“Well, that’s something, anyway,” Julia muttered. “You still think I’m a liar, but at least you don’t believe I’m elitist about it.”
He gave her a quick grin. “See? We’re already getting along great.”
Julia frowned at him.
“They really gave you a bad time, didn’t they?” he asked, his smile fading.
“No more than I was expecting.”
“I’m sorry it was hard on you,” he said, reacting more to the glimmer of pain in her eyes than to anything else.
“Are you?” she asked.
“Of course I am. I’d feel sorry for anyone who’d had to grow up with those two polar bears.”
She stiffened a little and Max admired her instinctive defensive posture. Even though she and her parents weren’t close, it was apparent she wasn’t going to let anyone else speak badly of them.
“They’re not bad people,” she said, and he wondered if she was trying to convince him or herself. “They just never should have had children.”
Again he studied her for a long minute, then said quietly, “I’m glad they did.”
“Really?” She shook her head and gave him a wry smile. “Why would you be glad? You’re marrying a woman you don’t love and agreeing to be the father of a child you don’t believe you created.”
“I’m marrying my lover,” he said, lowering his voice until it was nothing more than a low rumble of sound pitched so only she could hear him. “A woman who sets my body on fire with a glance. And I’m getting the heir I want. Like I said before, a win-win for me.”
“I don’t understand you,” she said, tipping her head to one side as if trying to get a better picture of the man. “You’re taking this so lightly.”
“No, I’m not,” Max assured her, leaning in so close that he felt her breath on his face. “Trust me when I say I’m taking this very seriously.”
“What if we’re miserable together?”
“We won’t be.”
“How do you know?” Her gaze locked with his.
“I’ll just keep you in bed as much as I can. We’ve already proven we get along just fine there.”
“There’s more to a marriage than sex.”
“Sure,” he quipped. “There’s children, too. And we’ve already got that taken care of.”
“Max—”
“Stop trying to make this harder than it has to be,” Max said firmly. He wasn’t going to let her change her mind. Wasn’t going to allow her nerves to stretch to the point where she simply snapped and called everything off.
He’d gone into this with his eyes open, knowing he could help her and himself. And now that they’d reached an agreement, Max could admit that he wanted this marriage. He wanted her in his house. In his bed. There was no way he would let her wriggle out of their bargain.
“I’m not,” she argued. “I guess I just need to know that we’re doing the right thing.”
“Do you have the money for the blackmailer?” he asked flatly.
“No.”
“Do you want to tell your parents that the wedding’s off, but the baby’s still on?”
“No,” she said and slumped back into her seat.
“Then we’re doing the right thing.”
“I wonder,” she said, “is the only thing necessarily the right thing?”
“You’re thinking too much,” he said. “Decision’s been made. Let it go.”
Her gaze locked on his and her expression was even easier to read than usual. Stubborn resignation. Good. At least she was accepting that this wedding was going to happen.
“Look,” Max said abruptly. “I was on my way to a meeting when I walked past the café and saw you sitting in here with Amanda. I only came in to tell you something.” He wasn’t going to let her know that it had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. That seeing her had hit him so hard he hadn’t been able to resist coming in to talk to her.
“Fine, then. What is it?”
“My lawyer says he’ll have the papers ready for us to sign tomorrow morning.”
“So soon?” She looked a little nervous, and a part of Max was glad to see it. Those few nerves told him that she wasn’t a cold, calculating woman—as if he needed to be convinced. She might be lying to him, but he was willing to bet she hadn’t set any of this in motion on purpose.
Max checked his watch again, then met her gaze. “I’ll pick you up at nine. We can take care of the paperwork and be finished before the movers show up at your place.”
“Oh, I didn’t hire movers yet.”
“It’s already arranged,” Max said. “They’ll be at your place to pack by eleven tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Julia stared at him. “That’s too soon.
I’m not ready, and besides, don’t you think I can handle this myself? I don’t need you to step in and—”
He leaned in and kissed her hard and quick, instantly cutting off her arguments. “No need to thank me,” he said, giving her a grin that let her know he was completely aware of her frustration.
“Max …”
“I’ve got that meeting. I’ll see you in the morning.” Then he stood up and walked out, never looking back. Not that he had to. He felt her gaze boring a hole in his back.
Impatient, Julia tapped the toe of her shoe against the cold, marble floor of her lobby while she waited for the ancient elevator to arrive. Irritation with Max’s highhandedness still stung.
“I can take care of myself,” she muttered darkly. “Been doing it for years without any help, thanks very much.”
Then she winced and glanced over her shoulder to make sure the doorman hadn’t heard her. But Henry was oblivious to her presence, chatting away on the telephone at his desk. Good. She didn’t need one more male sticking his nose into her business.
Honestly, did Max really think he could simply arrange her life to suit him? If he did, this temporary marriage was going to get off to a rocky start. She glanced up at the old-fashioned dial on the elevator and saw that it was going up, not coming down. Apparently someone in one of the penthouses had called for it.
Sighing, Julia turned, crossed the lobby and headed for the residents’ mailboxes. Might as well pick up the mail now since she had a few minutes.
“Ms. Prentice!” Henry called.
Inserting the key into her box, Julia opened it, took out the stack of envelopes and mailers, then closed and relocked it before answering. “Yes?”
Sunlight slanted through the glass door and lay in a wide swath on the marble. Henry walked right through the light and stopped a couple of feet from her. “I wanted to tell you, like I told your fiancé …”
Fiancé, she thought, and wondered if she would be used to the sound of that word before she had to become accustomed to the word husband.
“Max? You talked to Max?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Henry said, and bobbed his head nervously. But then, Henry always looked nervous and a little too cowed by the