by Violet Paige
“Need help?” I called from the hallway.
“No, I’ve got it.”
I looked around me. There were more pillows on the couch than I had ever seen. Was she part-cat? Pillows, blanket, books scattered everywhere. There was a row of pictures on a table behind the couch. I picked up the first in line. Evie was surrounded by three children.
I studied the grin on her face. The genuine happiness in her eyes. There were more pictures of the kids next to that one. Only, they were each babies in the other shots. She held them against her chest. The expression was different. Maternal and loving. I closed my eyes and it was as if a flash of electricity had snapped through my veins. I could see her holding our baby. My baby. She looked at him with that same kind of love. With a love so strong it could heal. It could protect. It could bring me to my knees. I shook my head. I placed the photo down. Damn. I was drunk.
I cleared my throat. “We need to go.”
“Ok, I think I have enough for a proper elopement,” she announced.
She appeared at the end of the hallway. I could make out her curvy silhouette, but that was about it. She hauled the bag over her shoulder and walked into the foyer. She had changed out of her waitress clothes. She was wearing a pair of leggings, boots, and a long soft sweater. I thought about pulling her against me and drinking in her lips, but we didn’t have time for detours. We needed to make it to the airport.
“I don’t know that there’s anything proper about it.” I chuckled. “But you look cute.”
“Really?” She blushed. “Cute enough to create a scandal?” she teased.
I’d never been worried about how something looked. How it played to the media. How it could hurt or help the Hartwell name. I left that up to my parents. As soon as the press heard about my marriage to Evie, there would be a firestorm of paparazzi. I hadn’t prepared her for that part of our arrangement.
“You and your nieces and nephew?” I asked, tapping the table.
“They’re cute, aren’t they?” She paused in front of them.
“If you like kids.” I pulled the front door open.
“I do like kids,” she reminded me. “Very much. Enough to go along with this insane plan of yours. That’s how much I like kids.”
“Then I’m glad you’re the one having mine.”
“Is there anything else I need before we leave?” she asked.
I tapped on the link I had googled about marriage licenses in North Carolina. “Actually, do you have your birth certificate?”
She nodded. “I can get it. It’s in a safe in my closet. I’ll be right back. Anything else?”
“No. That’s it.”
A few seconds later Evie returned. She folded the paper in half and slid it into her purse.
“Let’s do this. Come on, let’s go.” I held the door and we walked outside.
10
Evie
I ducked inside the car, looking up at the townhouse before we drove in the direction of the airport. All I could think about was how Frannie was going to kill me. How would I explain to the kids what I had done?
Kids, Aunt Evie decided to get married so I could finally have a baby? No. That didn’t seem like an appropriate kid discussion. And my parents? They were going to be furious we hadn’t planned an elaborate Italian catholic wedding. My dad would never forgive Jeremy for not asking his permission. I could hear it now. And then a baby within months? They were going to think I got pregnant before we were married. That was worse in their eyes than in vitro. Shit. What was I doing?
“I did a quick Google search while you were packing, and I booked us a spot tonight on the way to New York. We can be married in less than two hours from now.”
I blinked. “Two hours?”
“It’s a turn-key elopement package in Asheville. We’ll fly in to North Carolina. Get married. Spend the rest of the night at the inn and fly to New York in the morning, married.”
“Just like that?”
He grinned. Even in the dark I could see how sexy his smile was. “Just like that.”
His hand folded around mine. “This is going to be the night that changes our lives.”
He was probably thinking about the money. I was thinking about the baby.
“Oh, what about a marriage license? Do we have to wait for a certain amount of time? Blood tests? I have no idea how to apply for one.”
The car pulled up on the tarmac, directly in front of the jet. “No, it’s all taken care of. There’s no waiting period. We just need a few documents.”
“The inn just gives them out?” I waited while the driver retrieved my bag from the trunk.
“We’ll have to make a stop on the way to pick it up.”
“Jer, I don’t think it’s the kind of thing you pick up at an all-night pharmacy. It’s a legal document.”
He reached for my hand, to help me step from the car. “Let me worry about the details. All you need to know is in two hours, you’ll be my wife.”
“You make it sound oh so romantic,” I teased. I almost tipped backward on the heels of my boots. I wanted to think I was sober, but after two bottles of wine I was nowhere near it.
“Whoa there.” He grabbed me by the waist. His hand was firm at my hip. Strong and protective. I looked in his eyes. I couldn’t let myself drown in them. Even though after the series of events tonight, it was hard not to. It was easier just to let everything fall where it wanted. Including me. Right into Jeremy.
“Sir?” The pilot stood in front of the aircraft.
Jeremy placed me on my feet and tugged me behind him. My head spun.
“We’ve finished pre-flight. Ready to take off when you are.”
Jeremy smiled. “Good. We need to land in Asheville for the night.”
“Sir?”
“Change of plans. New York in the morning.”
The pilot’s face contorted. I thought I saw a vein bulge on his forehead. “I’ll have to re-file the flight plan.”
“Then do it,” Jeremy instructed.
My back bristled. There it was. The sound of arrogance. The Hartwell tone.
