Page 20 of Resisting You
I nodded. “The rules are stated clearly. You can get an annulment if you didn’t properly consent to the marriage…” I paused, and gestured between us. “For instance if you weredrunk. Other reasons for an annulment, if one of you had an STD when you married. Or if I were pregnant with someone else’s child. Or…” My words faded and a tingly awareness crept up my spine.
“Or what?”
I could feel my cheeks heat and knew that there were two streaks of scarlet appearing across my face. “Or if you don’t consummate the relationship,” I added.
“So… we could do this for two years if we wanted to?” Noah whispered.
“Well, 729 days to be exact,” I said with a quick glance around. “Look, if we’re going to do this, we should draw up a contract. Something that dictates how long we’ll keep this up. And that states we each leave with our same assets and only that which we bring into the marriage.” Basically, Noah, I don’t want your money. Because even as a therapist to the stars, there was no way I’ll make the same kind of income he will.
Noah exhaled, his cheeks puffing out. “Okay, but… I don’t mean this in the wrong way, but won’t it hurt your standing in the long run to divorce? I mean, as a therapist.”
I nibbled my bottom lip, ignoring the low, quiet thrum of unease pulsing through my body. “Maybe,” I admitted. “But I’m hoping that by the time it comes to that, I’ll have a stronger foothold. If I’ve helped enough people to get referrals, then maybe they won’t care as much. Besides, don’t celebrities arrange PR marriages all the time?”
Noah chuckled and nodded. “Notallof them are publicity stunts. But yeah, I guess some are.”
“I mean, you’re not dating anyone, are you?”
He shook his head. “No, but two years without sex is a long time. I assume we’re not going to be having sex with each other during these two years, right?”
My body sent delicious shivers tumbling down my spine at the thought. “No,” I managed to choke out. “No sex.” But even I didn’t believe myself. “And two years is insane.” Hell, I wasn’t going to make it two years without sex, either. “How about six months?”
“Six months,” he repeated. “It doesn’t feel long enough to accomplish all the things we need to do.”
“A year?” I countered.
He blew out a breath. “One year with no sex and a fake wife. I’m not going to lie… this sounds pretty fucking crazy, Rosa.”
“Well, I’m pretty fucking crazy sometimes, Noah.”
He snorted. “Yeah, I know. I like crazy.” After another moment’s thought, he held out his hand for me to take.
I took it in mine and shook his firmly.
He tugged my hand, pulling me into his body and cupped my jaw. “If we’re going to make this believable though, then we need to be affectionate in public.”
I gulped and as I slowly raised my gaze to his, my nose brushed his chin. Dipping down, he kissed my forehead in a way that was both wholesomeandwholly indecent all at once. My heart stammered.
“In order for this to work, we have to make it believable to everyone…” He paused, glancing around the wedding that was slowly filling with people. “Including my family. And yours.”
I swore my heart literally stopped for a whole second. The idea of having to tell my parents I eloped in Atlantic City? They would shit a brick.
Then again, maybe that would be a fun way to stick it to them.
“Except our lawyers,” I whispered. “They have to know the truth.”
He nodded. “Except our lawyers. Even my publicist can’t know. She’ll kill me. But for this to be believable, you should probably stay for my sister’s wedding.”
Shit. He was right. For this to be believable, we were going to have to act like married people. Go to events together. Attend functions arm in arm.
Kiss.
Before I could answer, my thoughts were interrupted when a blonde woman ran up behind Noah, shouting, “Noah Blue Tripp! How dare you!”
I froze at the sight of the woman I recognized from countless pictures and stories Noah and Hazel had shared… Callie. Noah’s twin sister.
Outside of their drastically different hair colors–she was blonde to his dark brown hair–I could see the similarities in their bone structure, their noses, and especially those glacial eyes of theirs.
She didn’t see me as she charged Noah and smacked him across the arm. Hard from the looks of it. “You got married?” she hissed, waving her phone around.
