Page 30 of Boss with Benefits

Once again, he nodded. “What’s your point?”

“Your great passion for photography pales in comparison to how I feel about my son. Losing him might literally kill me.”

He squeezed both her hands between his. “I promise it won’t happen. No matter what I have to do I will make sure you do not lose your son. Now trust me and say you’ll marry me as soon as I can arrange it.”

Her numb lips moved over the words she dreaded saying. “I will marry you.”

Chapter Seven

The judge secretly married them at midnight inside of Brady’s den. It was a sterile, no-frills wedding without any of the usual entrapments. Judge Wilson even provided them with two witnesses: the old married couple sat in the corner and didn’t say a word. None of that mattered to Jessica. She didn’t have a family outside of her son and didn’t want any of her friends to see her make what could be the biggest mistake of her life.

She stood next to Brady in a random dress she’d pulled from her closet at the last second. The shiny pink material stretched to accommodate her curves. Slinky, the dress ended on her upper thighs and pushed up her cleavage. It hugged her like a second skin. Maybe it was too sexy for a wedding. She hadn’t been in her right mind when she grabbed it.

Brady was wearing one of his expensive three-piece suits. Charcoal gray. He looked incredible and was definitely believable as a groom right down to the nervous sweat. His hands were a bit clammy, and perspiration dotted his forehead.

He wasn’t the only nervous one in the room.

She purposely stiffened her body as tremors tried to shake it apart. Her inner voice screamed at her to stop the wedding before it was too late. Marrying Brady could turn out to be the dumbest thing she’d ever done. She had more to lose than her son. What about her poor untested heart? In her lifetime, she had participated in half a dozen one-night stands and a few shortrelationships that ended on a bitter note. But to this day she hadn’t fallen in love with anyone.

She prayed her heart wouldn’t choose Brady to be her first.

He’d smash her heart to bits.

Since meeting Brady for the first time—he took photos of her for an ad when she was sixteen—she had wanted him. He was a dream come to life: tall, dark, and handsome with millions of dollars in the bank. His only real flaw as far as she could see was his inability to commit to one woman longer than it took him to change his socks.

Brady held her hands and stared deep into her eyes. He repeated the traditional wedding vows after the judge with such sincerity she might have believed he loved her if she didn’t know he was only marrying her to save her son. The words flowed over her, and a crazy narrative rambled through her head.

She could see them as an old married couple, teasing each other after decades spent together. Maybe they would retire to Florida. She would be a social butterfly, and he would take pictures of birds with a zoom lens. Their grandchildren would visit during the summer and—

“Jess?” Brady squeezed her hand to get her attention.

“Huh?” She blinked at him and then at the judge. “Sorry, what?”

“It’s your turn,” Brady said.

She apologized to the judge.

Judge Wilson nodded. “Repeat after me. I, Jessica Bishop, take you, Brady, as my lawful wedded husband.”

With numb lips, she repeated every word.

Time slipped away from her. They were pronounced man and wife before she completely wrapped her mind around the fact it was happening. Brady’s head swooped down. His lips barely brushed hers. Then he was shaking Judge Wilson’s hand.

Jessica stared down at the plain gold wedding band on her finger. It didn’t seem real. She was Mrs. Brady... what? The realization hit her that she still didn’t know if Brady was his first or his last name. Maybe it was his only name like Madonna or Prince.

Hysterical laughter bubbled up her throat, but she caught it in her hand. She didn’t want to go to pieces in front of the judge. He probably already thought her reaction to the marriage was odd. She had no idea how much of their problem Brady had shared with him.

“Jessica?” Brady waved her over to his desk. “You need to sign our marriage license.”

Judge Wilson explained, “I backdated it fourteen days ago, and that is when I will say I married you if asked. Since I have thirty days to file it after the ceremony, no one will question the fact I was too busy to do it until now.”

“I really appreciate this,” Brady said. He jerked his chin in Jessica’s direction. “Weappreciate this.”

She stared at the judge and wondered why he looked so familiar. Maybe she’d seen his face on the news. No. That didn’t seem right. A faint niggling in the back of her mind pushed at her to remember. She’d seen his face more than once. Recently. She was sure of it.

The judge told them, “I have someone who owes me his life working in the county clerk’s office. He’ll make sure every legal paper he has states you got this license weeks ago.”

Brady clapped the judge on the back. “Sounds good. Let me know if you need anything.”

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