The Beast’s Fake Marriage

by Bree Livingston

  “This garden is illuminated with thousands of lights. The breeze blowing is warm and wonderful, and the fragrance of all these flowers is unlike anything I’ve ever known. This is the perfect spot to dance. Please?” She blinked, giving him her best sad puppy dog eyes.

  His mouth dropped open. “Oh, that’s not fair.”

  She shrugged. “You’re forcing my hand.”

  He stood, and she pointed her face up at him as he loomed over her. He shook his head. “It’s been ages since I danced with anyone. And next time, that look won’t work on me.”

  “Yes, it will.” She grinned.

  The amusement playing on his features made her pulse race. “There’s a chance you might be right.” He took her hand and pulled her close, and it was the most right feeling she’d had in longer than she could remember. She’d only really gotten to know him in the last few days, and already she was growing so attached to him.

  As they began to dance, it hit her that Kelsey was right. He was someone she could fall for. How long had it been since she felt such peace? He made her laugh and feel safe, but more than that she enjoyed being with him.

  “Have I told you how lovely you look tonight? When you walked onto the veranda, I could have sworn there was an angel standing in front of me.”

  Her cheeks warmed. “If you call me a liar, I’ll stomp on your feet. Fair warning.”

  Rowan laughed. “What?”

  “I think you look great. You’re so handsome.”

  “Isabeau.”

  “We’re married now. You can call me Izzy.”

  He shook his head. “No, I can’t.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s unbefitting of your grace and poise. Isabeau suits you. I can’t bring myself to call you by the other.”

  If her cheeks were warm before, they were a five-alarm fire now. “No one. No one has ever said anything like that to me before.”

  “Well, they should have.” He smiled.

  “Thank you. You know, you’re very sweet.”

  “We both know that’s not true,” he said and twirled her.

  She gasped. “I knew you could dance.”

  He laughed as he caught her gaze. “I may have downplayed my abilities.”

  “Downplayed.” She popped him on the chest. “Why did you say you couldn’t dance? For someone who doesn’t like lying, you sure do it a lot and rather effortlessly.”

  He pulled his gaze from hers and shrugged. “I’m not used to anyone being this close to me. Ulysses and Retta are familiar, but I’m—”

  “Worried that I’ll change my mind about liking your face?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m not, and you have to quit lying to me. If I can’t lie to you, you can’t lie to me.”

  He nodded, avoiding eye contact. “I won’t lie anymore.”

  “Good.” She stopped him. “You’re interesting, funny, and sweet. I enjoy spending time with you. I was serious when I said I wanted to be your friend. The only friend I have is Kelsey.”

  He locked eyes with her. “Why is she your only friend? You are a walking bottle of sunshine. It makes no sense to me.” Pulling her close, he started their dance again.

  Because Steven made them think she was crazy, and blamed her for everything. “I had several people I called friends, but they couldn’t handle my accident. Kelsey is the only one who stuck with me. She’s part of the reason I agreed to marry you.”

  “Why?”

  She shrugged. “I lived with her in a tiny apartment for five months, and I didn’t want her getting sick of me. I figured this house is big enough that if you get tired of me, you can just draw a line and tell me to stay on my side, on top of avoiding the east wing.”

  “I don’t see that happening. I can’t see your friend getting sick of you either. I bet she was glad to have you staying with her.”

  “Maybe, but I’m not as easy to deal with as you think.”

  “Is that why you said you were afraid I’d think you were a monster?”

  How could she explain it without just telling him everything at once? She couldn’t dump that on him. What if he did decide she was the monster? Kelsey told her it wasn’t her fault, but that didn’t change how she felt.

  Izzy nodded and cast her gaze down. “I’m trying to be better, but when I wasn’t…feeling good, I had a hard time dealing with it. It made me a different person, and it’s taking longer to be me again than I thought it would.”

