Then ducking down into his messenger-style briefcase, he pulled out a manila folder, flashing the same smile he’d had walking in the door. The one that had her attention snared, but didn’t last long enough for her to identify why.
Maybe he was tired, regardless of what he’d said about the comfort of the apartment.
“Got time to talk honeymoons?” he asked, heading past her to the living room.
A relieved laugh burst from her lungs as she followed, giddy elation bubbling up within her.
Nothing had changed.
She was the one who should have gotten more sleep.
Settling into the couch, Connor flipped open the folder and then started sorting the brochures within.
Megan tucked her feet beneath her. “So I see you have some ideas.”
Only, then she saw what they were...Zurich, Munich, Taiwan.
“Not so much of a secluded-beach guy, huh?” she asked, a numbness creeping over her with the awareness of what these locales signified.
Connor shrugged, stacking the brochures in piles and then revising the order. “I like the beach fine, but what I’m thinking is it makes more sense to kill two birds with one stone.”
Kill two birds...? She looked at the piles again.
“I need to get out to each of these locations for business in the next month...” Connor left the rest of the sentence to hang as his hand smoothed over her shoulder. “Hey. I know we were talking about making it some romantic-fantasy thing, but after the meetings I had yesterday and today, it’s time to get my head out of the clouds and back to reality. I’m happy to take you on a trip. But practically speaking, one of these places is going to get us the most mileage. I’ll get my meetings taken care of, while you take in the sights. Hit a few tours. Do some shopping.”
That creeping numbness began to melt off beneath the heat of her rising temper. What in the—?
He’d been the one to suggest the honeymoon. The romantic destinations. But of course, that had been before she’d offered herself up on a platter. Megan stared back at that easy smile and indulgent expression, feeling for the first time as if the man in front of her was a stranger.
...time to get back to reality...
Was that what this was? Some kind of warning before she committed? Connor’s way of making sure she understood this life ahead of them wasn’t always going to be sunshine and roses?
“Hey, if you’re dying for some beach time, though, you could take a trip to Hawaii. Or maybe hit a spa somewhere. Take a girlfriend with you.”
She held up a staying hand. “I get it, Connor.”
The honeymoon was over. And she was about to see a side of her husband he hadn’t shown her before.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
DONE UP IN ANOTHER DESIGNER gown, Megan sat tucked into the back corner of the limousine, watching the lights and windows pass in a blur. Eyes shifting to the opposite seat, she noted Connor sorting through the work he’d brought along when they’d picked him up from his office a few minutes ago.
He’d greeted her with a kiss—chaste as it was—compliments on her gown and hair. A question about her day.
And yet nothing about it seemed real.
Yes, he listened to her answers, cataloging the information for later use. But the connection they’d shared from the start—that invisible something weighting every comment, every question, every small smile or subtle glance with meaning and value and more—had evaporated with her offer of what he’d sworn up and down he wanted.
Of course, Connor was still pleasant. Still charming. Still available to answer her questions or provide an hour or so of company at the end of the night. But the interaction was a mere shadow of what it had been in the weeks before.
Her husband had become the list of attributes he’d provided that first day they spent together.
Had this been what he’d meant their marriage to be from the start? The romance, the laughter, the intensity of the connection between them...was it all simply Connor reeling her in? Securing her affection and interest so she’d consider his proposition?