Before Daylight. Andie J. Christopher

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ real husband.”

      Of course, the waiter picked that moment to come back and refill their waters for the umpteenth time. The way he stumbled and just saved himself from spilling ice water all over their food gave it away. Along with his red face.

      Laura blanched and Charlie’s collar seemed to tighten although he had the first two buttons on his shirt undone. They all stared at each other in a long, awkward silence.

      “I’ll have another glass of wine, please.” Her request surprised him. He would have expected her to cut their evening off right there. Instead, she was volunteering to spend more time with him.

      “Right away Ms.—ahem—Mrs.”

      “It’s just Ms.” Laura flipped her hair over her shoulder in flirty gesture towards the waiter. “And he’s not my husband.”

      He completely understood what she was trying to do, and he ought to have backed her up. But he hated her saying that he wasn’t her husband.

      “Whatever you say.”

      After the waiter hurried away, Laura turned off all that flirty light she’d been using on the other guy. “This is why having dinner was a bad idea.”

      “Seriously, why is it so bad that some guy thinks you’re married to me?” Charlie honestly didn’t get it. It wasn’t like she’d be the only married dancer in the company. After she’d stormed into the editing room, he’d done some research. One of the other principal dancers—the guy who partnered with Laura most often according to the website—was married, too. And to a man, so Charlie felt a little less jealous about his hands all over her.

      “It’s just a bad time for me in my career for this to happen.”

      Maybe she was worried because she didn’t remember the wedding night? Maybe she thought that he’d lied to her about that?

      He guessed the evening couldn’t get any more awkward, so he ought to clear it up. “Nothing happened the night of the wedding. You’re not pregnant.”

      Again, she blanched. “I didn’t think I was.” She sighed. “But the possibility that I could be. That I could even be thinking about it is enough to doom my career.”

      “Everyone raves about your performances.” He gestured towards the bar, where the waiter was presumably fetching her wine. “The waiter was practically singing you an ode earlier.”

      She looked down before saying, “But I want more.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “I want to move to New York. I want to dance for the New York City Ballet before I retire.”

      “New York sucks.” Charlie hated New York. On principal because he was a Chicagoan at heart. And practically, he hated how crowded and impersonal the city was. He much preferred Miami, with its color and more chill vibe. “Why would you want to live there when you could live here?”

      “But it’s the best company in the country, and I’ve always wanted it.” She threw down her fork, and it rattled against the plate. “Haven’t you ever wanted more? Better?”

      He’d moved here because he’d wanted to prove something—to his parents and himself. He’d wanted to get out from underneath the shadow cast by his father’s reputation and build something of his own. Moving to New York he could have done that. But he’d wanted something smaller, that he could control without having to take heart medication. He didn’t want a sprawling media empire; he wanted freedom. But, based on what she was telling him, she wanted bigger, brighter lights.

      Disappointment made its way through his system, and not for the first time that night. He’d expected the date to be fun and light. Instead, she’d just revealed the core of why the two of them were doomed before the accidental wedding—they wanted different things.

      If he were a mature, sane adult, he’d pay the check and drive Laura home. He’d call her next week and make sure the papers were filed without problems and pretend that none of this ever happened. She’d move to New York, and he wouldn’t see her for a few years. By then, this whole sham marriage would be a faded memory. Hell, maybe they’d be able to laugh about it.

      But part of him wouldn’t allow him to do the adult thing. He wanted Laura, wanted to be around her. It was inexplicable and irritating because she clearly didn’t feel the same way. Though, his dick and maybe his heart wouldn’t take her reluctance for an answer.

      “I want more with a lot of things.” Her. He wanted more with her.

      “And I’d bet you don’t let anything get in your way when you want those things.”

      She had him there. “Nope.”

      “And you don’t want to stand in the way of me getting what I want, do you?”

      He was totally honest with her—if not with himself—when he said, “I want you to get everything you want in life.”

      She gave him a beguiling half-smile. “And if I can’t get that because I married you?”

      “I’d feel terrible about that, and that’s why I signed those papers.”

      “But you’re not happy about it.”

      The air changed between them when she left those words hanging there. No, he wasn’t happy about annulling the marriage. He was man enough to know that it was the right thing to do, but his ego was fragile enough to chafe at the fact that this girl didn’t like him.

      She was right, he was a driven guy, and he always got what he wanted. He just appeared to be laid back about everything. There was more of his father inside him than he’d ever admit out loud.

      She saw right through him, and that’s what got him about her. He’d always loved women who gave him shit; there was no better way to get his dick hard, if he were being completely honest. And this woman didn’t even let him get away with polite shit when it would be appropriate.

      So, he decided to push her back. She thought she knew his MO, but she was wrong about him. If only he had the chance to show her that. They connected on a sexual level, and maybe that was something he could work with.

      “No, I don’t like it.” He shrugged, trying to seem cool. “I’m kind of disappointed that I’ll never get to fuck my wife.”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, СКАЧАТЬ