by Tia Siren
“I just want my inheritance,” Luke said, repeating that inside his head. “That’s all I want from this entire situation—my money. That’s it. I don’t want anything else.”
Even if he did, it wasn’t possible. Being around him had already complicated Paige’s life, what with the damn reporters already following her around in search of a good story to put in the tabloids.
He wasn’t even confident he could remain in love with one person for the rest of his life.
And someone like Paige, a soft and innocent type of woman, didn’t deserve to be tied to a prick like him.
Keep your eyes on the prize, Turner. You’re only in this for the money. That’s it.
Chapter Eleven
Paige
She wasn’t surprised when she found Jessica camped out in front of her dorm door.
“I knew you’d be back today,” Jessica said, rising from where she had been sitting on the floor with her laptop. “I didn’t want to risk missing you before you holed yourself up somewhere.”
“The library is where I plan to go,” Paige said tiredly. “How long have you been sitting out here?”
She unlocked her door. Grateful to be back in her private space, Paige collapsed on her bed with a long and relieved sigh. The past few days had exhausted her in a lot of ways, but it had also elicited a lot of confusion and guilt. She had caved a bit into her desires, something Luke had taken advantage of gladly. If Toby hadn’t walked in when he had, there was no telling what would’ve happened.
“Just for a few minutes,” Jessica said, closing the door behind her. “So, how did this weekend go?”
Paige lifted her head from where it was buried in her pillow. “I don’t even know how to explain how this weekend went.”
“Why is that?” Jessica asked, frowning.
“Because we—” She cut herself off, not even sure how she could describe what had happened over the weekend. If there was one thing she did know, it was that Toby had been right: something had changed between them. Neither one of them wanted to think about it either.
Jessica took a seat next to her on the bed. A frown tugged at her lips as took in the uncertain expression Paige’s face.
“What happened?” she asked.
“We almost, you know…” Paige trailed off with heated cheeks while Jessica’s eyes widened in realization. “It didn’t happen, but it almost did. Things were just different this weekend.”
“So you’re telling me that you almost slept with him this weekend?”
“Almost, yes.”
“And you think something changed this weekend?”
“I don’t know if it did. It just—”
“I don’t want to ruin this for you, Paige, but you need to remember that Luke is going to leave you after he gets his inheritance.” Jessica shook her head while pushing back a strand of her hair. “I don’t want to see you get your heart broken here. Luke’s older. He’s got experience on you. He could be making you feel these things on purpose because it has to feel real to his father’s lawyer.”
“I don’t think so though,” Paige said, sitting up to look down at the engagement ring on her finger. She toyed with the gold band. “I don’t know how to describe it, Jess. It just felt so real.” She looked up at Jessica. “People can’t be that cruel when giving someone an engagement ring, right?”
Jessica smiled grimly. “I’m not a good person to ask that question. I don’t think you’d like the answer if I told you the honest truth.”
“You’re probably right. I don’t want to think any of this is fake. It feels so real now.”
Tears filled her eyes. There was no denying it. The arrangement between them had transformed into something else entirely. Paige slipped the ring off her finger and placed it on the table next to her bed. Keep it off as a reminder that it’s only a business deal.
“Are you going to be okay?” Jessica asked, patting her shoulder and giving her a sympathetic smile. “At the end of this, it’s only going to be you. Just try to remember that over the next few weeks, or else it’s only going to get more complicated.”
Paige wiped at her eyes with an irritated sigh. “I know. It’s already complicated enough. Did you see the reporters out there? They took pictures of Luke and me kissing good-bye.”
“It’s only going to get worse,” Jessica said. “And you should tone the kissing down if you aren’t sure what is real or not.”
Paige opened her mouth to reply, but her phone went off from inside of her bag. She slid off the bed to dig through her bag, grimacing when she found it and recognized her parents’ house number. She had completely forgotten about calling them the previous night when she had been upset.
“Shit,” Paige muttered, briefly debating letting it go to voice mail. “I forgot I called my parents last night because I was upset with Luke. They’re probably freaking out from trying to get ahold of me all day.”
“You better answer it then,” Jessica said. She got up from the bed. “Be honest with them too. Like I said, it’s only going to get more complicated the more you let this continue. Come find me when you’re ready to get something to eat, and we’ll talk more about it as we do homework.”
“Thanks,” Paige said, smiling at her in appreciation. She hit the answer button. “Hi, Mom, Dad. Let me—”
“Is everything okay, sweetheart?” Harry asked curtly. “We got this unsettling message from you last night. Your phone has also been off a good majority of the day.”
“I know. I’m sorry. It was just a stupid fight that Luke and I had is all.” She grimaced at the memory of it. “Everything is fine now. I’m back in New York in my room.”
“I don’t know if I approve of you traveling all the time,” Harry said. “You’re only nineteen years old. You shouldn’t be just jumping on a plane whenever he beckons.”
“Oh, I think it’s okay, Harry,” her mother said with a sigh. “Flying is the safest form of traveling these days, but a heads-up would be nice, Paige.”
