Walking back to my future bride, I did my best to blot out the information that a child would gain extra shares of the company. We’d agreed, no children in the time of our marriage, but I couldn’t ignore the allure of making my victory all the more assured with a child.
But no. I was marrying Verana under false pretenses, using her for my own gain she didn’t even know about.
Knocking her up would make me no better than the monsters using her like nothing. I couldn’t do it.
Could I?EighteenVeraThe party progressed in a blur. Other than the small stretch of time I’d stormed away from Nico, he hadn’t left my side. His touch remained firmly glued to my hip, only leaving to hold my hand, brush my hair aside, stroke down the bare skin on my back, or any other way he could touch me with the excuse of portraying a loving couple.
My muscles remained stiff the entire time, holding strong as to not fall to a puddle at his feet and beg him to take me like he’d said earlier.
No. I would not give in to Nicholas Rush. Especially when he assumed he had the rights to my body just because I agreed to marry him. We were helping each other. I was not indebted to him, owing him whatever he wanted to take.
Even if I did have dreams about letting him.
Remembering those nights I woke up aching, imagining exactly what he said—my legs around his waist, no masks—had me hesitating when he asked if I wanted to grab a drink at the swanky bar next door. But a nightcap after a long day sounded nice. And eventually, I’d have to find comfort in being around him. In a little over a month, I’d be living with him—surrounded by him.
God, I was screwed.
It didn’t help when he held the door open for me into the dimly lit bar. Or when he rested his hand against my back, guiding me to a stool. The rough scrape of his hand against my skin sent tingles up my spine. The utter gentleman he was, waited for me to be seated first before grabbing his own.
“Another glass of champagne?” he asked.
“Just a red wine, please,” I asked the bartender.
Nico ordered the same, and we both sighed, the tension easing with our first sip. I closed my eyes, the soft murmur of conversation mixing with the clink of glasses on a table. Friends laughing over the easy jazz filtering through the speakers. All of it working to let the stress of being on for everyone fade away.
“I didn’t notice any family there today,” I said, breaking the silence.
“I could say the same about you. Our engagement party resembled a shipping convention more than a gathering of friends and family.”
“True. But my dad was there—unfortunately—and Rae and Nova. They’re like my family.”
“I know you mentioned your mother passed, but is there no one else?”
“I never knew much about my father’s side of the family. He wasn’t close to them and apparently became even more distant when he married my mother. My mother was an only child, and her mother lives in Italy. My grandfather passed away soon after my mom died, and my grandmother moved, not really coming to visit anymore. I think it’s hard on her.”
I took another fortifying sip of wine, hiding any lingering resentment that my grandma put a wall up between us.
“But you?” I narrowed my eyes and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You can’t distract me.”
His lips tipped into the tiniest of smiles, knowing I’d caught him doing just that. “I told you. My parents died, and I didn’t have any siblings. I have a grandfather in Charleston, and he can’t really travel easily for a weekend party.”
“Will he be at the wedding?”
“He’d kill me if I got married without him there,” he said, affection changing his tone to one I’d never heard before. Warmth slipped through my chest at his endearing smile.
“You’re close to him.”
“He’s the only family I have left, and he taught me everything I know. He built our company from the ground up.”
My brows furrowed. “I thought K. Rush Shipping was newer. When I looked into it before applying, I thought it was only ten years old?”
His eyes flicked away from mine. “It is. His company hit a few stumbling blocks before I had a chance to work there.”
“What’s his company’s name? Maybe I remember it.”
“It was a small company. You wouldn’t recognize it.” Nico shook his head and waved the question away, going back to who attended the reception. “And you may not have had much family there, but you knew almost everyone.”
“I grew up in this world.”
I’d attended galas since I was little. I’d done all the charities and business events that included mingling with other companies. It was its own small world within the world.