Accidentally Married to the Billionaire 3(16)
“But they bat their eyes and tell me it’s forever. And I believe it every time. And I don’t want you to have to deal with a crazy ex like me. Trust me, it’s not fun.”
“I won’t have that problem.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“She knew the rules.”
“Why didn’t you just take the woman I found for you? Sure, she wasn’t as hot, but come on. She wouldn’t have latched onto you the way Marj has. You wouldn’t be dealing with some woman demanding you come home after work.”
“She wants me home because she honestly wants to spend time with me. She wants my time more than she wants my money. And she just wants to be with me. Now I find that very refreshing.”
“Sure, you find it refreshing. But you don’t have the time to give her. And that’s why you needed a hired wife. Real marriage will end your freedom,” he said. “And you told me you never wanted that.”
“I didn’t. But it’s fun to enjoy life with someone special. I didn’t know this fake marriage was going to turn into a real one. But it just kind of happened. And it’s nice having somebody greet me when I get home and ask how my day was.”
“You don’t want a real marriage. Trust me on that. When the times comes, you need to dump the wifey and go back to your old lifestyle. You know, the one you used to love so much. Because she’s kind of cramping your style. The one where you’re able to do whatever you please whenever you like without having to answer to anyone.”
“I think I have it way better than the single guys.”
“What? Did my ears just deceive me? Is she casting a spell on you? Because it’s against your nature to be committed to one person for the rest of your life.”
“Maybe I’m growing up.”
“Are you looking for something more serious than a casual fling or a one-night romp? Or should I say a ‘six month to one year’ romp?”
“I go back and forth, Paul. Part of me doesn’t want a relationship. But the other part is finding out it does.”
“C’mon, Brandon. Don’t be driven by your dick. Women give sex to get love. Men give love to get sex.”
“No, what we have, it’s more than sex. Marj is something special. I enjoy her company more than anything else.”
“You mean, minus work. Work is first. She’s second.”
“I wish the company didn’t take so much of my time. I want to make Marj first in my life. I’m crazy about her. I really am. I want to be committed to my wife. And I’m trying. But I’m pretty lousy at it.”
“Is this going to last?” he asked.
“I don’t know. But I know I’m not ready to lose her.”
“You’re falling for her hard.”
“I’m falling in love with her.”
“And I thought no woman could ever tame you.”
Brandon laughed. “I’m still a wild beast. I’m just not presently on the prowl.”
“Well, after seeing your wife in that bikini, I can understand why.”
Chapter 6
After the spray tan, a very patient Indian woman came into the aesthetician’s room, instructed Brandon to lie back in a chair and proceeded to spend forty-five minutes threading his eyebrows…and learning every curse word he’d ever picked up in prep school. He emerged looking flawless, more alert and if possible more gorgeous than before. Unfortunately, he also felt like he’d wasted an afternoon and should probably have to give up all claim to alpha-male status. It was hard to believe that other executives did this, devoted entire half days to grooming, to getting their nails shaped and buffed, their suits tailored. It seemed so trivial. And yet he knew that, across town, Marj was going through something similar if not worse.
The stylist told her to think of it as pampering, as rejuvenation. There was nothing about the Brazilian bikini wax that felt refreshing. In fact, it hurt like hell. Then when Helga the technician got out the long tweezers to finish the job, Marj started muttering curses. She’d already had her underarms, legs, and upper lip waxed. The eyebrows had been painful, her eyes tearing up now at just the memory of that hot wax being yanked off tender skin. Then the exfoliation and the mud wrap, which was appallingly too warm and much more like being imprisoned in a Domino’s pizza hot-bag than any sort of spa treatment.
Shimmery highlights ranging from caramel (to match Brandon’s) to champagne blond were woven through her normally darker hair. She sat for four hours getting a Japanese hair straightening treatment that made the entire salon smell like the carcasses of dead fish being devoured in vats of foul acid. Still, it was the pin-straight Kate Middleton slash post-break-up Kourtney Kardashian look that the stylists insisted was most sympathetic and enviable. And by lightening her hair a few shades, it looked less suspiciously like copycatting famous women and their hairstyles.