The Billionaire's Marriage Contract(16)
“It makes you something, alright,” Amy said with a laugh. “It’s not exactly what I had in mind when I told you to raise your profile.”
Ethan straightened up in his chair and turned to the side. “It is a nice profile, isn’t it?”
“Is this how you charm your women?”
“No,” Ethan said, “that was just for me. I thought it was amusing.”
“At least someone did.”
Ethan turned back toward Amy and crossed his arms. “I had forgotten what it was like to be with a woman with such…” He trailed off before finishing his sentence.
“Intelligence?” Amy asked.
“I was going to go with disdain.”
Amy laughed and rolled her eyes. Ethan really was incorrigible. “That’s because you never keep a woman around long enough for her to know you.”#p#分页标题#e#
Ethan leaned in close. He placed his hand over Amy’s. “We don’t have to share a bed if you don’t want to. You could always lie on the floor.”
Amy pulled her hand back. “That might be preferable to sleeping next to you.”
“Who said anything about sleeping?” Ethan asked as he took another sip of water.
Amy started to blush. She couldn’t tell whether Ethan was serious or not, but she could tell how pleased he was with himself. She shook her head and asked, “What else do I need to know before we land?”
“You’ve already read the brief on Hank. He has two sons; one of them will be picking us up from the airfield. Hank insisted upon it. This back and forth that we have going between us will work when we’re there, just, you know, act like you like me.”
“I’ll try. I’m not sure how convincing it will be.”
“Trust me,” Ethan said, “it’s good. Hell, I half believed you had a thing for me.”
“Keep dreaming,” Amy said. She let herself sink a little lower in her chair and exhaled a long sigh. What was she doing?
“Like I was trying to say. I think this trip will give us both a chance to step back and breathe for a little while. You seem like you could use a break.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I know what it’s like to be overworked and overstressed, and I know what it’s like to feel like you have to do everything yourself, Amy. You don’t have to. Trust me. If you learn to let go a little, you’ll find that you’ll get much more out of life.
“I think I have everything under control. For your information, I happen to like the life I’ve made for myself.”
“Then why risk screwing everything up by marrying me?” Ethan asked.
“I’m beginning to wonder the same thing,” Amy said. As she spoke, one of Ethan’s employees arrived from the front of the cabin. “Sir, there’s a call for you. It’s urgent.”
Ethan turned to Amy. “See this is a perfect example. I can let this call wait until we land, and everything will be fine. I have people who can handle this.”
“Just take the call,” Amy replied. “I don’t need you to dote on me. I’m not actually your wife, remember?”
“Actually, you are,” Ethan replied. “And if it makes you happy, I’ll take the call.”
“Well, don’t act like you’re doing me a favor.”
“I won’t,” Ethan said as he got up and walked to the front of the plane to take the call. Amy leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. How was she going to get through a week snowbound in Wyoming with Ethan Cole? Being in the same city as him tended to be bad enough, but now she would be sharing a bed with him and spending all of their time pretending to be blissfully in love? It would have been one thing to fake all of it, but Amy knew there was something there, an attraction on some level, even if it were the impulse to do the opposite of what was good for her, like eating ice cream. No, that wasn’t right. Being with Ethan wasn’t like eating ice cream, it was like waiting for a train and deciding to reach for the third rail. It felt dangerous, and thrilling, and it wasn’t worth the risk.
Ethan didn’t return before the plane started its descent down to the Jackson Hole Airport, and Amy didn’t see him until after the plane had landed. She took one look at him and knew something was up. “You’re going to kill me,” he said, “but I have to leave.”
“What do you mean leave?”
“I mean there’s a situation back east that requires my personal attention immediately.”
“So let’s go. I’m not the one who has a play date with an aging oilman.”