Chapter 9: Does Fiona Know You’re Here?
VANESSA BELMONT
In my other life, Nathan posed the honeymoon question. He told me he would be taking Fiona to Italy. Not that we got as far as going on a honeymoon. Fiona had made sure of that.
Truthfully, I had smothered Nathan. He was always going to belong to Fiona, but I pushed him right into her arms by holding on to him so tightly he couldn’t breathe. In the process, I also suffocated myself.
"If this marriage proceeds, I will honor my obligations as your wife. I will schmooze business partners, host parties, attend events, serve on committees, and do everything necessary to make you shine in your CEO position." I met his gaze, and felt my pulse jump. He was so good-looking. He had other qualities, of course, but man-oh-man he was nice to look at. Get over it, Vanessa. He will never be yours.
"Look, we’ve approached marriage as a business transaction. Maybe we should approach it as a ... relationship."
"A relationship? Oh! Right. Look, the sex thing is something we can work out. Schedule it on Saturdays or whatever." I lifted three fingers. "I won’t cheat. Even if we don’t love each other, I will honor and respect you."
"I don’t want to schedule sex."
"You ... don’t? So, no sex? We agreed to have kids. You want us to do IVF or something?"
He put his arm around my waist and pulled me into his embrace. He leaned down and whispered, "No, I want to do you."