‘Tacky and garish? How well you know me,’ she said, sliding it onto her finger and trying to guess whether it was fifteen or twenty carats.
‘At least no one will miss it,’ he said, and she glanced up at him again.
‘You’re enjoying this.’
‘Yes.’ He didn’t attempt to deny it, nor to hide his pleasure. ‘But there are other things I’m going to enjoy far more about marrying you, Annie.’
And despite everything she knew she should feel, a slick of moist heat, of delicious, desperate warmth, flooded her body, and a pulse began to throb between her legs, so she glanced away sharply and then quickly stood up, almost bumping straight into him.
Damn him for still being able to do this to her. Damn him for being the only man she’d ever felt anything like this for. How she hated him for that! Hate was good, though. Hatred and rage were excellent protective mechanisms, though Annie didn’t stop to wonder why she should think she needed to protect herself. Once bitten, twice shy was her mantra—no way would she let Theo in again. Not now she knew what he was capable of.
Chapter Four
FOUR WEEKS PASSEDin the blink of an eye, and before Annie knew it, the wedding day arrived. She hadn’t seen her fiancé since their dinner date in Sydney. She hadn’t needed to. Photos of them had gone up online even as they’d been eating a meal, pretending to have a wonderful time, thus meeting his requirement that their engagement be public and known. No doubt, Theo had had someone tip off the paparazzi. It just made Annie glad that she’d forewarned her father. Having lost her mother to a bad heart, she worried about the same with her father, despite the fact he was in excellent health.
Although Theo’s remarks had hinted at him being attracted to Annie, he’d dropped her at her hotel without so much as a suggestion of joining her. And she’d been glad for that, too. Not that she would have minded rejecting him.
Annie had left all of the wedding planning to Theo—or someone he hired. Had it been a real wedding, she would undoubtedly have wanted to weigh in on every single decision, but given that he had blackmailed her into this, she figured he could take on the stress of planning.
The only thing she’d done for herself was select the wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses. For the latter, she’d chosen a pale yellow prom style, and for the former, an elegant off-white silk slip with a dropped back. She wore three fine gold chains that dangled at different heights down her spine. She looked like she was going to a fancy party, rather than a wedding, and though she had conceded to the wearing of her mother’s veil, she refusedto let it cover her face like a bridal innocent—she was going into this with her eyes wide open. No need to pretend otherwise. Her glossy dark hair had been styled into voluminous curls that hung around her face, and her fingers were painted a simple nude. On her feet, she wore black stilettos—a striking contrast to the dress—and her lips were painted a deep red. She revelled in bucking the traditional bride model. This wasn’t a traditional wedding.
Perhaps on some level it was because she wanted to save the real bridal gown and look for one day, if and when she were to marry for real. After all, in eighteen months or less she’d be free of Theo, and one day, surely, she’d meet someone special. Someone she might love, who would love her back, like she’d once upon a time thought Theo did.
She’d chosen two school friends to act as bridesmaids, though she hadn’t felt close to them for a long time. Theo had organised a large wedding, so what choice did she have? She hadn’t asked who he was having as groomsmen; she hadn’t wanted to show interest in his life.
‘Are you ready, my love?’ her father, misty-eyed, asked as he poked his head around the door to her room in the luxurious Athens hotel suite Theo had booked out for the bridal party.
Annie stared at her reflection, drawing in a deep breath. Was she ready?
Not really.
And yet, at the same time, she just wanted to get this over with. The sooner they were married, the sooner Theo’s money would flow into the company, and they could start focusing on how to rebuild it. Instead of a honeymoon, they’d have a corporate merger. Relief twisted inside Annie, even as butterflies overtook every part of her body.
‘Darling?’
She blinked her gaze sideways to where her father stood, a hint of concern on his handsome face.
‘Yes.’ She forced a bright smile. ‘I’m ready. Let’s go.’
‘Annie.’ Her father hesitated, though. ‘If you have any doubts, you can back out.’
Annie’s heart thumped.
‘You say you’re happy, that this is what you want, but you look as though you’re on the way to the executioner.’
Damn it. She had been brooding. She forced a bright smile. ‘I’m nervous—isn’t that normal for a wedding?’
‘Not my wedding,’ her father said, shaking his head. ‘Marrying your mother was the happiest day of my life. I would do it a thousand times over if I could.’
Emotions threatened to topple Annie’s determination. She ran her fingers over her veil, thinking of her mother, drawing strength from her even when she wasn’t there. This was necessary, and marrying Theo would be the answer to all their problems; she had to do it. ‘I’m getting married.’
‘But today, and to him? Why not wait awhile. Meet some other men. You’ve barely dated—’
‘No, Dad. No. It’s Theo, or no one.’ That was true, though not for the reasons her father might have supposed.
‘Your mother would have hated this,’ he said, and with such sadness and disapproval in his tone that Annie’s heart splintered apart. She didn’t want to disappoint her father, but this was the only way she could save the business. She dropped her hand from the veil, hoping he was wrong, hoping that Elizabeth Langley would have understood.
‘I hope not,’ Annie said.