Hired: A Bride for the Boss: The Playboy Boss's Chosen Bride / The Corporate Marriage Campaign / The Boss's Urgent Proposal. SUSAN MEIERЧитать онлайн книгу.
keep your father waiting, my little tiger,’ he murmured, easing back with far too much control for Merlina’s liking.
‘Have you stopped to think you’re boxing yourself in with this tiger?’ she retorted, unable to blindly follow what instinct dictated. Marriage meant too much to her.
‘We can always get divorced.’
Shock ripped through the irrepressible hope that had been burgeoning from his impulsive decision to marry her. The painful realisation hit that marriage was not a lasting thing to him. His parents were divorced. His grandfather’s divorces were legion. It was just a contract he could break when it no longer suited either party. For Jake that would probably be when someone more exciting came along.
That was how he would think. And she hated it. Hated it! If it was only lust and the desire to win this game, revelling in the challenges facing him, enjoying the fun of coming out on top against all opposition, what chance did this marriage have? She shouldn’t enter into it. She shouldn’t go along with him. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to say a flat no.
She said another truth instead.
‘Divorce is not done in the Rossi family, Jake.’
It was a warning that she needed him to take to heart.
But he didn’t.
‘Let’s see how it goes,’ he said blithely. ‘I’ll pick you up at nine in the morning. We’ll go shopping for a ring.’
‘You’ve already showed my father Byron’s ring,’ she reminded him tersely, frustrated by his carefree attitude.
‘Take it off. We’ll choose one together.’
‘Jake…’ It was a cry of torment over the situation he’d manipulated.
‘Trust me.’ He kissed her again to soothe her distress, then patted her cheek in a tender last salute. ‘I’ll have your father won over before we get to Glebe.’
‘That’s not the point,’ she cried, desperate for him to understand, take heed.
There was no pause for second thoughts. He was brimming over with unshakeable confidence in himself. ‘We’re good together. We’re great together. Think about it.’ He moved her aside, opened the door, and shot her a last happy grin. ‘See you in the morning.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BOXED in… Merlina was haunted by those words all night, tossing and turning in between snatches of sleep, which were broken by dreams of being helplessly trapped. This was the punishment for deception, she thought. Jake would never have thought of marriage except for her fake engagement to his grandfather. But what could she do about it?
Her father had been halfway to giving his approval of Jake as a son-in-law before they’d even left together, and no doubt he’d been charmed into proudly accepting him as family by the time they’d reached Uncle Georgio’s home in Glebe, probably asking him in for a celebratory drink to round off the evening and brag to his brother about Merlina’s fiancé.
The call she’d made to her mother had spilled into explanations for her absence—explanations that she knew her father would give, fed to him by Jake. They weren’t exactly lies, she’d told herself, though her mother’s happy relief that Merlina was finally off the shelf and getting married, and her delight over the family visit tomorrow, had been stomach-churning.
Expectations had been raised.
Expectations had to be met.
Boxed in.
The only person she could talk it over with was Byron—her partner in crime. He was an early riser in the morning so Merlina had time to discuss the situation with him well before Jake arrived at nine o’clock. She telephoned him at seven o’clock, feeling extremely tense and needing support.
Naturally the butler answered her call, immediately expressing concern. ‘Is everything all right, Ms Rossi? I did feel that Mr Jake was steamrolling you last night, taking matters into his own hands.’
‘He certainly did that, Harold,’ she replied with feeling. Amazing really, how comfortable she was with Byron’s household. She’d been treated so nicely there, everyone caring about her needs.
‘A very compelling young man,’ Harold remarked sympathetically.
‘Yes,’ she agreed. ‘And I have to talk to Byron about it, Harold. Is he available?’
‘I’m sure Mr Byron will be pleased to hear from you. Just a moment, Ms Rossi. I’ll transfer this call to him.’
‘Thank you.’
She took a few deep breaths as she waited, trying to reduce her stress level. It was instant balm to her jumpy nerves when she heard the rolling lilt of Byron’s charming voice. He would understand. He’d understood everything.
‘My dear Merlina, have we been successful in corralling the wild one?’
A hysterical little laugh bubbled out. ‘If you mean marriage, Jake corralled himself in front of my father last night.’
‘Your father?’ Said with fascinated interest.
Merlina needed no further prompting to pour out the whole sequence of events, which had led to her current position as Jake’s fiancée in her family’s eyes.
‘Ah, knight to the rescue,’ Byron remarked with relish. ‘Good boy! Shows he has inherited my gentlemanly instincts.’
‘I don’t want Jake to be a gentleman,’ she wailed. ‘I want him to mean it. Really mean it. And after he involved himself with my family, which believe me, won’t take this as a game, he mentioned divorce as a way out in the future. I know that’s fairly common in your family, Byron, but it isn’t in mine. They’re very Italian. Seriously Italian.’
‘Hmm…’ came the sound of serious pondering.
‘Take today, for instance,’ Merlina ran on, anxiety overflowing. ‘He’s going to land right in it at the family barbecue—all my married brothers and sisters and their children, not to mention uncles and aunts and grandparents and the new baby—the whole tribe hugging and kissing him in welcome, then cross-examining him about his life.’ She heaved a worried sigh.
‘None of them divorced, huh?’ Byron queried.
‘Nor ever likely to be,’ rolled emphatically off her tongue.
‘You know, Jake might like that. The sense of solid family. Never had it himself. It could rope him right in, Merlina.’
‘Or make him run a million miles.’
‘No…no…he won’t do that. He’ll view it as a challenge. Winning them over.’
‘A game,’ she said despairingly.
‘Not necessarily. You’re worrying too much, my dear. Jake would not have brought up marriage if it wasn’t on his mind.’
‘Because you—we—put it there, Byron.’
‘A seed doesn’t grow if it hasn’t been planted in ground that suits it. You and he suit each other very well. That is very, very obvious to me.’
We’re good together. We’re great together.
Her heart thumped with unquenchable hope as she remembered Jake’s words.
‘Give it a chance,’ Byron advised. ‘See how it goes.’
Precisely what Jake had said.
Was she worrying too much?
‘You want this, Merlina,’ Byron reminded her. ‘You wouldn’t have played the game with me if you hadn’t wanted to bring Jake to heel. He’s there now because he wants to be there. Let him be embraced by your family. Go with the flow. Be happy,