He crossed his arms over his chest. ‘The terms of our marriage have already been agreed to. I have the contract to prove it.’
‘I’d like to vary them.’
‘That’s not generally how contracts work.’
‘What’s the matter, Theo? Are you scared of what I’m going to suggest?’
‘What do you want?’ he asked, but stayed where he was, so for a second, she thought maybe she was right: that hewasscared.
‘Well, definitely not this.’
He arched a single brow. ‘You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to marry me.’
‘No, I don’t think I did.’
‘What precisely is the problem?’
‘You’re ignoring me.’
He frowned. ‘Am I?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t gaslight me. We both know you’re staying out of the house so you don’t have to see me. What happened to a “public marriage”?’
He moved to his desk then, pressing his fingers into the edge of it, his expression thoughtful. ‘You’d like to go on more dates?’
‘I’d like to not feel like I’m either walking on eggshells or being completely ignored.’
‘You are the one who asked me to turn your father’s company around.’
‘I know that.’
‘Did you think I would just snap my fingers? It takes work,agape. Long, hard work.’
Chastened, she bit into her lip. She’d barely thought about the company since he’d agreed to take it over and help her.
‘I know.’
‘Is this about dinner dates, Annie, or something else?’
Her heart began to race so loudly, it was all she could hear.
‘It’s about spending time together.’
He walked towards her then, his gait predatory, like a cougar, prowling, intent on his catch. ‘I told you, sex wouldn’t change anything.’
‘And I told you, I get that.’ She angled her chin belligerently. ‘Why can’t you take me at my word and accept that I can walk and chew gum at the same time.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘I can sleep with you, talk to you, and be fake married to you, without any part of this changing. In eighteen months, I will be demanding that divorce we’ve discussed, no matter what happens between us now. All I’m saying is: Why can’t we just make the most of this, in the meantime?’
He stared down at her, as though she’d started speaking a totally foreign language.
‘I’d never had sex before that day,’ she said seriously, honestly, staring up at him. ‘And now, you hardly seem to want to touch me. Did I do something wrong?’
Theo didn’t move, so Annie’s heart sank.
‘I mean, I wasn’t sure…’