Page 13 of Her Irresistible Husband

The parents loading sleepy children into luxury SUVs are like a who's who of the city's poshest residents. They were once known as San Antonio's Finest Eligibles when they were still unmarried, the four of them gracing magazine covers and dominating gossip columns in society pages with every party they attended.

But one by one, each billionaire had married, and I can still remember how the entire nation went crazy upon learning that their wives were all, once upon a time, "mail-order" brides that a certain agency had arranged for them.

That four impossibly wealthy, devastatingly handsome men would have any need for arranged marriages was absolutely wild.

That they had ended up falling desperately in love with their brides? Even wilder.

And the more I think about it, the more I realize...

Couldn't it happen to me, too?

Even if my husband-to-be is dead set against it?

My spirits perk up, and I'm feeling more than a little giddy as I watch the last car disappear down the tree-lined drive.

Thank You, God!

I've prayed about this while gently waking the children earlier, and it's just so like Him to answer me in a way I didn't see coming. A part of me was secretly convinced that God would ask me to leave Wynd. But instead He's given me another reason to stay.

"You look like you're in a good mood," a voice coolly observes from behind me.

Oh, you absolutely have no idea, Mr. Sullivan.

I turn to face him, a smile still playing on my lips. "Yes, I believe I am."

"Even after what I've asked?"

"Uh-huh."

His gaze narrows, those ice-blue eyes becoming arctic. "I don't like playing games."

"But I do," I counter cheerfully, bouncing slightly on my toes, "so please just play along, pretty, pretty please?"

For one moment, he looks as if he's prepared to walk out on me entirely.

But then another moment passes, and the expression on his gorgeous face changes.

Oh.

Wynd now looks at me like how an older brother would have looked when indulging the whim of a spoiled little sibling. It's not what I'm hoping for, but since beggars can't be choosers, I decide to take this as a win, thank you very much.

My billionaire crooks his finger at me in a gesture that's both commanding and seductive, and yes, in a way that's also elegantly precise.

Honestly, I don't think he's even capable of being anything but.

That's just the kind of man my future husband is, andoh,just the thought of it...

I happily skip toward him, and his lips actually...twitch?!

Oh wow, will you look at that?

My husband-to-be is about to smile again.

Will wonders ever cease?

I stop when I'm just inches away from him, hands clasped behind my back as I look up at him with all the innocence I can muster.

"That would've worked ten hours ago," he says dryly, "but not anymore."

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