The Billionaire's Marriage Contract

by Avery James

  “I’m not talking about that contract. I’m talking about one much older than that. I’m talking about the deal we made that night in Chicago.” Ethan held out the napkin. “I need you to take this back.”

  “What do you mean, take this back?” Amy pushed the napkin away. “This thing looks like it’s been folded up in your pocket for a year.”

  “It’s been much longer than a year. That night in Chicago, after all of that wine and the hours of conversation, you kissed me. You grabbed my shirt and pulled me in tight and kissed me. That moment changed me forever. One kiss was all it took. For years, I thought you had remembered it. But then, when I asked you to marry me, it was clear that you didn’t remember it at all.”

  “No.” Amy didn’t know what to say.

  “I know I’ll never forget it. After we kissed, you took a pen and a napkin, and you wrote me a note. You said it was a contract between us. ‘Some things, you can’t buy. You have to earn them.’ That’s what it says.” He handed it over to Amy. “I’ve carried two things in my pocket every day since that night. This note is one of them.”

  The napkin was soft and frayed, and the ink of the message had faded over time, but Amy recognized her handwriting right away. Her memory jolted back to the note Ethan had left next to her, the note she had read and thrown out in the morning. “I’ll do whatever it takes.” She looked at Ethan, finally realizing why he had left her the note in the first place. “Why give this to me now?”

  “I can’t hold onto it any longer. Amy, I love you. I think I’ve loved you since the day we met, and I know I’ve loved you since that night in Chicago. And I was willing to earn your love. I was willing to wait and plan and to do whatever it took, but I can’t wait any longer. I wanted any excuse to be with you, and the business deal, and the marriage, it seemed like my only chance. In Jackson Hole, I asked Hank to give me enough time to let you admit to yourself that you were in love with me, too. After what he had seen that weekend, he agreed. I should have told you the truth. I’ve never been in a relationship like this before. No one has ever meant as much to me as you do, and I was just too afraid of losing you. I love you, Amy. I’m done trying to hide it.”

  “I love you, too.” Amy crossed her arms and scowled at Ethan. She knew how much he liked to see her mad like this. “But I’m not just some prize. I can’t just be your wife or your girlfriend. That’s not enough, Ethan. You have to truly listen to me. It’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along.” She looked back down at the note, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me any of this before?”

  Ethan took a step back and smiled at Amy. “You really are beautiful when you’re mad. I was going to tell you. I had it all planned, and then you found out. I decided there was only one way for me to prove to you that it wasn’t about the money or the deal or anything.”

  “By leaving?”

  “By finishing our deal and giving you the option of walking away.”

  “If you love me, why would you do that?”

  “So I can do this and do it right.” Ethan dropped down on his knee and pulled a small ring out of his pocket. “Amy, will you marry me, again?” He held the ring up. “This ring belonged to my grandmother. When she died, she left it to me. It isn’t as shiny or expensive as the ring I bought you before, but it means the world to me. And I want you to have it.”

  Amy stared at the ring. The small blue center stone was chipped on one side, and the platinum band had a dull patina. Amy could tell that this ring had been worn for many years. This ring had been loved. This ring had passed through generations. Amy thought of Ethan carrying this ring every day for years. It had an emotional value that no money could buy. It was the perfect symbol of his love. This ring was Ethan, the true Ethan, the man who had spent years loving her from a distance, the man who had made a vow to win her at any cost, the man who knelt before her now, asking for her love in return. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, it’s perfect, but I have conditions first.”

  “Anything,” Ethan said.

  Amy tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn’t help but cry as Ethan slid the ring onto her finger. As soon as it was on, Ethan stood up and wiped a tear from Amy’s cheek. This was what she had wanted from him. “No more putting me on a pedestal. No more making major life decisions without asking me first. I want to be with you, but only if you’re willing to do things differently this time.”

  “I want that too. I just wanted to badly to make everything perfect for you that I forgot what worked best about our relationship.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “I could talk to you for hours and hours and never get bored. I think I could talk to you for the rest of my life and never get bored. I could lie on the couch and watch movies with you for all I care. I could do almost anything and be happy, as long as you’re there. I’ve never felt that way about anyone else. I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Amy said. She stared down at the ring in disbelief. She was engaged to Ethan Cole, for real. She wondered how she would explain this to everyone. “How do we do this?” She asked.

  “I thought maybe we could be engaged for longer than a few hours, maybe a few months instead? We could start maybe by spending some quality time together. I rented this place out from Hank for the week, and I know a few great restaurants in town. I’m sure we could also find a few places that would let us order in. What do you say? I was thinking a traditional engagement. We could get married next summer.”

