Page 9 of Her Fantasy Husband

He was staring at her in shock. “Colonel Frobisher is your uncle?”

“Not really. He’s my godfather. And I’m presuming he told you the details of our arrangement.

“I honestly don’t remember.”

“Well, let me remind you. The marriage was to last for five years and five months. That was what you were paid for, whether you remember or not.”

He shrugged. “Hardly a legally binding contract.”

She gritted her teeth. “You agreed.”

“And now I’ve changed my mind. I’m happy to pay you back the money you gave me. With interest.”

So he wasn’t after more money, but that was beside the point. “I cannot get an annulment.” She stood up. “Not. Going. To. Happen.”

“It needs to happen.”

“And I need to stay married.”

“How long?”

“Six months.”

“That’s too long.”

She rested her hands on the table and leaned across. “It’s what you signed up for.” She had a splitting headache, too much going on, and still dinner with her grandmother to get through. “Look, I have a meeting. I have to get back to the office. But we’ll talk tonight. After we’ve had dinner with my family.”

“You really want me to come?”

“No, Mr. Slater. I don’treallywant you to come. I would much rather you’d stayed away altogether. But you didn’t. So now I have to deal with the fallout from that.”

He was still relaxed back in his seat, a bland expression on his handsome face. “And afterward you’ll talk about this in a rational manner?”

She gritted her teeth some more. “I am always rational.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

Oh yes, because he knew her so well after spending a whole ten minutes in her company. Plus the wedding, of course, where, if she remembered rightly, apart from her vows she had said a total of two tongue-tied words to him the whole time: hello and good-bye. But he had been a little outside her comfort zone.

Be honest, Lexi. He still is.

Though she’d work hard to keep that fact from him. He was just so big and stern and…he wanted an annulment. Well, somehow she had to persuade him out of that idea.

He gave a quick nod. “I’ll pick you up.”

“You’ll need my address,” she said.

“I have your address.”

He did? Where from? Though for that matter he’d obviously gotten her office address from somewhere. Had he had her investigated? “Well, be there at seven-thirty. And do not be late. My grandmother dislikes unpunctuality.”

He cocked his head. “Are you scared of her?”

Stupid question.“Of course I’m scared of her. She’s terrifying.”

“Okay, and afterward we’ll discuss the annulment.”

“Yes.”Ha, no way.

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