  With one finger, he tipped her chin up. “I understand that more than you know. It’s hard to be the person you were when you no longer see that person in the mirror.”

  “Exactly,” she said as tears suddenly pooled in her eyes. “I see cracks in the mirror, and all I want is to fill in those cracks so I can be whole again.”

  “I know.”

  She hugged him around the waist. “I think that’s why I like being around you. No one understands. They think I should be okay, but they don’t see all my wounds. If I was wearing a cast, a bandage, or something like that, they’d get it. But because all of my hurt is on the inside, it’s not valid.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, and it was more than just a hug to her. It was his way of not just saying he understood but showing it. She tipped her face up to him. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Not patronizing me.”

  “Believe me, I understand that even more.”

  Izzy smiled. “One more dance?”

  “Sure, but only one. I do have to get caught up on work tomorrow.”

  “No rest for the weary?”

  He laughed and shot her a smile that made her pulse race. “You could say that.”

  He’d said only one, but she managed to talk him into another. She wanted to try for a third, but she also didn’t want to push her luck. Once they finished the last dance, Rowan walked her to her room.

  “As awkward and weird as this was, it was also the most fun I’ve had in ages. Thank you again for making the garden so pretty and for dancing with me,” Izzy said.

  Rowan smiled. “I actually had fun as well, which surprised me.”

  “Oh, well, that’s a compliment,” she teased.

  “No, I—”

  She giggled. “I know what you meant.”

  “Good night, Isabeau.”

  Good night,” she said as she slipped inside her room and leaned her back against the door. She was married, she’d danced with Rowan, and it seemed they’d taken a few steps toward being friends. That, she could handle.

  As much as she liked him—and she did like him a lot—she wasn’t ready for anything else. She could handle being friends, but the butterflies she’d experienced all night said the potential for so much more was there. The thought should have terrified her, but it didn’t. It excited her, and it had been a long time since she’d been excited about someone.

  Chapter 10

  A knock came at Rowan’s office door, and it opened slightly. “Uh, Rowan, it’s lunchtime. I thought you might be hungry,” Isabeau said as she peeked in. “I thought maybe we could have lunch together since you’ve been so busy lately.”

  His heart skipped a beat and then pounded at the sight of her. “Uh, sure.”

  With her shoulder, she pushed through the door carrying a tray with a book tucked under her arm and smiled. “I was hoping you could.”

  It wasn’t surprising that she carried a book with her. One of the things he’d noticed about her was her voracious reading habit. He stood and walked to the couch. “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy.”

  “You’ve been hiding in here for a week. A girl starts to wonder if she’s being avoided.” She set the tray down and sat on the couch.

  There was a little truth to that. She made him nervous. “No, I haven’t been avoiding you. There’s a merger I’m working on, and both parties are being difficult.”

  “Oh. Do you often have cases like that?”

  He nodded. “Typically, I’m the one that comes in
and gets people on the same page.”

  “Like a mediator?”

  “You could say that. Only, it involves lots of money and jobs.”

  He sat beside her and instantly wanted to breathe in whatever fruity scent she’d worn. Add to it the soft purple blouse and jeans she wore, and it was hard to take his eyes off of her.

  “Well, all that brain activity needs a little fuel, wouldn’t you say?”

  “You’ve been talking to Retta, I see.”

  She laughed. “I have, and I like her. And Ulysses. He’s a very sweet man.”

  “I depend on them. Maybe a little too much.”

  “You have me now too. I mean, just because this is only for a year doesn’t mean we have to stop talking at the end, right?”

  Continue to have a relationship with her? It sounded like a heartbreak waiting to happen. He was already wondering how he was going to keep his distance enough to make it through the year. Falling in love with her would be easy. He was drawn to her, more so than anyone he’d ever met.

  She bumped him with her shoulder. “Right?”

  “You’re right.”

  “Good. I like talking to you.” She shot him a smile. “Now, there’s grilled tomato and cheese with caramelized onions and tomato soup.”

