your story, it would give the two of you some time away from everyone else and all their questions.”

He made a good point.

“What about the merger?” I asked. “I can’t just leave in the midst of all this.”

“Leave that to me. As soon as you’re married, I’ll get the ball rolling. I’m sure between Jasper, Sloan, and me, we can handle it.”

I knew he was right, but I still found it difficult to step back. Even when I knew it was temporary. When I knew stepping back for the sake of a “honeymoon” would be in the best interest of the company in the long run.

“We could stay at the château. That’s romantic, and Lily would be happy to go there sooner rather than later.”

“Yes, but Graham?—”

“Yeah?” I was only half paying attention, my mind already spinning with possibilities.

“If you want people to believe you’re a man besotted with his new wife, then you need to take that time away from work. Otherwise, it’s just business as usual, and people won’t think anything has changed.”

I grimaced, realizing he was right.Damn it.“You make a good point. I just hope Sloan and Jasper will understand.”

“You’ve never taken a vacation. I’d say it’s long overdue.”

“You’re one to talk.” Pierce was just as much of a workaholic as I was.

“Yeah. Yeah.”

“Speaking of your siblings, don’t you think they’ll have doubts?”

I shrugged. “You know how my family is. They might be suspicious at first. But hopefully, they’ll be so thrilled, they won’t question it too much. And if they do, Lily and I will be sure to sell it.”

“You better hope so,” Pierce said in a dark tone. “Because if you do this and something goes awry, you’d want them to have plausible deniability.”

Liliana too. It was part of the reason I hadn’t told her my true motivations for this marriage proposal. I’d told her enough to make my reasons seem believable. She didn’t need to know about the shares.

It was better for me. Better for both of us, really.

“I have a plan,” I told him, trying to project certainty.

“You typically do. But despite your best efforts to plan for every outcome, human emotion is always unpredictable.”

I wanted to roll my eyes. “Liliana knows what this is. And so do I.”

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