The Academic Bride: Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book One

by McConnell, Lucy

  Janel smiled up at him, and he noticed that her blue-gray eyes, accented with charcoal liner, held a vulnerability that made him want to hold her close and slay dragons.

  Why didn’t he notice them in the picture? She adjusted her glasses, and he realized he hadn’t been able to make out her eyes in the photo because her glasses had a slight glare. He tore himself away before things became awkward, and took his seat.

  “We have a few things to go over before your meeting with Lisa Marie.” Pamela pulled out a black leather book and flipped open to the first page. “You two will need to pick rings.”

  Nick leaned forward to get a better look at the five rings and their descriptions on the page. The rings were included in the fee he paid for the service, so the prices weren’t listed. They were big, “notice-me” rings with real diamonds and expensive metals.

  “Which one do you like?” he asked Janel.

  Janel rubbed her ring finger. “Are they all that size?”

  Pamela tipped her head. “These are the rings included in the wedding package. If you want something different, we could send the two of you over to the jeweler’s.”

  Nick tried to hide his irritation. The rings weren’t cheap. Pamela had assured him they didn’t charge overhead on the bands, and said he was welcome to pick something out himself and bring it in for the wedding. Choosing a ring for a woman he’d never met was not Nick’s idea of an enjoyable afternoon, so he had signed for the invoice and tried to forget about it.

  If Janel was the type that wanted big jewelry—and her earrings indicated that she liked big and shiny pieces—then they might be in trouble.

  “No, they’ll be fine.” She continued to rub her finger, which was turning red from the abuse.

  Nick sighed. “What is it?”

  Janel shifted in her seat. “I work in a lab with a lot of dust, and sometimes I’m elbow deep in plaster. I’m afraid I’d get something that showy dirty, or lose it in a mold.” She shrugged apologetically. “It happened to my professor once. We had to disassemble the display and redo the whole thing.”

  The tension in Nick’s shoulders melted away. She didn’t want something bigger; she wanted something smaller, more functional. He turned back to the page. “What about this one? It has a band and the stone setting. That way you could wear the band at work and put on the stone to go out.”

  “I didn’t notice that before. It’s got gold and platinum, so I could wear it with anything. I like it.”

  Pamela beamed as she flipped the page. “Okay, how about your ring, Nick?”

  He turned to Janel. “What do you think?”

  “It’s your ring.”

  “I know, but I’d like your opinion.”

  She looked closely at each ring, then flipped back and forth between the women’s and men’s pages. “How about this one? It looks like they belong together.”

  The ring was wide and flat with a band of gold inlaid against platinum. The design was simple, yet elegant. It was the one he would have picked. He took it as a sign and nodded at Pamela.

  “Now, I need to know which love language you speak and hear.”

  It took Nick a moment to realize she was talking about that book he’d had to read. He’d been embarrassed by his test results. What kind of a man ties his love language score between quality time and physical touch? How needy did that make him sound?

  He’d spent a couple days contemplating the test results, and determined that his best memories growing up were the times his family just hung out together. That explained the quality time, but the physical touch one still made him blush and wonder at the validity of the test. He’d had plenty of women use physical affection to get at him, and it always turned him off.

  At any rate, he wasn’t going to embarrass his bride by telling her he required physical contact to feel appreciated in the marriage. Janel shouldn’t think he was buying his way into her bed. Even though Pamela assured him that Janel knew that he knew the bedroom boundaries outlined in the marriage contract, Nick didn’t want to approach the off-limits area.

  Curious about her results, he gestured to Janel, who blushed. “I was a tie between acts of service and physical touch,” Janel intoned.

  Pamela typed that in and then looked at Nick.

  If the deep blush making its way through the smattering of freckles across Janel’s cheeks was any indication of her embarrassment, then she was brave to share her full results. Maybe hearing his would ease her discomfort.

  “Quality time and physical touch,” he said, grateful that his voice held steady.