  “Another of my favorites.”

  “That’s what Retta said.” She chewed her lip. “By the way, I’m a horrible cook. It’s a good thing you have Retta, or your choices would be limited to cold-cut sandwiches and peanut butter and jelly. Can you cook?”

  He laughed. “I do okay. Retta is a good teacher.”

  “I know. She’s been teaching me. I’m just not confident enough to say I’ve graduated to anything more complicated than sandwiches.”

  “This is a sandwich.”

  “A complicated sandwich. Caramelized onions are tricky. I burned the first pan.”

  “Did you make this one?”

  She nodded. “With a little extra supervision. Retta didn’t believe when I told her I was a menace in the kitchen.”

  “I’m sure that with her guidance, you’ll be a pro in no time.” It wasn’t until he took a bite that he realized just how hungry he was.

  Isabeau pulled hers apart and nibbled a bite. “Oh, this is good. I was suspicious of the onions,” she said and took a larger bite.

  He chuckled. “You’re very funny. And you look lovely today.”

  “You say that every time you see me.”

  “Because it’s true, and it applies even when I don’t see you.”

  A light blush of pink blanketed her cheeks. “Thank you.”

  “You can’t tell me you don’t know that.”

  She laid her hands in her lap. “I’ve been told that, but I like the way you say it. I don’t feel like a mouse when it comes from you.”

  What a curious thing to say. “A mouse?”

  “You aren’t a predator. I don’t feel like a mouse caught by a cat. The way you say it, it’s sweet, and I like it. It means more to me coming from you.” She lifted her gaze, and those green eyes of hers locked with his, causing every ounce of air in his lungs to suddenly feel squeezed out.

  Even when he’d dated before the accident, he never remembered feeling such a strong desire to hold a woman or kiss her. “Then I will remember to say it every time I see you.”

  Her wide smile was his reward. Those soft, luscious lips curved in such an alluring way that it was torture not to bend down and taste them.

  He cleared his throat and looked away before he did something insane like actually kiss her. “Thank you for lunch, by the way.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ve been missing you, so it was really for selfish reasons.”

  “I never thought I’d be thankful for selfishness.”

  She shot him a glance. “Do you know how charming you are?”

  “I’m not charming. I’m grouchy, standoffish, and pigheaded.”

  Isabeau lifted an eyebrow. “You can shovel that somewhere else. You use that as a way to push people away. I’m not buying it anymore.”

  He laughed, and it came from such a deep place that it threw him. “You aren’t, huh?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. You are a big softy with a loud bark.”

  “I’m so glad you have me figured out.” He was flirting with her. When was the last time he’d flirted with a woman? And it felt as if she was flirting back, but she was sweet, and he was probably reading too much into it. It wasn’t like he was an expert on flirting.

  With a one-shoulder shrug, she said, “Someone had to. May as well be me.”

  Yeah, he was thinking the same thing. And he had to admit, since she’d popped into his life, he’d seen the world a little differently. Even just something as simple as quietly eating lunch together made him feel lighter.

  Even with the temptation to kiss her ever-present, he liked how she made him feel. Normally, he’d be terrified, but she was so easy to be with. He also didn’t feel he needed to hide from her, which was another shock. It wasn’t until then that he realized he hadn’t been hiding from her since they went to the courthouse.

  “I’m glad it was you,” he said.

  “See? Charming.”

  Rowan laughed. “I think you might bring out the best in me, so I’ll give you credit for that.”

  “Okay, Mr. Charming, I guess I should let you get back to work,” she said and stood.

  “Thank you for thinking of me.” He moved to the edge of the couch to stand, and she turned.

  As she looked down at him, the world faded. She combed her fingers through his hair. “You’re wrong.”

  “What?”

  “You are gorgeous.”

  “Isabeau,” he said and tried to turn away.

