Page 2 of Forbidden Bastard
His brown eyes held a glimmer of amusement. “It’s not?”
Her skin prickled like he… like he saw straight through her outfit and into her soul, a place no one even knew she had. She stood taller and said, “No. I’m not marrying you.”
He shrugged and lifted his suit jacket off the back of his black leather office chair. “That’s fine then. Please inform your father our deal is off. I have dinner plans.”
The business would fail, and then her parents would blame her, forever. Because of her grandfather’s will, they’d turned over most of the business operating to her when she'd started high school, like business was an extra homework assignment. She hadn’t been ready then and lost a fortune.
She slid in front of him to stop him from leaving his desk. His short dark hair framed his face perfectly, and goosebumps rose and met the fabric of her costume, tickling her arm. Her nose detected a manly cologne that just made her melt.
No. This wasn’t good. Attraction to him was a very bad idea. Her pulse spiked. “That’s it?”
He adjusted his jacket like it mattered more than his supposed email proposal and business proposition that her parents had accepted so they didn’t have to deal with her business decisions anymore. “What did you expect?”
Maybe it was the silly outfit she wore.
Maybe it was how handsome and perfect he was.
And maybe it was how her mind compared the two of them, and she came up short. Sandi exhaled and refused to breathe in that woodsy cologne. She folded her hands in front of her. “You reached out to my parents out of the blue to make the offer in the first place. I thought we should talk.”
He studied her outfit and must have dismissed her lack of figure as he brought his gaze to her face. “We have. You stated what you wanted, and I’m not in the habit of discussing anything with a bunny. This makes it clear you’re not interested.”
His dismissal wasn't a bad thing. It might be to her benefit that she was so out of her element that all she had was words. Her skin was probably red and blotchy from the outfit she'd worn to volunteer for an hour when she went to visit hospitals to volunteer in the cancer ward after she’d talk business to uninterested doctors like she’d done today. “I was helping cheer up children in the cancer ward, as it’s Easter, when I found out what you and my parents had discussed.”
He held out one of the two office chairs that faced his desk and gestured for her to sit. “So you hopped right over.”
Her skin burned. Was that deadpan joke directed at her? She descended into the seat like it was a throne, perching on the edge due to her tail, and waited for him to sit beside her. “Yes. I know you’re rich and can help my family.” And it wasn’t fair he had the whole dark and rugged but rich look down so flawlessly. “You're way more handsome than I would have thought.”
He slid his chair closer and their knees brushed, sending awareness rushing into her veins. “Your parents described you as pretty," he said, "but didn't mention the pink nose.”
She wiggled her nose and peeled off the nose. “Is that better?”
“Yes--I can see you’re passably pretty.” He nodded at her but then checked his watch. “As I said, I have a dinner to get to.”
Passable? Her heart felt the burn of his appraisal. But if he left and she put a stop to the business deal her parents had struck, she sealed the fact she’d now destroyed their import and export business as no hospital wanted the medical equipment in her warehouses. If he left, she’d have made the family’s dwindling bank account smaller in a short amount of time.
And once again, she'd ruin their trust in her.
Answers would help her make a decision. He stood and she jumped up and asked, “Why?”
He ran his fingers down the length of his tie to ensure it was straight and she got the impression that appearances were important to him as he asked, “Why what? Why do I eat?”
If he left and this opportunity ended, she’d never see anyone half as handsome. Not that looks mattered. Sandi pressed her hand on his hard shoulder to stop him. Desire coursed through her as she clarified, “No. Why did you and my parents agree that you and I should marry like this was business deal?”
He tilted his head and stared at her like he felt sorry for her. She knew her unflattering bunny outfit sagged everywhere but she didn’t move until he stood back. Could he feel something between them too? He motioned toward the chairs again. “Please sit.”
“Very well.” She pushed her fake tail off her backside so she might sit all the way on the chair and crossed her legs.
She couldn't help fidgeting. Would he explain? He was handsome and rich and finding a wife shouldn't be a problem.
On the other hand, she'd always marched to the beat of her own drummer which often didn’t end in lucrative deals. Mostly she ruined deal after deal as she missed some small but important detail.
He leaned closer and folded his hands together. “I agreed to marry you for a couple reasons. One, the deal with your parents means my products will be sold in stores throughout the United States. And while my products have an excellent sell-through online, people still buy what they see.”
A label that read "Made in Avce" only made his products more interesting to her friends and anyone she knew. Seriously, a small European country where all the men looked like this man, a sun-kissed god reborn into perfection? She tugged her ear as heat rose in her face. “My parents and you somehow just threw my hand in marriage in as a means of locking your successful and lucrative multi-product conglomerate deal because they saw your millions.”
Charles gave her a smile and corrected her. “Billions,though possibly trillions in your US currency, and a noble title.”
All those reasons were why a man like him would never, ever, ever want to marry her. Sandi was the epitome of awkward. And he wasn’t looking to cut a deal on something she had in her warehouse. She braced both bunny feet on the floor, but her soles slid slightly forward. He'd said he had a couple of reasons but had only mentioned one. “So why did you agree?”
