Just what have I gotten myself into?
Riding in a plush limousine was a new experience for Annabelle, and she felt completely out of her element. The black dress Anna, the personal shopper, sent over around five this afternoon fit perfectly, so at least she looked nice, despite her discomfort. Staying remarkably true to Annabelle's style after a single phone conversation, the dress was simple and sexy. Anna even sent over a matching necklace, handbag, and black heels to complete the outfit.
The question Annabelle kept asking herself was just how she’d managed to get roped into dinner when she’d so clearly told him no?
To be honest, though, Annabelle was already in awe of Hudson’s opulent lifestyle. Growing up in a small town south of Atlanta, she had known a modest childhood. Her parents died when she was only thirteen, so she’d always felt like she was a burden on the people around her. Especially Julia, who was a few years older and was constantly bailing her out of trouble. This was her big chance to really do something for Julia for a change. What could it hurt if she enjoyed herself in the process?
Maybe because this whole thing is a big sham?
It would do her good to remember that she had a role to play—the mysterious and enviable date of one of the country’s most notoriously eligible bachelors. She had always been a good actress, so the best plan was just to act her way through this entire ordeal.
All she had to do was get through tonight and it would all be over. And any information she could get about where Hudson’s twin brother was right now, or how to get in touch with him, would be a bonus.
So far, though, Hudson had said no more than three words to her since she’d gotten into the limo. He took notice of her attire with an appreciative nod, but then he put his nose into his phone and had barely come up for air since.
What would a real date say to him in this situation? A well-matched date would probably leave him to his work, but Annabelle wasn't really the quiet type. The silence was killing her.
“So, is tonight's outing a simple date? Or are you hiding a massive diamond ring in that fancy suit of yours?”
That certainly got his attention. Hudson looked up and laughed.
“I thought you said no,” he teased.
“Are there any ground rules about what I need to do once we're out in public? I mean, I’m assuming you lured me out tonight to give the media a real show. Make it look like we’re a legit couple or something?”
“Act like you adore me and you find everything I say completely fascinating. That should do it, I think.” He winked.
“That shouldn't be too hard,” she said with more than a hint of sarcasm. Hudson must have detected her caustic tone, because he eyed her curiously.
“You are a strange woman, Annabelle Day.”
“What?” She laughed it off, hoping he wasn't on to her entire scheme this easily. “No, I'm not. I'm completely normal, thank you very much.”
“No, in fact, you're rather difficult to understand.” He squinted his eyes slightly and studied her.
Annabelle fidgeted, biting at her lower lip. She glanced out the window, hoping the restaurant would miraculously appear, but it was nowhere in sight. Silence might have been more comfortable. Why had she started up a conversation?
“The afternoon when we first met, you seemed willing to put your entire career on the line just to seduce me by my swimming pool. But today, you seemed uncomfortable when I got close to you. So which is it?”
“Which is what?” she asked, stalling.
“Do you want to seduce me? Or run away from me?” His phone lay discarded on the seat next to him, and he leaned forward, his knees just inches from her own.
The interior of the limo seemed suddenly very hot and stuffy, making it difficult to draw in a solid breath. There was no doubt she was attracted to him, no matter how much she hated herself for it. That sort of thing wasn't something you could decide with your head, really. And it wasn't something she could turn off, even if she wanted to.
But how to answer him when he wouldn't stop staring at her with those inquisitive emerald eyes of his? All she could bring herself to do was to stare back.
“Annabelle, are you scared I'll think you set me up with those photographs?” His question came out of nowhere. It was as if he had stared straight into her eyes and pulled out the one thing she didn't want him to see.
“What? No, of course not. Where would you get such a ridiculous idea?” she rambled, stumbling over her words. He was turning her into a mess.
“I don't think that, you know,” he said, leaning back against the seat, giving her some space to breathe again.
“What makes you so sure?” she asked, searching his face for some clue of how he truly saw her.
“Little things. Like the late bills and the circled employment ads in the paper. Whoever sold those photos got a nice payday, I'm sure. If it was you, losing your job wouldn't have mattered to you. At least not today. You certainly wouldn't have come straight home and started looking at job options.”
“So, you went through my private papers? That's nice to know,” she said, relieved he had at least managed to convince himself of her innocence.
“Plus, I talked to your editor at Southern Style and he told me that when he showed you the picture on the cover of that magazine, there was no way you could have faked the look of complete shock on your face,” he told her. “You're a victim in this whole thing, just like me, Annabelle.”
The tenderness in his voice surprised her. It was the first sign that he saw her as a human being and not just a means to an end. In some ways, that disturbed her most of all. Seeing him as a self-centered billionaire who treated women like objects made him much easier to hate. And to betray.
They rode in silence the rest of the way to the restaurant.
****
“I've never had stuffed quail, but that was delicious,” Annabelle said, setting down her napkin as the waiter cleared the table. “And the strawberry soufflé was the perfect end to an amazing meal. I’ve never been to a restaurant like this before.”