  She caught his face in her hands, lowered her lips to the mottled, burned skin on his left cheek, and pressed them to it. When she leaned back, she locked eyes with him. “You are. Every inch of you is gorgeous. And those scars are the loveliest part.”

  What? His skin was horrific. How could she think that and mean it? “I don’t know how you can say that.”

  “Those scars are a testament to your courage and will to live, even though life wasn’t going to be easy. It takes no forethought, courage, or strength to walk through life when the world loves you. It’s scars like yours that prove big battles can be fought and won. You give me hope that I can win mine.”

  And whatever it took, she would win. He’d see to that.

  Holding her gaze as he stood, he said, “You’ll win yours, even if I have to carry you.” He brushed her hair over her shoulder, thinking he should back away slowly before he lost his head. “I should work tonight, but it’s my birthday today. I hadn’t planned to celebrate, but…if you’d like, we can have a picnic in the garden. I’ll make sure the lights are turned on.” What? That’s not what he’d meant to say. He’d meant to say, I’ll see you later, or something similar. Not to invite her to spend the evening with him so he could pick the shovel back up and dig the hole deeper.

  “Your birthday? And you didn’t tell me?”

  “It’s nothing. I never make a big deal of it.”

  “I will.” She clapped her hands and kissed his cheek again. “Happy Birthday. I’d love to have a picnic with you.”

  But now that he’d opened his mouth and stuck his entire size-twelve foot in it, he couldn’t back out. “Then consider it a date…between friends.”

  “I’ll go tell Retta,” she said and picked up the tray. “You’ve made my day, Mr. Charming.”

  He laughed. “I’ll meet you on the veranda. Say, seven?”

  Isabeau pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth as she smiled. “Okay.”

  Rowan caught himself watching her as she exchanged her book and then danced out of his office. Why was he torturing himself? There was no way this could end well. But she’d held his gaze as she’d called him gorgeous and his scars lovely. She’d touched those perfect lips to his scars. And as strange as the sensation was, he did
n’t mind her doing it. Anyone else, and he’d have thrown them out. But her? He found himself wanting to show her the parts of himself he’d hidden away.

  Except, maybe she wouldn’t think him so courageous if she knew how many times he thought of giving up. What would she say if she knew he’d locked himself away with a plan and the intent to be less courageous than she gave him credit for?

  A knock came at the door, and it opened.

  For a brief moment, he hoped she’d returned, but it was his uncle. “You’ve made a certain young woman delightfully happy,” Ulysses said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  His uncle rolled his eyes. “Please. Izzy practically beamed as she told Retta that she was having a picnic with you tonight.”

  “It’s just a picnic. I’m trying to be friends with her. That’s all.”

  “Well, just so you know, she was glowing.”

  “She’s always glowing. Always beautiful.” He wanted to say, “Always in my thoughts,” but Ulysses would never let him live that down.

  “She is beautiful.”

  “Don’t say that around her, please. She doesn’t like that word.”

  His uncle’s eyebrows knitted together. “She doesn’t like the word beautiful? Why?”

  Rowan shrugged. “I don’t know, but maybe over the course of this year, I’ll find out.”

  “I could run another background check,” his uncle said.

  Shaking his head, Rowan said, “No, I want her to tell me. Whatever happened is big, and prying would be wrong. If whoever hurt her is still alive, I’ll make them wish they weren’t.”

  “I’ll help. I’m sure Retta would too. Izzy is rather infectious. Bubbly, smiling, happy…”

  “She floats everywhere she goes. I’ve never seen sunshine on legs before, but the way she lights up a room, there’s no doubting that’s what she’s made of.” Rowan walked to the chair behind his desk and lowered himself into it. “And she’s out of my league.”

  “Does she share that sentiment?”

  “She doesn’t have to share it. I know it, and I’ll make sure to keep my distance.”

  Ulysses crossed his arms over his chest and held Rowan’s gaze. “Somehow, I don’t see that happening. She’s good for you.”