Page 11 of An Inconvenient Marriage
Because I didn’t trust myself to not laugh again, I shook my head. Zach’s dark eyes narrowed, and a frown formed. The way he was scrutinizing me, like he could see into the deepest, darkest parts of me and unravel my secrets one by one, made me want to run away and hide.
It also did some very strange things to my insides.
“Zach?” Sophie’s voice sounded.
It was enough to finally get his focus away from me and back to his assistant.
I barely resisted the urge to breathe out a sigh of relief.
“I said it’s fine,” he ground out. “Go home, Sophie, I’ll call in the morning.”
Yet again, he didn’t wait for a response, simply sidestepped her and strode toward the entrance of the hotel. Figuring it was in my best interests to follow, I gave Sophie a small smile and hurried after Zach.
Much like in the limo, our ascent to the honeymoon suite was done in silence. And for someone who craved solitude and quiet daily, I found it utterly ironic that it bothered me now.
Maybe it was because it gave me too much time to think about everything that could go wrong in the next few months. Or maybe it was because of the man who now was my husband. The one who made it seem as if I was nothing more than an irritation he had to put up with to get to the bigger prize, aka my father’s business.
My stomach twisted violently. If Zach knew…
The elevator’s ping announced our arrival on our floor, and just in time, too. Finishing that train of thought led nowhere good.
The suite was everything I thought it would be, just more beautiful. The staff had left the lights on the dimmest setting which meant the moment we stepped inside, the stunning view of the city greeted us beyond the wall of windows.
It was minimalist yet striking. Almost everything was white which made the scattered rose petals on the rug and chairs pop out even more. I didn’t have to peek to know the bedroom would be covered with the same petals.
Something tugged on my insides. How wonderful would it have been to enjoy this as a newlywed couple? Not specifically Zach and me, but just two people who were in love. What did that feel like?
I longed to know and understand what it meant to be loved and to love someone so much you feared your heart would burst. Because the love that existed in my world had nothing but bad feelings attached to it.
“Do you want one?”
I almost started at the suddenness of Zach’s voice. While I’d been lost in a fantasy, he’d made his way to the chairs in front of the window. He was standing next to a table with a bottle of champagne and two flutes on it. From what I could tell there was also a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries.
Shaking my head, I let out a quiet, “No, thank you.”
Lifting his shoulder in a suit-yourself manner, he shrugged off his jacket and draped it over the back of the white leather chair. Next, he moved to his tie, making quick work of the silk. He folded it over once, then neatly placed it on top of his jacket.
Then his attention was on the sleeves of his shirt. Once he removed the cufflinks, he put them in his pocket and slowly rolled both sleeves up to his elbows.
It wasn’t something that was supposed to be attractive or intriguing, and yet I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“You never answered me.”
I blinked out of my stupor. “What?”
He poured himself a glass of champagne and knocked it all back in one go. Only to do it again. Leaving the empty flute on the table, he stalked to where I was standing.
And yes, stalked was a very adequate description. He took determined steps toward me. His long, muscular legs eating up the distance between us before I had time to take a complete breath.
We were almost toe to toe. So close the smell of alcohol and spice tickled my nose and lit up my senses. Having him up in my space like this made me dizzy. My heart did somersaults. My skin stretched and prickled with a zing of electricity.
Hell, I almost forgot how to breathe.
And then he opened his mouth.
“Are you pregnant, Natalie?”
5