  He was rewarded for his bravery with a smile of gratitude. Janel was honest, even when it was hard for her. He liked that.

  They talked for a few minutes about their schedules. Besides her teaching and the time she’d need to write her thesis and prepare for a dig, she was pretty free.

  “I hope you won’t be bored with me. I work a lot,” he said.

  Janel laughed, and Nick found that he enjoyed the way the sound made his chest warm. “It doesn’t sound like much,” she said, “but I’ve got a lot of research to do. I think I’ll be fine.”

  Pamela pressed her palms together. “That wraps things up here. I’ll take you two down to Lisa Marie’s office and you can sign the prenup. After that, we’re good until Monday.”

  She turned to Janel. “Are you packed up? The movers will be there at seven on Monday morning. You’ll have time to give them instructions before you leave for the ceremony.”

  “Thanks. That will help out a lot.”

  “Is her suite ready?”

  He nodded. “The paint is drying as we speak. The furniture should be there later today, and the designer was going to work Saturday on the finishing touches.”

  “Sounds like everything is in place. I’ll see you two on Monday. Don’t be late.”

  Nick held the door open for Janel as they walked down the hall. He almost placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her into Lisa Marie’s office, but caught himself just in time. He looked down at his hand. It was an inconsequential gesture that he’d done a million times when escorting a women to a table at a restaurant. So why did he hesitate now?

  Did it mean more because this woman would be his wife?

  He’d have to watch himself. With her living just across the hall ... well, the space between their rooms was more like private sitting rooms what with the couches and all. They could become too familiar and lose the professional barriers they’d need if this was going to work. He steeled himself to proceed with caution.

  ***

  Janel tried to keep her breathing steady as they entered Lisa Marie’s office. Nick was better-looking in person than he was in his picture, a picture she hadn’t been able to get out of her mind last night. With the way she concentrated on it, she could have picked him out in a police lineup in a matter of seconds.

  He was clean shaven today, and she could smell the deep scent of sandalwood. He also looked like he’d just had a haircut. Though she appreciated the effort, she wondered what he looked like tussled.

  Slow down there, girl. This is your new coworker, not your boyfriend.

  Janel took her seat as Nick held the chair for her again. It was nice to be with a man who treated her with respect. She found herself responding like a duchess. It was a side of herself she’d never really seen before, but then, she’d never been with a man who treated her like a lady. The men she’d dated were polite, just not truly attentive.

  Two sets of identical papers were placed before them, and they were directed to initial or sign almost every page as Lisa Marie explained each clause.

  Basically, she wasn’t entitled to any of his money or other assets, ever. Even if he died while they were married, the money would go to his mother as stipulated in his will. Janel was fine with that. The only money she wanted was her salary, and that would be waiting in her savings account when the year was up.

  She refused to look at Nick as Lisa Marie went over the phys
ical relationship clause. She signed quickly to get that part over with. It wouldn’t have been so uncomfortable if she didn’t find herself attracted to her fiancé. She’d worked with other men she found attractive, and as long as they didn’t encourage those feelings, they would get along just fine.

  Halfway through the stack, there was a knock on the door.

  “Sorry,” said Tina as she came in. “I thought you all might like something to drink.”

  As she handed a cold plastic water bottle to Janel, she raised one eyebrow. Janel gave her a quick nod. Things were going well. Nick took a water and Lisa Marie asked for coffee.

  “You know what? I think we could all use a quick breather. I’ll grab my own coffee and be back in a minute.”

  Lisa Marie walked out behind Tina, leaving Janel alone with her fiancé. Nick twisted the lid to his water back and forth. He stared at the western painting on the opposite wall, but his eyes weren’t focused.

  “You look bored,” she said.

  “Sorry. It’s not your company, I assure you. I spent an hour and a half listening to my lawyer go over this thing yesterday. It’s waterproof. You’ll be fine, too. I asked him to look at your end of things.”