“Right,” she said. “I will let you know.”
“And what was this fight about?” Harry asked suspiciously. “This Luke Turner is ten years older than you, Paige. His grandfather and father are oil tycoons, too, from what I’ve read on the Internet.”
“And we are hearing rumors that you two are engaged,” Marie said. “We saw the pictures of you two at an event when visiting Bismarck. Don’t you think this is moving too fast?”
“The press is making it seem like that. Nothing is going fast.” She hesitated before saying the next part. It was the only thing she could think of that would appease them aside from being honest. “You can meet him if you want. Come down to the city on family weekend.”
Not that they planned to be together still by then, but a part of her hoped that maybe the change she felt was a sign of something else brewing between them.
“That would be a good idea,” Marie said. “Don’t you think, Harry?”
Paige let out a relieved breath. “Yeah, Dad. Let’s plan for you two coming out here in two weeks.”
“I suppose,” Harry said slowly. “I just hope you remember what we talked, about sticking to those values you were raised with. Men like Luke Turner have a tendency to be a bit fast.”
No kidding. She swallowed thickly. “Yes, I know. Don’t worry about it, Dad. I’ll talk to you guys next weekend. I have a lot of homework to do.”
As soon as they bid their good-byes, Paige dropped her phone on the bed with a sigh. She had no idea how this was all going to end, but now her parents were going to be affected by it too.
It wasn’t until Wednesday morning when Luke left a voice mail on her phone telling her to call him back that Paige sucked up her courage to tell him what she had planned.
“If you want me to do this, you have to meet my parents,” Paige said, washing out her paint brushes as Luke sighed in aggravation in the phone. “It’s the only way they aren’t going to disown me after all of this goes down.”
&n
bsp; “You honestly can’t live without your parents?” Luke asked.
“No,” she said shortly. “I can’t. I didn’t come from a dysfunctional family like you.”
“Is that supposed to hurt me?”
“No. That’s the condition you agreed to. Remember?”
“I guess I have no choice then,” Luke said dryly. “We need to fly out tonight by the way.”
Paige lowered her paint brushes into the oil can she kept them in. She grimaced at the thought of getting on a plane when she had tons of homework to do already.
“I can’t—”
“You can,” Luke said. “It’ll only be for tonight too. We can fly right back if you need to get back to NYU right away.”
“Why tonight?” she asked grumpily. “We were just up there.”
“Peter wants to meet with us tonight. All you have to do is come with me, talk with Peter, and that’s it. We’ll fly back late tonight. I promise.”
“I guess I have no choice then too,” Paige said, sighing. “Fine. As long as you bring us back tonight after meeting with Peter.”
“I promise I will.”
It wasn’t until they landed in Bismarck a few hours later that Paige realized with a sinking feeling there would be no flying back as Luke had promised. A snowstorm came sweeping through the northeast right as they pulled up to the lodge where Peter waited for them with a large smile. He led them into the living room, where he had hot tea waiting.
“Let me first congratulate the both of you,” Peter said, swirling his tea bag in his cup. “I have to say that I’m impressed Luke found you, Ms. Scott. You are not the type of woman I expected to stick around.”
Paige kept the smile on her face straight and fixed as Luke wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders. She leaned up against him without thinking about it, savoring the warmth and strength radiating off him.
“Well, it happened a bit fast,” she said, catching Luke’s eyes. Her stomach fluttered at the grin tugging at his lips. It’s not real, Paige. All of it’s an act. “For us both, I think, but I can’t wait to spend my life with him.”
A wintery blast of wind pushed against the lodge. The lights flickered off before the generator kicked the electricity back on.
Peter glanced out the living room window with a sigh. “I suppose I’d best be going before this blizzard hits full force. I hate to cut this short because I have many questions, but when is the date exactly?”
“Tomorrow,” Luke said immediately, and that filled Paige with a rush of heat. “We decided to make it official tomorrow privately. She has school, so we’ll do a celebration this summer with her family. We want to surprise her parents when they come in next week.”
“Let’s talk tomorrow then,” Peter said. “I have to drive back to my hotel.”
Luke’s face tightened in displeasure. “I’d rather do this now if—”
“I don’t have the time, Luke. We will talk tomorrow. If this is real, as you both say, then you will be here tomorrow to do that marriage license.”
Peter shot them both a smile as he set his teacup down on the table. Grabbing his jacket from where it was draped over the couch, he nodded good-bye to them both. As soon as the front door clicked shut, Luke lifted his arm from Paige’s shoulders with a sigh.
“That bastard is determined to see us through,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Paige. We can’t leave tonight. Look outside.”
Paige looked out the windows with a sinking feeling at the sight of the snowflakes blowing about the landscape. The lodge groaned from the strong wind. A second later, it went dark, and Luke let out a string of curse words as he rose from the couch.
They were alone at the lodge with no electricity and heat. She couldn’t shake the fluttering sensation in her stomach she’d had the last time Luke had reach out to touch her in the dark. They were utterly alone this time with no one to bother them and their “wedding” tomorrow morning.