I pushed up on my toes and whispered to him. “We could do this later. We don’t have to do it tonight if it’s going to put everyone out.”
He cupped my cheek. “We’re getting married. We’re doing this thing, Evie. Aren’t you excited to be Mrs. Jeremy Hartwell?”
My core tingled and my stomach flipped. As crazy as it sounded, I was. This was the answer to all my problems. There was always the chance if I waited too long, Jeremy would change his mind. What if he sobered up and realized he hated the idea of a fake marriage more than he hated his dead father?
I wasn’t willing to take that chance.
“I am. Let’s do it.”
I followed him up the stairs into the small jet.
“Champagne?” the flight attendant offered as soon as we walked inside.
“Take one,” he urged. “We have a lot to celebrate.”
“Ok. Just one. Thank you.” I smiled at the woman holding the silver tray.
Jeremy sat on a white leather couch in the center of the jet. I couldn’t believe how expensive everything around me looked. There wasn’t anything that resembled the simplicity of Newton Hills. Maybe that’s what it meant to be a Hartwell.
I slid into the space next to Jeremy. He scrolled through his phone. He wasn’t distracted by the activity inside the jet. The flight attendant buckled her lap belt and the captain closed the cockpit door. The champagne was crisp and cool. I exhaled as the engine started to roar. There was no turning back now. The wheels lifted into the air and we were headed north.
It was maybe only forty-five minutes before we landed in North Carolina. We jostled on the couch when the plane glided across the runway.
“That was quick.”
Jeremy glanced up from his phone. He frowned. “Yes.”
We waited while the stairs were rolled to the cabin door. There was a car waiting for us on the tarmac. I wondered
if this was how Jeremy always traveled. Did he only travel by private plane? Did he always have a driver? Did he ever lift his own luggage?
I clutched my laptop bag as we descended toward the car. It was the one thing I brought with me from Bella’s. I had no way of knowing how long it would be before I returned to Newton Hills. There were details to work out we hadn’t even touched on yet. If there was one thing I couldn’t leave behind, it was my passion project—my writing.
The driver opened the door for us, and Jeremy said something to him before climbing in behind me.
“We have to make a stop on the way to the inn.”
“What kind of stop?” I asked.
“The marriage license.”
“Ahh. And if we aren’t getting it from a drive-thru, where are we picking it up?” It was after 1a.m. “I don’t think Asheville has a Certificates Are Us store.”
“I tracked down the register of deed’s home address. She’ll have one waiting for us. I made a few calls.”
I blinked. “How did you manage that?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Perk of the last name.”
I pinched my lips together. “You’re willing to wake up some poor lady from her warm cozy bed so we can get married in the middle of the night?”
“Why not?” He shrugged his shoulders.
I realized he was impossible. Impossibly sexy and cocky. Frustratingly flirty and charming. And only an hour away from becoming my husband.
“Well, it just seems… ”
“Seems what?”
“Rude?”
He chuckled. “You have a lot to learn, Evie. So much I can teach you.” His hand moved to my knee. “Probably more than Ms. Wratchet. But I don’t know if that’s a fair comparison. She did have a unique spin on Hamlet.”
I caught his eyes tracing my lips again. As much as I wanted to pretend I wasn’t attracted to everything about him, I couldn’t help but want him to kiss me again. I wanted a kiss like the one in the corner booth. Hot and heavy. Dripping with sex and fire. He leaned over, inhaling my mouth with his. I groaned when his tongue lashed against mine. Shit. Had he read my mind?
He tugged the back of my hair and I pressed my body into his, responding to his demands. They were my demands too. I wanted to feel his rippled chest. I wanted his strong arms around me.
The car came to an abrupt halt. Our eyes opened. We were parked outside a small cottage. The porch light was on.
“Let’s get that license,” he breathed into my neck.
I nodded silently, eager for the next step. The step that would cement this deal. The chance to be alone with him. Could I even think what it was I really wanted? The chance to start making a baby? Who did that on their honeymoon? I gulped and followed him out of the car.
I was surprised to see a woman in a robe waiting by the front door.
She scowled at us. “Come in.”
“Thank you.” I wanted to apologize a hundred times over for waking her up, but she didn’t seem like the kind of woman who wanted excuses.
She flipped on the dining room light. She wanted us out of her house as quickly as possible so she could return to sleep.
“I need your drivers licenses.”
Jeremy placed his on the mahogany table. I had to search my purse for mine. “Here it is.”
She scribbled down the information, pressing her reading glasses closer to her eyes. I wondered how many times this had happened before. But I had to think in those instances, the couples were madly in love. Desperate to be together.
“And birth certificates?” She held her palm forward.
“We have those too.” I smiled, but she pulled them from my hands quickly.
I yelped when I felt something crawl over my foot. Jeremy stared at me. I looked down to see a gray tabby cat making circles between my legs.
“A little jumpy?”
I shook my head.
“That’s just Felix. Ok. I need you both to sign here and here.” She pointed to the two blanks under applicant.
Jeremy handed the pen to me. “The bride should sign first.”
