The Rented Bride (Highland Billionaires Book 1) (11 page)

His chest nearly brushed her breasts. Her mouth suddenly dry, she swallowed.

“You’ll have to kiss me.”

“Um, yes,” she said softly. “Kissing…” She licked her upper lip, then meshed it against her lower. “How much kissing is necessary?” He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Stunned, she wasn’t sure how to respond, but evidently her mouth did. She breathed him in as he deepened the kiss```. Oh my god, he was going to be dangerous. Then he broke the kiss. “That was unnecessary,” she said.

“I decide what is necessary.”

Staring into his eyes, her brain fried from the kiss, she nodded.

“Good,” he said. “For this event, I’ll handle the arrangements.”

Cassie nodded. “Okay. But keep it simple. I’m not very good at lying.”

Morning sun streamed through the window. Cassie blinked in confusion at unfamiliar surroundings, then remembered she was still in Colorado. A dull throb pounded in her temples. How had she ended up in this mess? Sitting, she slid her legs over the side of the bed and rubbed her eyes. She was getting married today. Her father should be walking her down the aisle, her mother tearful, her two sisters serving as bridesmaids and her four brothers, groomsmen. Most important, she should love the groom. Instead she was entering a business arrangement. She marked the sign of the cross, forehead to chest, shoulder to shoulder. Her family would be horrified.

Cassie slipped from the bed and crossed to the sixteenth century armoire where her clothes hung. She grabbed the long, bright, multi-colored LYCRA skirt and black sweater she’d planned to wear on the plane home. Not exactly a wedding dress, but this wasn’t exactly the wedding she’d planned.

She entered her room’s private bathroom, turned on the shower, then stripped and stepped beneath hot needles of water. Once she’d washed away any reservations, Cassie pulled her nerves together, dressed, and drew her hair back into a ponytail. She stared at herself in the mirror behind the marble sink.

Get married, get annulled, and get out of debt. Simple.

She’d lost her mind.

Cassie folded her dirty clothes. If she had to remain at Brettonwood, she’d need to use the laundry. It was critical that she return to Miami by Wednesday to prepare for Friday’s Bello event. Should she have discussed her work schedule with Trent? Surely he understood she had to be in Miami part of the time for work? She released a breath. He’d promised to have the contract ready for her signature first thing this morning. Wearing simple black flats, she left the room, softly closing the door behind her. Persian carpet padded her footsteps as she made her way down the hall to the staircase.

On the main floor, Cassie heard James’ voice and turned toward the parlor.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” He approached the door when she entered, a little shaky in his steps. Annie hovered nearby. “You promised to have breakfast with me.”

She smiled. “Just coffee, please.”

He offered his arm and she wrapped her fingers around the crook of his elbow. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Better. Now that I’m with you.” He patted her hand. “It’s Sunday and Ace always makes blood pudding and tattie scones. Reminds me of home.”

He led her to the kitchen.

“I’m afraid I’m not sure what either of those are,” she said.

“Then you’re in for a treat. Blood pudding is a sausage made of pig’s blood, fat, oats, barley, and spices.”

Her stomach did a little tumble.

“Morning Ace,” James said.

The aroma of breakfast cooking smelled good, but she wasn’t about to eat anything made of pig’s blood.

Ace turned the sausages that sizzled in a pan. “Morning James. Ms. Adams. If you want to sit in the atrium, I’ll serve breakfast.”

James led her to the atrium, a medium-sized room surrounded by windows that overlooked the mountains. In the morning light, the groomed trails of a nearby ski resort carved their pattern into the white and rocky mountain face. Burnt orange and gold streaked across the morning sky.

“What a gorgeous sunrise,” Cassie said.

“Orange and gold,” James said. “My favorite of all sunrises.”

“I can’t blame you,” she said.

The left side of the room boasted a small seating area. A glass table and chairs occupied the right. A ten-foot long, antique buffet stretched along the wall. They crossed to the table.

“How long have you been in the States?” She helped James to a seat and sat across from him.

He sighed. “Over fifty years. It’s just me and the lad since I lost my son and daughter-in-law, Trent’s mum and dad.”

“How old was Trent?”