Hudson was happy to see her smiling. It looked good for the photographers he'd tipped off about their plans for the evening. Plus, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a nice dinner out with a beautiful woman. Could it really have been more than a year ago?
Taking over part of the company after the sudden death of his father had changed Hudson in ways he never could have anticipated. It was important for him to shed his playboy image in order to garner respect as the new CFO of Montgomery International. Even his own brothers and sisters had their doubts about him in the beginning. He’d had to make a conscious effort to stay away from women and parties and drinking, but soon he became so immersed in the process of expanding the company that he no longer had time for the kind of life he’d lived before his father died.
He’d been so busy the past several months, he’d hardly seen his best friends. Maintaining a romantic relationship had been completely out of the question.
Being with Annabelle was nice, though. She was fun and beautiful and there had been several times throughout the evening when he’d completely forgotten she was there because he’d practically forced her to be.
For a moment, he was actually glad that redheaded kid had sold those photos to the press. It gave him an excuse to be with Annabelle. Now, he just had to find a way to convince her to move to Sea Island for a while and agree to be his fiancee.
“This doesn’t have to be the first and last,” he said, finishing the last of his wine. “I promise that if you agree to my earlier proposal, I’ll show you a very good time over the next few months. You could have anything your heart desires.”
The word desire made the image of her in that white bikini pop into his mind. The thought of her full breasts and long legs sent a flare of heat shooting through his body. He couldn't imagine how he'd had the strength to turn her down that day.
“Thank you for the dress, by the way.” She touched a beaded
strap and blushed.
Hudson was overcome by the sudden urge to get her back to her apartment where he could push her beaded straps down and let the black dress fall to the floor. The preview she'd already given him of her luscious curves and the well-toned body underneath that dress was driving him crazy.
“You are very welcome. You look beautiful.” He reached across the table to take her hand in his. He told himself it had everything to do with the image he was trying to create, and nothing to do with how much he admired her.
Her hand was soft and smooth and he couldn't resist rubbing his thumb across the soft nook between her thumb and forefinger. There was no denying the physical attraction between them. It had been there right from the moment he stepped into the sunlight to find her lying beside his pool. But after spending an entire evening with her, he realized there was a lot more to Annabelle than her outer beauty.
“I wish you would reconsider,” he said softly.
Her eyes glistened and he wondered what she was thinking behind those deep brown eyes of hers. Their night was quickly coming to an end, but he didn’t want to say goodbye.
Besides, one date might convince some of the press that they had a real relationship, but Mr. Takahashi back in Japan would be much harder to convince. The Montgomery family business was counting on this acquisition to push their name into the Asian market, and the board of directors was looking for any way to get rid of the Montgomery children. Without a huge new deal bringing billions to the table, Jack was afraid they wouldn’t have much bargaining power when it came down to a board vote.
They all needed Annabelle to make this work.
“I can’t,” she said, looking away from him. She pulled her hand back and set it in her lap, looking uncomfortable again, and out of place.
“Why not?” he asked.
He wished he could read her mind to know what was going on behind those beautiful brown eyes of hers. She looked sad and confused.
“When it comes to family, I don’t take things lightly,” she said finally. “Getting close to yours and pretending I’m going to become a part of it? I don’t know. It’s risky.”
Throughout the evening, anytime he'd tried to ask questions about her family or her past, she'd quickly asked him a question about his own life. Until now, she’d been careful to guard any discussion about her own family.
He’d had one of his security guys run a full background check on her, so he knew that she had lost her family at a young age. He didn’t want to pry, but he needed to find a way past her worries and convince her to agree to his proposal.
“It doesn’t have to be risky,” he said. “Everyone inside the family will know the situation. They’ll be kind to you, I promise. You have nothing to worry about.”
She shook her head. “I’m not afraid they’ll be unkind,” she said. “I’m worried about getting too attached. I lost my own parents when I was thirteen. I don’t have any brothers or sisters, so pretending to be a part of your family for months might be more difficult than I can handle.”
“Thirteen? I can't imagine that. What happened to them?” He already knew some of the details, but he felt that asking was the right thing to do.
“They died in a car crash,” she said, taking a sip of her water. “My mother and her sister won a trip for four to Hawaii in one of those mail-in sweepstakes. It was like a dream come true for them. Neither of them had been outside Georgia their whole lives. Part of their prize included a rental car while they were on the island. They were hit by a drunk driver the last day of their trip and all four of them died instantly. My mom and dad, and my aunt and uncle.”
Her eyes glistened with tears and he couldn't help but wonder what losing both her parents so young must have been like for her. It had been hard to lose his own father earlier this year to a heart attack, but he knew it wasn’t the same.
“Who took care of you?”
“My older cousin was eighteen at the time. She lost her parents too, so we stuck together. Took care of each other.”