  Had he noticed how closely she listened? How many questions she asked? She tried not to look self-serving in front of him, but this was all new to her. And she couldn’t afford to pay an attorney and then walk away if all this wasn’t what she wanted. Next to Nick, Janel was the poor country mouse, and she felt every bit of her dowdiness wash over her.

  Nick tapped his fingers on his stack of papers and grimaced.

  Janel’s stomach dropped. Was he having second thoughts? “What?” she blurted.

  “Phil, my attorney. He’s a great guy, don’t get me wrong. He gave me a half-hour lecture on the sanctity of marriage.”

  Janel looked down at her hands. “Oh.”

  “Is this your first marriage?”

  She nodded, her nerves doing strange things to her stomach, her throat, and her brain, all at the same time.

  “Did anyone try and talk you out of it?”

  Janel groaned. “No one knows. My parents are going to flip, and I mean F.L.I.P. flip.” She covered her mouth with her hands. She shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t very professional to announce to your fiancé, three days before the wedding, that your parents didn’t know you were getting married.

  Nick chuckled. “They aren’t the only ones. My mom will have a canary.”

  Janel let out a silent prayer of gratitude and patted his arm. “At least you told your lawyer.”

  “And my secretary.”

  She threw her arms in the air. “Great, you’re two up on me.”

  When Nick laughed, the sound resonated within her and chased away the icy dread. Nick had a deep voice, one that commanded attention but was gentle. His laughter went right to her bones and made her smile. She realized that spending time with him at their weekly planning meetings wouldn’t be a problem; she was going to enjoy it very much.

  “Are you inviting anyone to the ceremony?” she asked.

  Nick cleared his throat. “I wasn’t planning on it.”

  “Me neither. Let’s just keep it low-key.”

  “Agreed.”

  Lisa Marie came back in with a steaming cup of coffee the color of dirt, and Janel took a sip of her water. As time went on and they signed more papers than it took to buy a small island, she felt more at peace with her decision to go through with this.

  Nick was a great guy, they seemed to get along well, and he wasn’t going to make a big deal about meeting her family.

  Her family.

  Maybe she should cancel her standing Sunday dinner with her parents this week. She couldn’t seem to come up with a viable excuse, though. She knew she couldn’t tell them she needed her beauty sleep because she was getting married in the morning, and she couldn’t say she was sick because her mom would just haul her home for some motherly attention and a couple days of R&R. Nope, she was going to have to suck it up and eat dinner with her parents and somehow not tell them she was getting married the next day.

  Chapter 7

  Saturday night, Nick left the charity dinner early. Staying to socialize and flirt didn’t seem right, now that he was engaged. He rubbed his tired eyes. Just a couple more days and his life would be different. Attending events used to be fun. Had he changed that much in the last few years? Did he forget how to party? No, he knew perfectly well how to end up being rolled into his car, driven home by someone much more sober, and woken up by a raging headache the next morning. The whole situation didn’t sound as entertaining as it used to.

  Maybe I’m getting old. What’s next, a midlife crisis? He rubbed his thumb along his jaw. This whole engaged-to-a-stranger situation could be considered a midlife crisis.

  He pulled into the five-car garage that smelled like concrete sealant and shut off the engine. Next to his parking spot was an empty space reserved for Janel’s car. He pulled the keys out and took off his seatbelt. Technically, he wasn’t middle-aged, so marrying Janel and her stunning eyes could not be a crisis.

  Nodding once, he made his way into the house. The mudroom was in perfect order. He’d have to let the household staff know there would be one more person living there and that they would need to clean her suite as well as his. One more thing to add to his growing to-do list. A wife was a lot of work.

  He slipped off his shoes and left them next to the bench before heading up to his suite. There was a strange rustling noise coming from Janel’s room, and Nick wondered if the painters had left a window open for ventilation. There were often people in his home when he wasn’t there, but they usually cleared out by the time he pulled in.