  “That sounds good to me. It will give me time to plan a wedding. One thing’s for sure: I don’t want to go back to the courthouse. That means we’ll have to find someone to marry us.”

  “I know just the person.”

  “Who?”

  “Vi.”

  “Vi?”

  “Yeah. Like I already told you, she’s an ordained minister, and she recently registered as a marriage officiant in DC.”

  “Wait, was she in on this?”

  “I’ll leave that one between the two of you. I think she’d be great.” Ethan gestured toward the French doors that opened to the back patio. “Let’s enjoy the sunset while we think about what to do next.

  As they walked outside, Amy felt the cool ocean air wash over her. She listened to the waves crashing on the beach below. “I hope we can find somewhere as beautiful as this for the wedding.”

  Ethan grinned. “I know the perfect place.”

  “You know what would be perfect?” Amy said. She had a playful spark in her eye. “Telling me first.”

  Chapter 26

  Amy stared out the window of her office, trying to retrace the events that had led her to this moment. She watched the rush of afternoon commuters below, a sea of men and women streaming down the sidewalks toward the nearest train stations, the young staffers half running towards happy hour, the bosses heading home to their families, and she wondered how she had envied all of them for so long.

  She watched the afternoon sun dip below the buildings across K Street, casting shadows onto her window. The view from the roof of her own building would be breathtaking, a late summer sunset she’d remember for the rest of her life. She caught a glimpse of her reflection. She looked at her carefully arranged hair and down at the neckline of her dress. She looked at the glint of the reflection of the thin gold necklace and locket Violet had given to her as her something borrowed and something old. The locket had belonged to Amy’s grandmother, and Amy’s mother had worn it on her wedding day. Amy had spent months wondering what she would look like at this moment, and now she knew.

  A knock on the door brought Amy back into the moment. Callie opened the door slowly and leaned in. “Amy, everyone is ready and waiting.” Callie began to tear up as she looked at her sister. “You look beautiful, by the way. I wish mom and dad were here to give you away.”

  “You’ll do fine in their place,” Amy replied. She didn’t want Callie getting overly emotional. She was going to have a hard enough time not getting emotional herself. “Why don’t
you wait in the hall? I’ll be out in a second. I just need a moment.”

  Amy took one last look at the office before heading out. Over the years, it had been a second home for her. It had been her bedroom for months when she renovated her house; it had been the scene of countless negotiations and deals; it had served almost every purpose she could think of, but now she could check off one more: dressing room for her wedding.

  Amy followed Callie out of the office to the stairs that led up to the roof. As she entered the stairwell, she heard the faint sound of a string quartet playing Pachelbel’s Canon. Amy stood at the landing at the bottom of the stairs, and looked up toward the open doorway. “Did you do this?” she asked Callie? Someone had wrapped the handrail in flowers and had laid a path of petals up the stairs.

  “Believe it or not, the decorations were Ethan’s idea.”

  “I should have known he’d nail down every detail.”

  “Well, we let Rich orchestrate the buffet, and you wouldn’t believe me if I told you who arranged the string quartet.”

  “Do I want to know?”

  Callie held out her hand. “I think it will be a pleasant surprise. Now I have to give you away so you can live happily ever after, plus I’m starving, and that buffet looks amazing. Just wait until you see. Oh, who am I kidding, you’ll be blind to everyone and everything but Ethan. Now, take your flowers and get a move on.” Callie handed her the simple yellow bouquet.

  Amy laughed and tried to fight back a surge of emotion as she walked up the stairs. “Don’t cry,” she whispered to herself, but as soon as she walked through the door, she couldn’t help herself. She took one look at Ethan, and the tears welled up in her eyes.

  Slowly, Amy walked down the aisle. Sure enough, Rich was there with a cup of cocktail shrimp in his hand, and Laura was right next to him, giving him a death stare for attempting to eat during the wedding, readying her elbow to jab him in the side if necessary. Hank stood grinning on the other side of the aisle next to a few of Amy’s close family friends. They were all bathed in the warm light of sunset, and Amy had never seen a happier crowd.

  Vi stood at the head of the aisle, looking quite ministerial in her long purple dress. Amy tried not to focus on Ethan again until she was standing across from him, but, as soon as she reached him, she couldn’t look away.

  “Before we begin,” Vi declared in her most serious voice, “I would like to say a short prayer.” The corner of her mouth curled up in a grin, and she gave Amy a wink as she bowed her head. “Dear God, creator of orgasms, sunny days, good wine and breathtaking sunsets, you are the designer of that most curious and powerful creation: the human heart. From the depths of our hearts we ask that you bless this marriage, and witness, as we do, the great love between my niece Amy, and her husband-to-be, Ethan. We pray to you that their hearts remain as full of love as they are today, and that all of us can share in their happiness as they build a life together.”