She looked so vulnerable and soft compared to the tiger she'd been earlier in her apartment. More than anything, he wanted to pull her into his arms to comfort her, but before he could make a move, she was wiping away her tears.
“Enough of that,” she said, taking a deep breath. Soon, she was smiling again and asking him about the plantation.
In the short time he'd known her, he was already more intrigued by her than any other woman he'd known. There were hidden depths to her, while most of the women he'd gotten close to were shallow and easy to predict.
He liked spending time with her and hated that their night was almost over.
“It’s getting late,” she said. “I really should be getting home. I have to get up early to start job hunting.”
When they got back to her apartment, he paused inside her door and took her hand.
“Don’t look for another job in the morning,” he said. “Come to Sea Island. I had a great time with you tonight, Annabelle. I think we could really make this work.”
She shook her head, but didn’t pull her hand away. He took that as a good sign.
“I don’t know,” she said.
“I know it’s crazy, but I’d love to get to know you better,” he said. “I honestly haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since the other day by the pool. Say yes. I promise, if things start to feel weird or you get uncomfortable around my family, we can call the whole thing off.”
“And if we go through with this, what then?” she asked. “I pretend to be your girlfriend or your fiancee until when?”
He shrugged. “Until that deal in Japan goes through,” he said. “Or until you don’t want to be a part of it any more. You call the shots.”
She sucked in a breath and he could see that she was considering it.
He smiled, suddenly excited about having her close to him on the island.
“So it will be a business deal?” she asked. “Strictly business?”
“We can even draw up a confidential contract if you want.”
“And what do I get when all this is over?” she asked.
Something inside Hudson’s stomach tightened. Of course she’d ask for money. He expected it, but there was a part of him that had been hoping she would be different. Still, he couldn’’t very well ask her to pack up her entire life and move to Sea Island for nothing.
“Whatever you want,” he said. “Name your price.”
She smiled and he wasn’t totally sure he understood the look in her eyes. “What if I wanted to wait and tell you what I want when this whole thing is over?” she asked.
He took a deep breath. What did she mean by that? Was she afraid she’d give him too low a figure right from the start? Maybe she wanted to size him up and see how much she could get out of him in the end.
The truth was, he didn’t really care how much she wanted. He was willing to pay. His family needed her right now, and he would do whatever it took to get her to agree.
“As long as it’s reasonable, sure,” he said.
“I’ll hold you to that,” she said with a smile.
“So you’ll do it?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’ll do it,” she said.
He picked her up and swung her around, loving the sound of her joyful laughter. He hoped it was a sign that their agreement wouldn’t end up being all work and no play.
As he looked down at her smiling face and thought of the way it had felt to hold her in his arms, he realized he was looking forward to the future that stretched out ahead of them.
Chapter Four
Annabelle had been up most of the night packing, but she doubted she would have gotten much sleep anyway.
The doubts running through her head had her tossing and turning until the sun came up. Had she completely lost her mind? She was picking up her entire life and moving to Sea Island for who knew how many months, and for what? The chance to find a guy her cousin had had a secret one-night-stand with a few m
onths ago?
She was taking this too far, but she couldn’t stop herself. There was something about Hudson Montgomery that turned her brain to mush.
Just the thought of spending six hours in a limo with him this morning had her changing clothes and checking her makeup twelve times in the past half hour.
Yep. She was definitely losing it.
When the limo finally pulled up in front of her apartment, there was an army of reporters waiting to snap her picture as she ran out to meet it. A sweet older man named Raymond took her bags and helped usher her into the limo without too much drama. She just kept her head down and did her best to ignore the questions being shouted out to her.
Much to her disappointment, though, Hudson wasn’t waiting for her inside the limo.
“Will we be meeting Hudson somewhere this morning?” she asked, telling herself she didn't care if he was there or not.
“No, ma'am. Mr. Montgomery had an important meeting in Savannah this morning, so he took the helicopter home last night.”
Helicopter? So that's how he’d been able to get to Atlanta in such a hurry. Riding in a helicopter was yet another thing Annabelle had never done, and she was relieved Hudson had not insisted she accompany him last night. Ever since her parents' death, she hadn't been able to think about getting in a plane. She doubted a helicopter would make her feel any more comfortable.
Without a companion in the back of the limo to keep her company, Annabelle watched TV. Raymond told her where to find the Montgomery’s DVD collection. If anyone had told her three days ago that she'd be riding in a fancy limousine watching movies on her way to stay in her own private cottage on the Montgomery’s plantation, she would never have believed them. She could hardly believe it now.
Soon she would officially be Hudson Montgomery’s fiancé. The thought caused a thousand butterflies to perform acrobatics in her stomach. How had she gone from almost blackmailing him to dating him? She worried about it the whole way there, and by the time the driver pulled through the Sea Island Gate, she was ready to tell him to turn around and take her home.
Hold Me Closer (Sea Island Brides Book 1) Page 4