“Oh,” he furrowed his brows, remembering back. “Just a wee lad. Four years old.”

She thought of her family and how lost she’d be without them. Mom, Dad, four brothers, two sisters, aunts, uncles and—don’t let her mother hear these thoughts—an ungodly number of cousins. In fact, it was no secret that she wasn’t living up to her share of the family dynasty.

“Damn shame.” Moisture glistened in James’ eyes. “Hard to imagine with Trent being a man, but he looks so much like his mother. Especially her eyes.” He smiled, face alight with mischief. “And as I’m sure you’ve seen, his determination. That comes from the Weston men.”

One might also call it stubborn and arrogant. In the last twenty-four hours, he’d mocked and deceived her, even fired her. To top it all off, he would soon marry her. Maybe he was just crazy. Like her.

Ace entered, carrying a tray with two plates filled with blood pudding sausages, sautéed mushrooms, and tattie scones, and another platter bearing grilled eggplant, peppers and tomatoes. Another staff member followed and set a carafe of coffee and a sterling silver creamer on the table along with china coffee cups.

James started eating as she poured coffee. Cassie had to admit, breakfast smelled heavenly. She pulled her plate closer and took a bite of what she figured had to be the tattie scone.

“Potato,” she said. 

“Mashed potatoes, to be exact,” he said.

“They’re delicious.”

He smiled. “My wife Addy loved them. I miss her,” he said around a bite of sausage. “When she died I lost the best part of me.”

“You never remarried?”

He shook his head. His smile softened. “You remind me of her, sweets. Trent, so much like me. Falling in love with a beautiful woman with a smile like an angel, and eyes that stir a man’s soul.”

“I see where Trent gets his charm.”

Guilt pricked. She was falling under the old man’s spell. Was deceiving him really the right thing to do? Everyone died. Someday she would lose her parents, probably an older sibling. But death had always been an unreal, very distant inevitability. Now, however, she was staring the grim reaper in the face.

Light footsteps sounded in the hallway and a young lady entered. “Uncle James.” She smiled broadly and hurried to the table.

He twisted in his seat and gave her a hug. “What are you doing here so early, lass?”

“Mom got the message last night that Trent is engaged. We didn’t even know he had a girlfriend.”

Cassie’s tummy did a little tumble.

“He kept it secret.” James nodded toward Cassie. “This is his fiancée. Cassie, meet Evie O’Hara. Her mother was a friend of Trent’s parents, and Evie here is my goddaughter.”

Cassie smiled. “It’s very nice to meet you, Evie.” The girl couldn’t be more than seventeen. Pretty with wide almond eyes and a soft lilt to her voice. “Are you hungry?” Cassie asked.

She shook her head, and said, “No, I wouldn’t mind some coffee, though.”

Cassie glanced at James who gave a slight nod, and Cassie smiled. “A woman after my own heart.” She pulled one of the empty cups closer and poured the coffee, then set it front of the seat to James’ left.

Evie sat down and poured in a liberal helping of cream followed by two scoops of sugar, then stirred. She took a sip then set the cup down and said, “My mom said you took over the planning of Uncle James’ birthday party.”

Cassie sipped her own coffee and nodded. “That’s right.”

“I guess Trent is lucky to be engaged to a party planner.”

Cassie laughed. “I would say so.”

“Lucky indeed.” James winked at Cassie.

Annie entered the room. “Good morning, everyone.” She sat on James’s right, reached for an empty cup and poured herself coffee.

“Hey, Annie, how are you?” Evie asked.

“Good. Are you still touring universities?”

“Yep, I’ve got it narrowed to a few. I still want to visit the University of Colorado in Boulder.” Evie shifted her gaze to Cassie. “I still can’t believe you and Trent are getting married. How long have you known each other?”

Cassie’s mind went blank. She and Trent hadn’t talked about any of those details. How long did a couple date before they got engaged, a year, two, five?

“About a year,” she said.

Evie’s brow furrowed. “Really? Wow, that’s a long time. I’m surprised you could’ keep it a secret so long.” She reached across the table and plucked a mushroom from the platter of vegetables.

Cassie’s gaze shifted from Evie to James. “It’s probably because we spent most of our time in Miami. That’s where I live.”