  The rest of the ceremony was a blur. Amy barely heard herself repeating her vows to Ethan, and she barely heard him recite his to her, but she never broke eye contact with him, not for a moment until she heard Vi say, “You may kiss the bride.”

  Ethan leaned in and kissed Amy, and everything, from the way his arm fit around her to the way his lips fit against hers to the way the evening light shone on them, everything was perfect. Amy leaned into him as he deepened their kiss. The little motion of their mouths against each other delighted her. She couldn’t’ wait to wake up next to this man every day for the rest of her life.

  She took his hand and walked back down the aisle as everyone else stood up and cheered. The other side of the roof terrace had been set up for a banquet. Amy and Ethan took their seats at one end of the table and waited for their family and friends to join them. They let Vi sit down at the head of the table, and Hank sat down across from them.

  “Hank, Vi, I don’t know if you have the pleasure of each other’s acquaintance, but I think you’ll find each other to be wonderful company.”

  “Hank, I’ve heard much about you,” Vi said, but I must warn you, I’ve already asked someone else to be my date tonight.”

  “You have a date?” Amy asked.

  “The cellist,” Vi replied. “I told him before the ceremony that he owes me a dance.”

  Hank laughed. “I’d tell you to keep him in line, but I think he’ll be outmatched.”

  Amy looked back at the quartet. “No. It can’t be,” she said with a laugh. She hadn’t recognized Logan, clean cut, and in a suit as he played cello.

  “I told you you’d be surprised,” Callie said. She sat down next to Hank.

  “We thought it would be a gesture of goodwill.” Vi said. “Hank and I had the pleasure of speaking by phone while you were off house hunting with your fiancé. I still can’t believe you two are going to leave me homeless for a whole two weeks while you go on your honeymoon. I don’t see why you had to sell both your places.”

  “This way the new place will be ours. Not his, not mine but ours,” she said looking across into Ethan’s eyes. He smiled. “Logan, on the other hand, is all yours. I know you’re staying with Callie anyway,” Amy replied. “Now who’s hungry?”

  After the dinner and speeches and drinks, Amy leaned against Ethan’s shoulder. The wedding guests were all up and dancing, but Amy could think of nothing better than relaxing with Ethan.

  “So what do we do now?” Amy asked.

  “I was hoping you’d ask that,” Ethan replied. He turned and gave a nod toward one of the staff members working the event. Amy watched as a thousand tiny lights flicked on overhead, hanging above the dance floor like stars. When she looked back to Ethan, he was standing with his hand out. “Amy, can I have this dance?”

  He placed his hand on her waist and walked with her to the dance floor. At the start of the next song, he slid his cheek against hers and tightened his grip on her waist. “I’ve dreamt of this day for years,” he whispered in her ear.

  “I have, too.” Amy turned and kissed Ethan. She closed her eyes, but she could still see the lights twinkling above them. Everything was perfect. How could anything else compare to this? She opened her eyes again as she and Ethan twirled around the dance floor. Amy felt like the world was in motion around them. As they danced, everything felt right, each motion, each glance, each breath. In that moment, she and Ethan were one. She didn’t want the feeling to end. She wanted Ethan to hold her there on that dance floor forever, beneath those star lights, surrounded by their friends and family. She knew the moment would have to end, and they would pull apart, but she also knew that she’d carry that feeling with her forever. To her surprise, when the song ended, and Ethan slid back, holding her for another moment as he gazed at her, the feeling didn’t stop. Even as they waved to friends and talked and worked their way around, that feeling of complete connection stayed inside her. Maybe this is what marriage is, she thought. It seemed like a much better definition of marriage than some agreement on some piece of paper. “What do we do to top this?” Amy asked as she and Ethan snuck off the dance floor several songs later.

  “You deserve a honeymoon,” Ethan offered. “I have the perfect one planned. The jet is fuelled and ready to go. I have a few places in mind that I think you’ll love.”

  “Just as long as it’s not like last time.”

  “It won’t be. I promise.”

  “Let me guess, you’re going to leave me guessing until we get there.”

  “Yup,” Ethan said with a grin.

  “How is that different than before?”

  Ethan’s grin grew even wider. “Because this time we’re not going to Wyoming.” He laughed, and added “Don’t worry, this time we’re going somewhere warm. Next time, you’ll get to surprise me. Deal?”

  “Deal. Now come over here and kiss me again.” She grabbed Ethan by his tie and pulled him in for another kiss. This second marriage was off to a much better start than their first.

  br />   Avery James, The Billionaire's Marriage Contract