“Forget the glowing hand,” said Jarrett. “It’s those cowboy boots that look out of place.”
“You’re just jealous,” Cole asserted. “Should we get you a boot-leg? Oh, wait… Would that be illegal?”
“Very punny,” Finn added.
“It ought to be illegal to wear cowboy boots with a tux,” Jarrett avowed. “That look would scare away any decent woman.”
“Who said I wanted a decent woman?”
Bran knew better. Cole was the kind of guy who threw his coat across a puddle so a woman wouldn’t get her shoes dirty.
“Bran’s getting all the single female attention, right now,” Jarrett complained. “No one’s interested in a loser.”
“Female attention?” Bran thought he must be joking.
“Of course you don’t know they’re all hanging around the craps table watching you play. It’s a good thing you can’t see it. You’d have an even bigger head.”
Bran figured his buddy was kidding, so he ignored him. “There’s plenty of time for you guys to make a comeback before one a.m.”
“Carina’s on her way over here, by herself. Wonder what happened to Stephanie.”
His concern for Stephanie peaked. He’d had enough of bowing to Carina’s wishes, merely to get his hands on that pharmaceutical company. He could afford to provide Ellie with the drug for the rest of her life, rather than attempting to make it readily available to all in need. His gut churned. That option felt too selfish. He clenched his fists in frustration. Perhaps he could simply delay the wedding as long as possible while he pursued a backup plan.
“Branson, darling,” Carina’s strident voice gushed, as her hand slid across the back of his neck and onto his shoulder. He felt her breath on the side of his face, while an overwhelming floral scent threatened to gag him. He’d tried to explain to her how sensitive he was to heavy perfumes. “I need to talk to you alone. It’s urgent,” she rasped in his ear.
“Why?” he whispered back.
“Gotta call from Dad. We need to get married. Pronto.”
Branson let Carina lead him out of the bar to speak in private, though he suspected he would share the conversation with Finn, if not all three of his friends. He hadn’t a clue as to why Carina would want to rush the marriage. They walked on soft carpet, voices fading in the background. His cane hit something hard. A piece of furniture.
“There’s a couch here,” she explained.
He wanted to get this conversation over with quickly and return to check on Stephanie.
“What’s this all about, Carina?”
“Sit down. I’ll explain everything. A lot happened since I left.”
He perched on the edge of the seat, too tense to sit back against the cushions. She sat down so close their legs were touching from the hips to the knees, but he was too impatient to enjoy the contact. “I’m listening. Make it fast.”
“We need to get married right away. Tonight would be best.”
“No way. It’s not happening.”
He leaned forward, preparing to stand, but her hand gripped his sleeve and tugged him down.
“Wait. Hear me out.”
As he sank back to the couch, he twisted to face her, aiming his gaze in a way he knew agitated his fiancée.
“Ughh! Please don’t stare at me like that. It gives me the creeps.”
With deliberately slow movements, he took his sunglasses from his inside coat pocket and slid them on. “You’ve got two minutes.”
She let out a huff of air. “Fine. Dad called to tell me someone’s been buying up the individual shares of Parker-Aston. It started months ago, but picked up pace this week. Dad’s worried about a hostile takeover.”
Branson shook his head. “I don’t see how that could happen. There aren’t enough individual shares available. I already acquired most of them.”
“That’s not the worst. Today, Dad found out the Astons’ son-in-law sold off their shares. It was almost half their total stock holdings.”
“At what price? I offered them almost double market value and they turned me down, cold.” Branson fumed. If he could’ve gotten his hands on those stocks, a marriage to Carina wouldn’t have been necessary.
“You did? When? Trying to make a deal behind our backs?”
“Before we started dating. I’ve been upfront. Have you?”
“Yeah. Sure.” Bran was excellent at interpreting intonations, and hers had the hesitancy of a lie. No surprise. He knew better than to trust her. “Dad’s furious about the stocks. He’s so mad, he’d sell you some of the family shares outright, if he could. He’s had his lawyer on it all day. They think we can get around the family restrictions on the Parker shares, even if the marriage only lasts ninety days.”
“This is ridiculous, Carina. I’m not rushing into a marriage without a signed prenup, no matter what.”
“I e-signed it thirty minutes ago. Call your attorney and verify it.” Her flat tone gave nothing away. “No changes to the contract. Ten percent of Escapade Resorts to me. You get eleven percent of Parker-Aston.”
It was a good deal. The shark inside him wanted to pounce on it, despite his misgivings. Ninety days. He could handle being married to Carina for ninety days. But something about the whole thing made his skin crawl.
“I need to think about it. Talk to my lawyer.” He tightened his grip on his cane, the information swirling in his head. It wasn’t in his nature to make a hasty decision.