“Where she used to live,” James corrected. “Brettonwood is home now.” He smiled.

“I love Florida,” Evie said, her voice rising with excitement. “I considered applying to the University of Florida.” She popped another mushroom into her mouth.

“Get a plate,” James scolded.

Evie rolled her eyes. “So how did you and Trent meet?”

Cassie’s pulse jumped. No, no, no!

James’ gaze turned to her. “I want to know, too. How
did
you and Trent meet?”

Her mind raced. She and Trent hadn’t talked about this—they hadn’t talked about anything. Had he told his grandfather some story about their first meeting?

“Trent must have told you that story. I don’t want to bore you by telling it again.”

“Well, I haven’t heard it,” Evie said.

James nodded. “Aye, lass, please humor us. If I know my grandson, there’s a tale to tell.”

She stalled with another sip of coffee, but even Annie was watching with interest. “Well, it was in Miami, of course.” Where else would it be? “He attended a party I planned.” There, that had been easy. “Of course, I thought he was attractive. But I was working. He was insistent.” She smiled, pretending she remembered the day. “He wanted my phone number. However, I don’t give my number to clients or guests of clients.” She glanced to Evie. “But you know Trent. He’s tenacious and
very
creative. First, he sent flowers to me at work. On the card he invited me to a gala at the SkyRise. If you haven’t been there, believe me, I was tempted. Views for forty miles in all directions.”
Shut up
, she ordered herself.
Just shut up
. She gave a nervous laugh. “I declined, of course. I had another event. We were working an outdoor auction. We weren’t hired to provide catering, and they neglected to let me know there would be no food. Trent was at the auction and when he realized my crew were hot and hungry, he brought a chef in to cook lunch for our entire crew.” Good Lord, what had gotten into her?

“Oh my god, so after that you had to go out with him,” Evie cried.

Cassie smiled and shrugged, hoping Evie would draw her own conclusions.

“That’s very romantic,” Evie said.

Romantic? She gave a mental snort. Her meeting with Trent had been anything but romantic. She’d mistaken him for a deliveryman, and he’d let her believe her mistake.

“It was sneaky, is what it was,” she said.

“What was sneaky?” Evie said, brows furrowed.

“Uh, Trent charmed my crew. Thought he’d charmed me, too. I was grateful, but I hadn’t changed my mind about dating him. I saw through his ruse.”

“Of course she did,” James said.

“I still don’t know how he found out I’d be at the auction. But I was sure he was a player.”

“See,” James said pointing to Evie. “A woman needs to know who she is and what she wants. Cassie is a very intelligent woman. She wouldn’t fall for such an obvious ploy. I’m surprised Trent didn’t know better.”

Cassie’s heart began to beat fast. “You are?”

“He should have known you wouldn’t be like other women he’s dated, blinded by his money. I know a good person when I meet her. You wouldn’t play games. You wouldn’t lie to get something from him.”

Lie was all she’d done since she’d become involved with Trent.

“So what did you do?” Evie asked.

Cassie shrugged. “I ignored him.”

Evie chuckled. “I bet you drove him crazy. Was he mad?”

Mad? Flipping him over her shoulder had made him mad. Cassie shook her head. “It made him more determined. He figured out my weakness.” What the hell was she doing? She could have stopped at ‘
we met at a party.’
She was a bad liar, a very bad liar. She should stop, but her mouth kept moving. “Trent knew that as a party planner I would prize recipes. So he blackmailed me.” It was partly true. Trent had said he would forget about her flipping him over her back if she agreed to let him introduce him as his fiancée.

“What’s this talk of blackmail?”

Cassie jumped at the sound Trent’s voice. He entered the room with a petite brunette, Evie’s mother, no doubt, and Cassie wanted to melt into the carpet.

“Come in here,” James said. “Bree, meet Cassie, Trent’s fiancée. She was telling us about how you two met.” Trent’s brows rose and Cassie’s heart beat even faster.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cassie,” Bree said, and took a seat beside her daughter.

Trent sat beside Cassie. “What’s this talk of blackmail?”

Cassie could have boxed his ears. “Don’t act like you didn’t know what you were doing,” she said.