The Billionaire's Marriage Contract(49)

Then the elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Ethan ran his tongue across Amy’s for a moment longer before pulling back. He couldn’t help but smile as he looked at her. Amy let out a little sigh and followed Ethan out to the lobby.

Amy looked around to see if anyone noticed them as they walked to the front door. “You really should just get back to work. I’m sure your empire needs tending.” As she said this, Amy realized that she had gone for a considerable stretch of the morning without thinking about her company. It had been a few days since Amy had walked out of her office to get married, and she had no idea what state everything was in. It felt good to be out of the loop for once. She knew she had Ethan to thank for this change in perspective.

Ethan cleared his throat. He wanted to make sure that Amy understood his intentions. He wasn’t trying to coerce her into living with him. He really wanted to help, but he couldn’t deny the fact that Amy moving in would solidify the appearance of their marriage. “Well, whether or not you decide to stay with me, Vi is always welcome,” Ethan said as he turned for the door.

“Watch out,” Amy called after him, “she showed up at my house a few years back and never left.”

“I can think of worse things,” Ethan said as he stepped out into the warm afternoon sun. Then he turned around and added, “I’ll tell you what, how about you come over and take a look at the place tonight?”

“Inviting me back to your place already? Aren’t you at least going to buy me dinner first?” Amy called across the lobby to him.

“Of course,” Ethan replied. “We have reservations at seven.”

“Where?”

“Don’t worry about that. Just get back to your place and be ready by six. I’ll come pick you up.”

“Make it Friday.”

“I’ve already made the reservations.”

“Then change them to Friday. I’m sure that a man of your means will be able to make that happen.”

Amy stood there in the lobby, watching Ethan as he walked off out of sight. Now what do I do? she wondered. She got in the elevator and headed to Vi’s room. On her flight back, she had convinced herself that her vacation with Ethan had just been a fantasy, a game the two of them had played, but now that he was back, now that he had asked her to move in, she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe it was something more. She thought about dinner with Ethan, and, for the first time, she allowed herself to admit that she wanted it to be something more than just business.

***

When she got back to the room, Vi smiled and said, “Oh, I thought you had left.”

“I was just seeing Ethan out,” Amy replied.

Vi turned and looked out the window. “This is a fun role reversal, isn’t it?” she said after a long pause.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, after all these years, you’re finally my guest instead of the other way around.”

“That’s one way of looking at it. I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me.”

“Go,” Vi said. “I’ll have one of the nurses sneak me a magazine.”

“I don’t think they’re exactly contraband,” Amy replied.

“Well, I haven’t told you what kind yet.”

“Violet!” Amy said. She couldn’t help but laugh, and she was glad to see her feeling well enough to joke around.

“Well, if you can’t do that, make sure your sister hasn’t burned your company to the ground in your absence. I know it’s been gnawing at you all morning.”

“Actually,” Amy replied, “I’ve barely thought about it at all.”

Vi made a shooing motion toward the door. “Good. Now go find that handsome man of yours. Do something interesting. Live a little. Have fun. Buy me a magazine.”

“That sounds nice,” Amy replied. Maybe it was time to have a little fun, she thought. She didn’t know how long her fun with Ethan could last now that she was back in real life, but it seemed worth a shot.





Chapter 17

As promised, Ethan arrived at six pm on Friday in a town car. Amy held her breath as she watched it pull up to the curb outside her house. She looked up at the clouds above and wondered if she should grab an umbrella or just hope that the rain held off. She’d only have to walk the few feet to the car anyway, so she figured there was probably little need to worry.

Amy had spent the better part of the afternoon getting ready. She felt like she had on the day he had proposed to her, only this time, she knew that the chemistry between them was more than just friendly, and she couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen when they got back to his place later that night.