Again, the phone buzzed.This time, she scowled down at it.“Please, get it off the table or tell him to leave you the hell alone.If not, you’re going to force me to,” I warned.“The last thing I need is a lovesick puppy pissing all over everything I worked to put in place.”
“I will handle things in my own way, in my own time.”
I checked my watch.“Exactly how much time is that going to take?Frankly, I’m sick of being able to hear him plead with you through the phone.”
She scoffed and tossed her head, and dammit, she smelled incredible.“Get real.You can’t hear him.”
“Can’t I?”Lowering my voice and sticking out my bottom lip, I mumbled, “Your name is on a license, but that doesn’t mean he owns you.”
Her eyes flew open wide, then her lip curled in a sneer.“You are disgusting,” she hissed.
I clicked my tongue.“That’s not the kind of language a happy wife uses.”
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind in case I’m ever happy.”
The thing was, I believed her.She was determined to be miserable and take it out on me.“Don’t you know by now the biggest mistake a person can make is wishing things were different than they are?Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
“Wow.”With an elbow on the table, she propped her chin on one hand.Anyone watching us in the dimly lit, intimate dining room might believe she was in love.“I didn’t know I was going to get life lessons out of this marriage too.It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
Once my generosity was thrown in my face, I rarely extended it again.So much for trying to help.“Fine.Be as miserable as you want, so long as the rest of the world sees a happy, cheerful?—”
“Employee,” she grunted out, finishing the sentence.“Believe me.I know my place.”
Why did she have to make it about that?If she kept up the shitty attitude, somebody was going to notice.Should I have been softer, kinder?Would she kick me in the teeth for it if I was?I might have married her for a business deal, but again, I still had my pride.
At least the presence of food gave us something to do besides aggravate each other, though the way she gritted her teeth through cutting the buttery beef told me the fight wasn’t over.Remember what you’re getting out of this.
I looked back through my memories of what we had seen so far this week, the results of patience and focus on my part.It was all mine, every last brick of every last hotel.My press agent was already fielding interview requests fromForbes,Newsweek, andFortunenow that news of the buyout had hit the press—the crown prince of the hospitality world, the wunderkind who, at thirty-two, owned one of the most profitable hospitality brands in the world.
I could handle animosity and even outright hatred when I remembered everything I was gaining.So I’d be damned if some asshole was going to plague every day of the rest of my life because of that.
This time, when her phone rang, I didn’t settle for making a snide comment.“What are you—” she whispered when I picked up the phone and answered.
“Matteo, this is Clayton Manning,” I announced quietly.“And if you want to avoid a lawsuit alleging harassment, you will stop calling my wife.Do you understand me?”
Rather than give him a chance to stop sputtering, I ended the call and returned the phone.“He’s lucky we’re in public and hundreds of miles away.”
She didn’t say a word at first.She didn’t blink, either, not for a long time.Her chest rose and fell in time with her rapid breathing.“How.Dare.You?”
“I’m your husband, remember?”
“You have no goddamn right,” she whispered, her cheeks going red.“None.If you ever touch anything of mine again, I will shove it so far up your ass you’ll be able to taste it.Do we understand each other?”
With that, she pushed her chair back, dabbing her mouth and tossing the napkin onto her plate.“I’m going to the suite.And you can go to hell.”
Fuck.We needed anyone seeing her storming off during this little hissy fit.Granted, she managed to play it off, slipping out of the room without being noticed.Bridget might think it was rude.Then again, she could assume the newlyweds were in a hurry to be alone.
I couldn’t afford to give that much thought, following Mira’s progress down the hall, where elevators waited across from the front desk.Guests mingled, gathering in the spacious lobby before heading to dinner as we came to a stop, side by side.
She wanted to set ground rules?That was fine with me.It was well past time we did.
Rule one.Never walk away from me.
“You really do not want to fuck with me right now,” she whispered, her teeth clenched, waiting for the elevator to open.“I am doing us both a favor.Leave me alone.”
“We both know that is not going to happen,” I reminded her.“We’re in this together, which is unfortunate since no one ever taught you manners.”
“Are you serious right now?”The look she gave me could have frozen lava, yet it somehow heated my blood.“That might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
