Page 36 of Love is a Harmony
There was something feral about Noah’s kiss, like he could take everything from her with that one act.
She brought her hands up to grip his biceps as her lips parted, letting him deepen the kiss. All the bickering, the fighting that made up their professional relationship spilled out of them as they warred for supremacy in the single kiss.
“Mel.” Noah rested his forehead against hers. “Thank you.”
Those words reminded her why she was doing this, that it wasn’t real. She closed her eyes as Justin’s smiling eyes appeared in her mind. This marriage wasn’t like before.
It couldn’t be.
“Noah.” She put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. “We can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I will marry you for the sake of that girl in there.” She pointed to Stella’s room. “But you and I… I am your publicist, and you are my rock star. That is how it has to stay.”
“I know.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Mel, I know.” He looked so lost in that moment, all she wanted to do was take him into her arms. “I’m sorry. So so sorry. I’m so messed up right now, Mel. And I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
The last thing she’d wanted was for him to apologize. That kiss… it reminded her she could still feel. And yet… guilt ate away at her. She needed to talk to Justin.
Noah leaned against the wall next to her. “I’d like to say I can’t ask this of you, that it’s too much, but in reality, I will take this enormous favor and owe you for the rest of my life.”
She bumped his shoulder with hers. “You won’t owe me anything. This is the right thing to do.” She was sure of it.
He pushed off the wall and turned to face her, lowering himself to one knee. “Melanie Snyder, will you fake-marry me? Will you become Melanie Clarke?”
She grinned down at him. “Get up.”
He did.
“First of all, no way I’m taking my fake husband’s name. Second of all, this marriage is under lock and key. Non-disclosures for everyone involved.”
“Aww, Mel, I love it when you talk publicist to me.”
She lifted a brow. “I don’t want the ladies of the world to hate me for taking you off the market.”
He laughed at that. “So, we’re doing this? We’re getting married and having a kid?”
“If by having a kid, you mean Stella, then yes, I guess we are.”
Noah lunged forward, locking his arms around Melanie’s waist and spinning her around.
“Put me down.” She swatted his head, but he didn’t listen.
“We’re getting married,” he sang, the first true happiness she’d seen in him since arriving in France shining through.
They couldn’t change the circumstances. Carson was gone. Stella was an orphan.
Noah’s life was about to change.
But for just a moment, they could celebrate something good. Not the fake marriage, but the creation of a family. Whether she was with Noah or not, she wanted to be a part of this.
“You’re going to wake Stella,” she whispered.
Noah put her down with a laugh and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you. Mel, just… thank you.”
“Earn my faith in you, Noah.”
“I will.” He pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. “I’ll make sure you won’t regret this.”