  He peered through the open door to see Erica, his interior designer, taking the plastic off a new pillow and slipping it into a pillowcase. Her chin-length hair shook as she puffed it between her palms. His curiosity got the better of him and he stepped into the room.

  Erica jumped and let out a scream.

  Nick put up his hands. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Erica pressed her hand to her heart and smiled. “I’m sure I’ll miss those five years you just took off my life, but if you say you like the room then I’ll forgive you.”

  “How come you’re here? Doesn’t Brad take you out on Saturday night?” One of the reasons Nick had hired Erica was that she was happily married to one of his oldest friends.

  Erica grabbed another pillow and started the process all over again. She talked loudly, so he could hear her over the crackling plastic. “He’s out of town. I was happy to have something to do tonight.”

  Nick took a minute to observe the room. The walls were a light gray with white trim. Erica had a window seat built with bookshelves along one entire wall. The four-poster bed was draped with purple. He reached out to touch the fabric and found that it slipped through his fingers like warm water. The bedspread was a purple base with gold and silver thread woven through. There were at least seven pillows in color-coordinated pillowcases or covers.

  “It’s tall.” The mattress came up to his stomach. If he remembered right, and he was pretty sure he could remember almost everything about Janel, the top of her head was at his eye level, which would make her three inches or so shorter than him. With a mattress this high, Janel would have to jump to get into bed each night.

  “It’s a top-of-the line pillow top. Your guests will sleep on a cloud.”

  “That’s good.” Erica not only thought of style and design, she’d contemplated Janel’s comfort as well.

  There was a desk on the same wall as the door to the bathroom that led to the walk-in closet. He walked in to inspect the tile and fixtures since the last time he’d seen it everything was white sheetrock.

  The area was light, whimsical even, compared to the dark colors and natural stone in his room. He liked the glass tiles in the shower. Teal and purple tiles were scattered randomly through the clear tiles on a white bac
kground. The dark cabinets were a nice contrast to the light colors.

  The closet was filled with organizational tools. There were plenty of empty shelves and closet rods, as well as a shoe rack and a belt organizer. A box of wooden hangers sat in one corner. He went over, ripped the plastic off of a set, and hung them on the nearest rod. He did the next set, placing it on a different rod, and then continued till the large box was empty. Placing all the plastic in the box, he took it out to Erica, who was unwrapping a gilded, full-length floor mirror.

  “I have to admit,” she said as she stuffed the bubble wrap in the box he brought out, “I was surprised you picked purple.”

  “I didn’t. My fiancée did.” Nick grinned.

  Erica let out a squeal and clapped her hands. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “We’re eloping on Monday. I was trying to keep it under wraps.”

  “So, are you two moving over to this room? I wish I’d known. I would have added a few more masculine touches. Maybe I can get something over here tomorrow.”

  “No. I like it just the way it is. Besides, I want her to feel comfortable.”

  Erica swatted his arm. “I can’t believe you.” She looked around the room, tipping her head this way and that, before nodding once. “Yep. I’m officially done.”

  “It looks amazing.”

  Erica hefted the box of garbage onto her hip.

  Nick protested, “I can carry that out.”

  “Nonsense. It’s light as a feather. Have a great night, and congratulations.”

  “Thanks.” Nick walked over to the bed and ran his hand along the brocade pillow. Erica was good. The nightstand coordinated with the bed, but it didn’t match the desk. It gave character to the room. He sat down on the window seat and looked Janel’s room over once more.

  Janel’s room.

  The title was both exciting and disappointing.

  She had been nervous about the prenup, and he wished he’d told her earlier that it protected her as much as it protected him. She’d relaxed after he mentioned Richard had looked things over. That was good; it showed a bit of trust on her part. They also seemed to be on the same page as far as telling people about their marriage. His mom would be furious. However, she was on the other side of the country, visiting his brother and his wife and adoring her first grandchild. With any luck, she’d never know the marriage took place.