“Seriously, Elijah. This isn’t a big deal to me. If it meant anything, of course I’d change the date and have you there, but it’s a piece of fucking paper.”
“You say that now, Nathan, but marriage means something whether you want it to or not. This is going to change your life. Melanie’s too.”
I suppress a sigh. Not that you’d ever know it by looking at the grumpy bastard, but he’s a hopeless romantic, and in that regard, we are nothing alike. “We’re both aware this is life-changing, Elijah, but the wedding itself is merely a formality.” Our conversation is interrupted by a knock at the door. “That will be my fiancée now.”
I tell her to come in, and Elijah stands, ready to greet his soon-to-be sister-in-law. When she walks into the room a second later, the beaming smile on her face almost takes my breath away. I’ve seen her smile before, but this one makes her beautiful face iridescent.
Jesus. What the fuck is wrong with me?
She laughs and jerks her thumb toward the open doorway. “I just saw the cutest dog in the elevator,” she says, by way of explanation. “He was wearing a tie. Like an actual necktie.”
Elijah side-eyes me, then crosses the room and introduces himself. Still smiling, she shakes his hand and asks him if he likes dogs.
“Of course I do.” He shoots me a bemused look and shakes his head. I can only shrug in response.
“You want coffee?” I ask her.
She slips off her jacket and nods. “Yes, please. And do you have anything to eat? I’m starving. Work was stupid busy today, so I didn’t get a chance to have lunch.”
“I can have someone go get you something. Or there are bound to be some jelly donuts hanging around somewhere. We had a board meeting earlier.”
Her eyes go wide, and she licks her lips. “Jelly donuts would be perfect.”
While I’m asking my secretary to take care of the coffee and donuts, Mel has an animated conversation with Elijah about the tie-wearing dog, and by the time I rejoin them, my older brother is staring at her with an expression of wonderment on his face.
Dammit, he likes her. All my brothers are going to like her, and my father will adore her. And while I should be thrilled with the knowledge that she’ll be a hit with my family, it only reminds me of how much she’s going to encroach on my life, and a part of me already resents her for that. And yeah, I’m aware how much of a giant fucking asshole that makes me.
Annoyed with my brother—and even more annoyed at myself—I snap, “Didn’t you have someplace you needed to be?”
“What?” Elijah blinks at me before realization that I want him to leave dawns on his face. “Oh, yeah.” He turns toward Melanie.
“It was lovely to meet you, Elijah,” she says, flashing him another one of her killer smiles.
“You too, Mel. I look forward to seeing you again soon.”
What the fuck? He’s already calling her Mel?
He says goodbye to us both and walks out of my office, but not before he gives me a thumbs-up behind her back. I roll my eyes. My older brother’s approval means that my fate is sealed. There aren’t many people who can win him over in a matter of minutes, but then I guess there is something truly remarkable about Melanie Edison, although I can’t quite figure out what that is. Nor do I want to admit that fact to anyone, myself included.
After Helen brings us coffee and a selection of donuts, Mel sits back in one of the comfortable leather chairs, chewing on her jelly donut and staring at my mother’s painting while I grab the prenup contract for her to look over.
When I sit down, I bite back a grin at the blob of jelly stuck to her bottom lip. “You have …” Instinctively, I lean forward and swipe it off her lip with the pad of my thumb and immediately regret it. Her pupils blow wide at my touch, and now I have jelly on my hand and no idea what to do with it other than push my thumb into her sweet mouth and have her suck it off.
I shake my head, trying to dislodge the image, but my cock is already jerking to attention at the mere thought of her tongue swiping over my skin. Instead I suck the jelly off my own thumb, and that doesn’t make things any less awkward.
She bites down on her bottom lip, staring at me with those piercing green eyes, and now all I can think about is bending her over my desk and fucking her. What in the actual fuck is wrong with me?
I rock my head back and forth on my shoulders and blow out a breath. “You like the painting?” I ask, desperate to alleviate the mounting tension.
Her eyes crinkle at the corners when she smiles. “Yes, it’s stunning. Did your mom paint it?”
“How’d you know?”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s signed Verona James. Right there in the corner.”
“People don’t usually notice.”
She shrugs. “Well, I have an eye for detail.”
“Then maybe we should go over the details of this prenup,” I suggest, sliding a copy across the table. “A copy has been sent to your lawyer too. And to Bryce.”
I don’t miss the subtle shift in her demeanor at the mention of her brother’s name. “I don’t need to see it. I don’t really understand the legal jargon, and I trust our family’s lawyer to look it over and let me know if I should sign.”
I frown at her. “But this is your life, Mel, you should know what you’re agreeing to.”
“I do know. I’m marrying you. We’re going to have two kids, or we’re going to try to, anyway. That’s the only part I’m concerned about.”
I run my tongue over my teeth. “This is for your protection as well as mine.”
“What do I need protecting from?” She snorts a laugh. “I have nothing to offer other than what’s sitting right in front of you.”
And that is all I fucking want.
“So I have nothing to lose,” she adds.
“This details how the custody arrangement would look if we divorce after we have children. How you and our children would be provided for.”
She sits up straight. “But why would we get divorced? If this is a business arrangement like you say it is, why would that change?”
