know.” He took her hand. “Noelle, we’re getting married. A credit card comes with the ring.”
She wasn’t sure she could ever be comfortable spending his money, but if she weren’t working it wasn’t as if she were going to be supporting herself.
“I don’t think I like this part,” she said in a low voice.
“Didn’t you read the paperwork? I promised to support you for the length of our marriage.”
“Reading it and living it are very different.”
He pushed the Up button for the elevator. “Hadn’t you planned on being a stay-at-home mother?”
“Eventually,” she admitted. “I’d thought I’d go back to work when the kids were in school, but for the first few years…” Her voice trailed off as she saw him looking at her. She sighed. “This is different.”
“No. It’s not.”
They stepped into the elevator.
“While we’re at the hotel, you can charge anything you’d like to the room,” he said. “Just give them the room number and your name. We’re both listed.”
While she pondered that, they arrived on their floor. She hadn’t paid attention to their room number, so she didn’t know which way to turn. Fortunately, he kept hold of her hand and she simply followed him down a lovely hallway.
Their hotel room had double doors. Dev opened the one on the right and she stepped into a massive sitting room that was probably the size of the whole downstairs of her parents’ house.
There was a round table big enough for six, a wet bar, two sitting areas and a television nearly as big as a movie screen.
“We’ll have to discover it all ourselves,” Dev said, putting down the keys on a marble entry table. “Usually the manager comes up and explains all the amenities, but I wasn’t sure you could take one more thing.”
She tried to smile in gratitude, but she was too shocked by everything. Who on earth would get a room like this and how much could it cost?
He crossed the room and pulled the sheers aside. “Come look.”
She moved next to him and saw they had a view of the lake, along with several of the hotels around them.
“We’ll be able to see the water show,” he said. “You’ll enjoy that. Come on.”
He led her across the sitting room and into the biggest bedroom she’d ever seen. There was a bed that could easily sleep five, a small sofa, a desk, floor-to-ceiling windows and carpeting so plush she nearly sank to her ankles. All of which was lovely, but then she saw both their suitcases on a bench at the foot of the bed and her throat tightened.
Were they sharing? Logically the bed was plenty big enough. And once they were married, it wasn’t as if she could refuse Dev. He would be her husband. Marriage of convenience or not, if he had expectations, she wasn’t sure she could in good conscience say no.
She could ask for time, though, right? That was reasonable. He would have to understand that under the circumstances she couldn’t be expected to—
He stepped in front of her, cupped her face in his hands and said, “Stop. Whatever you’re thinking, just stop.”
She stared at him. “How did you know?”
“The sudden look of panic on your face.” He dropped his hands. “Noelle, I meant what I said. We’re doing this for the baby. I’m not trying to seduce you. I know they left both our suitcases here, but the suite has a second bedroom where I’ll be sleeping.”
Relief made her knees nearly give way. “Really?”
He smiled. “I promise. Look, as we just discussed, neither of us has been married before. This is going to be a big change. We’ll take it slow, okay?”
She nodded.
He touched her chin. “Hey, I’ve never even lived with a woman before.”
Really? She found the thought comforting. “But you’ve gone away for weekends with them,” she said.
He shrugged. “Once or twice.”
She smiled. “More than that. You have a reputation, Mr. Hunter.”
“Really. And what would that be?”
“That you have had a string of incredibly beautiful, exotic women in your life.”
“Huh. I never knew anyone was paying attention.”
“They were.”
She stared into his amused eyes and felt some of her fear ease. Maybe this was the strangest situation she’d ever been in, but they were in it together and somehow that made things easier.
He stepped back. “We have a couple of hours until the wedding. Are you hungry?”
When he said the “w” word, all her fears and worries crashed into her. She nearly staggered from the impact.
“I can’t eat,” she told him, her stomach getting upset just at the thought of food.
“Okay. Why don’t you rest? We need to leave here about three-thirty.”
She glanced at her watch. “I’ll be ready.”
“Good.” He walked to the door, then glanced back at her. “You can still change your mind.”
She shook her head. “I want to do this,” she said, hoping she sounded confident and sure, instead of terrified. “I’ll be ready.”
Despite not having slept in nearly three nights, resting was impossible, so Noelle alternatively paced the length of the beautiful bedroom and stared out at the incredible view. An hour before it was time to go, she plugged in her electric curlers, then checked her dress for wrinkles.
After curling her hair, she redid her makeup, then changed into a strapless bra. She’d found her dress at the outlet mall. It had been one of those great moments in shopping history—with the price marked down four different times and the dress landing under a “50 percent off on this rack only” sign.
The dress was white, with spaghetti straps and an asymmetrical hem. The top was fitted, the skirt full and there were tiny clear crystals angling across fabric.
She supposed it had been a prom dress that hadn’t found a home and while it wasn’t the dress she’d always imagined for her wedding, she felt pretty when she slipped it on and closed the side zipper.
After she finger-combed the curls and sprayed them until they practically crackled, she reached for the engagement ring she hadn’t worn since the night Dev had bought it for her. She hesitated, then slid it on her right hand. When the ceremony was over, she would put it on her left, in front of her wedding band.
Which, she suddenly thought, hadn’t been discussed.
Just
