I swallow. I don’t ask the follow up to my qu
estion, which is, does he plan on fucking me?
No. He can’t be. He doesn’t think of me in that way, and I’m far too inexperienced to be worth his time.
“So how would you see this working?” I ask.
“I’ll have my lawyer write up all the details, so we don’t have to worry about either of us getting hurt. But I’m thinking, stay married for one year. We would need to have a real wedding, and soon, for this to work. You could live with me. You can also work for my company if you want. And I’ll pay you well for your time.”
“Payment?” I ask, not sure why I didn’t expect to get paid for this.
“Of course. If you were my real wife and we got divorced, you would earn half of my money. I think you deserve to be compensated well for helping me with my problem while I’m in town.”
“And why do you need to be in town?” I ask.
His smile drops and I realize exactly why. Sebastian.
“Nevermind,” I say.
“I’m thinking one million for one year of being married. If we decide to stay married longer than a year, we can renegotiate if our relationship still benefits us. We can…”
Kade continues rambling on and on, but I don’t hear his words. All I hear is one million dollars. That would mean I could start any business I wanted. I would have earned the money.
No.
I couldn’t use the money. At least, not for what I want.
I could get my family off my back.
I could have a place to live while I saved my own money to start my own business.
And I could spend it all while getting to kiss Kade anytime we were in public together.
It wouldn’t be that bad.
I want to answer yes, but my heart still isn’t sure I can survive this.
Especially when he grins like he knows everything I’m thinking. I need to find a way to make him grumpy, so my heart stops skipping every time he smiles.
“Do you have any terms you would like to add?” he asks.
“We would live mostly separate lives. No questions about where we come and go, or anything personal the other doesn’t want to answer.”
He nods.
“We only have to attend a maximum of two events for the other person a month, and it needs to be scheduled at least a week in advance.”
He thinks for a minute. “Two should usually work, but exceptions may need to be made as long as it doesn’t interfere with the other person’s personal life.”
“We don’t sleep with anyone else or cheat on each other.”
He smirks. “I thought I already made it clear that wouldn’t be a problem.”
I nod, trying to rack my brain for more.
Steaks are placed in front of us, and we both dig in, starving after not getting to eat much at my parents’ party.
“I’ll have my lawyer start writing everything we’ve discussed in a contract, but text or call me any time if you think of anything else that needs to be added. I’ll also make sure my lawyer includes a way to amend the contract in a month, so if something we didn’t anticipate having to deal with arises, we can add it to the contract.”