God only knew what would happen.
****
It was cold—so bitter cold that Paige couldn’t stand it any longer. She threw her lighter down in frustration before rising from her crouched position in front of the fireplace. Shoving her bare feet into a pair of UGG boots, Paige draped a wool blanket over her shoulders before hurrying out of the room she had insisted on having to herself. Luke hadn’t been able to fix the generator no matter how hard he had tried to figure it out. They were stuck using the fireplaces in their rooms, but Paige couldn’t get hers to light, and she had no intention of freezing to death.
It’s back luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. She shook her head. It’s only bad luck if you’re actually getting married.
The hallway was dark, and Paige found Luke’s door firmly shut. Firelight danced out beneath it, and she heard him flipping through what sounded like papers or a book. Nerves took over then, but her cold limbs won that fight. She knocked twice before taking a step back, hugging the blanket close to her.
The door opened. Firelight spilled out, but it was the sight of Luke standing there in a pair of cotton sweatpants that dipped low across his hips and bare chested that took her breath away. His long blond locks were pushed back messily, and he gazed at her with a frown.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I-I-I can’t start a fire in my room,” she said, her teeth chattering from the cold. “I thought I could get it to work, but—”
Luke reached out to grab her by the arm. “Get in here before you freeze.” She stumbled into the room. “I told you to let me know right away if you couldn’t get that fire going. It’s going to be -32 tonight.”
“It certainly feels like it.”
He shut the bedroom door. Ushering her to sit down in front of the fireplace, he got another blanket from the bed to drape over her. The heat of the fire warmed the chill on her skin, but so did Luke taking a seat next to her on the floor. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rubbed them to help her get warm again.
“It’s so cold here,” Paige said. “I don’t know how you survived out on those oil rigs during the winter months.”
“You get used to it,” he said, the corner of his lips curling up in a smile. “You should be used to this type of cold. You’re from Wyoming.”
“It was never this cold there.”
“Perfect time for the generator to go out too,” Luke said, sighing. “I need to have someone come up here to check everything again. No one has been here for months besides us.”
Paige nestled into the warmth of Luke’s shoulder. “It must be nice to be able to have houses you can leave behind for months and not worry about. How do you even remember to pay for them?”
“Everything is paid off. It was a long time ago.”
“Debt free then, huh?” She tilted her head back to grin up at him. “Maybe I should tap into the oil business after tomorrow.”
Luke chuckled. “I’d be in great fear of that competition.”
“Shut up,” she said, laughing. “You better be afraid of me.”
His eyes darkened then. Several emotions filtered through Luke’s gaze as he looked down at her and tucked an errant curl behind her ear. Paige’s heart quickened as the tension in the room changed into something electric.
“I am afraid of you,” he murmured. “I don’t know how to explain it, but everything is just different with you now.”
“Luke—” she started, shaking her head. This was not something they had agreed to—to let their feelings get in the way no matter how much she felt it.
“I’m serious,” he said. “I'm not trying to play. That’s the God’s honest truth. I just feel something different about you.”
“That’s because you’re going through the motions of a committed relationship,” Paige said. “It’s different than what you are used to. It’s a lot more secure than jumping around.”
“Maybe.” He reached forward and grasped her hand, gently playing with her fingers. “I want you to know that
I am thankful that you and I crossed paths last month. Even if I messed it up.”
“You obviously didn’t if I’m here.”
“I screwed it up,” Luke said resolutely. “You developed an unfavorable opinion of me because I was an ass.”
Paige lifted her head to look at him closely. Firelight danced off the long golden strands of his hair. Shadows flickered over his broad chest as he shifted underneath an invisible weight.
“The alcohol makes you an ass,” she clarified. “You aren’t too much of one when you’re sober.”
“Thanks.” He chuckled deeply. “That should be motive to stay away from it then.”
“Only you can stay away from it. Nobody can tell you what to do when it comes to that sort of thing. This is your life, not anyone else’s.”
“It’s your life too,” Luke said, squeezing her hand tightly. “Your wagon is hitched to mine.”
“Until you receive your inheritance in a few days,” she reminded him, but Luke shook his head at her. “What? You changed your mind?”
“I think Peter is right about a few things is all.”
“Like what?”
That dark and stormy tone filled his eyes again. Hot waves of desire crashed down upon them both, but there was something else there, a subtle shift as Luke had commented on that she felt too. It was strong but indescribable. There was nothing she could do to fight against it.
“That we feel things for each other,” Luke said quietly. “I know that I do for you.”
Her heart pounded—a repeating gesture that seemed to happen quite a bit with Luke around.
“And I don’t know if I can let you go,” he continued, dropping her hand to clasp the back of her neck with warm, strong fingers. “I know you can’t ever imagine yourself with someone like me—”
“Of course I can,” Paige blurted out in a whispered confession. “Who wouldn’t imagine themselves in my position? I feel it too, Luke. I honestly do.”
Those fingers on the nape of her neck curled protectively. “Then what’s holding us back from each other?”