“You okay?” I ask.
She nods, trying to catch her breath. Reaching for a napkin, she wipes her mouth before crushing it in her hand.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she finally responds. “I would never marry you.”
“Here’s the deal,” I say. “We’re approaching summer, which, in the Rutherford family, means wedding season and a four-week mandatory stay at the family estate in Montauk. I’m turning thirty next month, and my parents have a sort of agreement with the Sheffield family that if I’m not married by thirty, I’ll be promised to their daughter, Audrina. Our mothers have literally been counting down the days since we were babies, chomping at the bit to plan the wedding of the century.”
“No one can force you to marry someone you don’t want to marry.”
“Ah, maybe that’s so for most, Mari. But not in my family. My parents have ways,” I say. “They won’t hesitate to make my life … difficult … if I don’t adhere.”
“So you want them to think you’re already engaged? What happens when the jig is up and you’re still thirty and unmarried?”
“This is why I’m offering you three million dollars,” I say. “For the next three months, through wedding season and the family month at Montauk, I want you to play the part of my dutiful, head-over-heels in love fiancée. You must be convincing—we must be convincing. At the end of the three months, you’ll receive half of your payment.”
She lifts a brow. “Okay, so how would I earn the rest?”
“By marrying me.” I clear my throat. “On paper.”
Her expression falls. Clearly the idea holds zero appeal.
“Until Audrina finds some other poor schmuck to shackle herself to, I need you to be my wife. Legal wife. You don’t have to live with me after this summer. In fact, you don’t have to see me ever again. You simply have to be the name on the marriage certificate that assures my parents that I’m one hundred percent off the market.”
“What if she takes years to find someone? What if she never finds someone? I’m just supposed to put my life on hold?”
“Kind of,” I say with a gentle wince. “I know it’s not ideal, but that’s where the other half of your payment comes into play. In the meantime, you’ll be free to date as you please. You’ll be free to fall in love. You just won’t be free to legally marry until we’re able to quietly dissolve our arrangement.”
“What about holidays? Won’t your family wonder where I am at Christmas?”
“My parents go to Aspen for Christmas. I hate skiing, so I never join them. Our month at Montauk each summer is about the extent of our family togetherness. I’d be happy to make excuses for you in the coming years. Anyway, I don’t anticipate Audrina will be on the market very long. She’s been holding off for me, but rumor has it she’s got a short list of waiting suitors in her back pocket, and she’s got baby fever something fierce.”
She pushes her half-eaten bowl of ramen away, resting her head in her hands and staring blankly ahead as if she might actually be contemplating this.
“What? What are you thinking?” I ask.
Her brows lift. “That this entire thing sounds insane. And that you’re insane.”
“Maybe it is. And maybe I am. But I know it could work.”
She turns to me, her eyes holding mine. “Why me, though? I can’t stand you and you’re well aware.”
“That’s exactly why it has to be you.”
“You can’t tell me that out of the assortment of women I’ve seen waltzing in and out of your life the last two months, not one of them would be jumping at the chance to help you with this.”
“You’re right. They would be. But then they’d want something more, and quite frankly, I have nothing more to give than my last name and a comfortable lifestyle,” I say, checking my wristwatch. “You, Mari … you wouldn’t want more from me, and that’s exactly why you’re the only one I trust.”
“I don’t know how I could convince anyone I’m in love with someone who gets under my skin the way you do, Hudson.”
“You said you could act.” I lift a brow.
“I … yeah … I guess? But can you?”
Stepping toward her, I take her by the wrist and guide her off the bar stool, pulling her body against mine, meeting her curious gaze with my own sultry version. Cupping her soft cheek in my right hand and letting my fingers graze the nape of her neck, I lift her mouth, holding mine inches from hers.