I rolled my eyes. I scribbled my name on the top line. “And then the groom.” I shoved the pen into his hand.
He signed an autograph-looking signature underneath mine. “There. Done.”
I watched as the clerk transferred the information onto the official North Carolina certificate. She slapped her seal on the corner. “You’ll need to mail this in to the county clerk’s office after the ceremony, with the officiant’s signature,” she instructed us. “They’ll send you the marriage certificate once it has been recorded. That’s it.”
I couldn’t believe it was that easy to get married. That was all we had to do. All we needed now was a minister.
We turned for the door. Jeremy had the license clutched in his hand.
“Almost done,” he murmured. “Almost.”
“Thank you,” I called over my shoulder, but the clerk had turned off the dining room light and was anxious for us to leave her alone. Felix had run up the stairs.
The door slammed behind us when we reached the porch.
“One more stop.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“One more,” I whispered.
11
Jeremy
It didn’t matter to me if we got married in pajamas, bathing suits, or formal wear. I just wanted to get the ceremony over with. When Evie met me with protests about rushing through it, I gave in. There was something she had packed that she wanted to wear. She was angry I even suggested she marry me in a pair of jeans. She mumbled something about a bad prom memory and I let it go.
She was upstairs in the bridal suite changing. I paced in front of the fireplace in the small study, drinking another glass of champagne. There was no reason for us to use the mini-ballroom. We agreed the study would work for the ceremony.
I checked my watch again. How long did it take for her to change into something else? It wasn’t like this meant anything. It was a check in a legal box. The sooner the minister said I do, the sooner we could make the heir that would give me my fortune. There was no reason for her to go through a lot of trouble.
I stared at the flames in the fireplace. The logs popped and crackled. If I was going to talk myself out of this, now was my last chance to walk away. Once I married Evie, it was forever. Divorce made the contract null and void. I’d lose everything.
And who would I be then? An ex-billionaire. I balled my hand into a fist. That wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t fail. And I wouldn’t fail at this marriage.
This was a smart move. I was marrying a smart girl. She was beautiful and sexy. And she didn’t want anything from me other than the baby. It was as close as I could get to finding the perfect business partner.
I turned my head as I heard her heels on the hardwood behind me. The innkeeper drew the doors open and Evie floated toward me. Holy fuck.
She wasn’t supposed to look like that. She wasn’t supposed to look like an angel. Like a goddess. A dangerous combination of sweet and sexy. Her stride was slow and graceful. She had touched up her makeup and her skin glowed. Her hair was pulled to the side and cascaded down her shoulder, held in place with a rhinestone clip. The seriousness of the ceremony suddenly punched me in the stomach. Evie didn’t look like a woman playing dress up. She looked like a bride. My bride.
“Evie,” I growled.
“You like it?” She lowered her long lashes. “If this is the only time I ever do this, I wanted to wear white. Once.”
“Yeah. Yeah. I get it.” I felt bad for trying to talk her into doing this in jeans and riding boots. She was an exquisite bride.
If it hadn’t been for the minister, I would have told her every dirty thought in my mind. How I wanted to lay her down in front of the fire, push that white mini-dress up to her hips and drink every drop of her until she screamed my name. Then I’d bury myself inside her. I’d rip the crystal beads from her breasts and suck her tits. I’d flip her over and take her from be
hind. The way we both liked it. But that would have to wait until after the ceremony. I tried to settle my cock. Calm it down before she realized how hard a simple white cocktail dress had made me. How she had flipped this ceremony upside down for me.
The minister yawned. “Shall we get started?”
“Wait, wait,” Jan Hughes was next to us. She was the elopement coordinator as well as our only witness. Right now, she was also the acting wedding photographer. She claimed to be a jack of all trades. It was necessary in her line of work.
“I need a shot of this. When the groom first sees the bride is a special moment.” She held up the camera and moved the lens until she was happy with the focus. “Beautiful. Ok. Go ahead.”
Evie stood across from me. Her eyes sparkled. She held a small bouquet of white roses. Jan had given them to her when we arrived. She had pinned a single rose to my jacket.
“I have to say I’ve only performed a few weddings this early in the morning.” The minister lit a few tapered candles on the mantle. It was now 2:30.
“It’s fine, Randy,” Jan hushed him. “We do elopements.” She looked at me. “This is exactly what we do.”
“I’m only mentioning the time,” he argued.
I had paid extra for them to accommodate us. Jan was eager to take the money.
I knew that Randy was talking, but I wasn’t listening to his stories about a couple of teens who eloped. The woman in front of me was gorgeous, and she was about to become my wife. Not in the true sense, but no matter what happened, I’d be linked to Evie the rest of my life. She could live wherever she wanted. Do whatever she wanted. Live out her career dreams. Raise the kid however she liked.
But tonight, we would be tied together forever. It might have started in the tiny corner booth at Bella’s, but it was becoming real now as we exchanged vows in the Magnolia Inn.
They weren’t vows about love, or even about friendship. We had chosen the non-religious, least romantic package in the binder. Keeping it simple and legal was the goal. There was no reason to complicate our arrangement.