Beaufort Brides: Hired Bride Part 4

He hid his reaction, however, maintaining the warm smile. He slid a piece of paper over to Deanna. "Here are the terms we'd discussed on Sat.u.r.day. If we agree to these, then it's just some fine-tuning."

Damon moved the sheet of paper over so he could see it.

"Six months from the wedding date?" he asked after a moment.

"That's what I'd a.s.sumed," Mitch.e.l.l said, relieved the first comment was so unimportant. "But I'm flexible on that, if Deanna wants something different."

"That's fine. We're going to get married quickly, right?" she asked. "I don't want to drag this thing out too long."

Mitch.e.l.l was completely of the same mind and was relieved she didn't want a huge elaborate ceremony that would take months to plan. "We can get married as early as you'd like. Within the next two weeks, if that's good for you. What about the 16th?"

He'd already penciled in the wedding for the 16th and scheduled out his next six months, but he would rather give in to that than other issues that would cost him more.

"That works for me," Deanna said, looking relieved. Maybe she'd also been afraid he wanted some sort of big hoopla for the wedding. "Just a quick thing at the courthouse or something?"

Mitch.e.l.l nodded. "Sounds perfect."

Damon had been taking a few notes on the piece of paper as they talked. Mitch.e.l.l tried not to peer too closely, but it looked like he was doing math equations, which wasn't promising.

Mitch.e.l.l didn't want to start quibbling about money.

"Since you want the world to believe we're married, I a.s.sume you want me to go out in public and act as your wife," Deanna said, not paying attention to whatever notes Damon was taking. "Maybe we can work out what that will look like."

Mitch.e.l.l smiled, pleased when she smiled back at him. She seemed easy-going enough, and she responded to his attempts to be friendly. He didn't think working with her should be too difficult. "Of course. I don't think it has to be burdensome. Maybe we can agree to go to one public function together a week? I don't keep up a very active society life, so you won't have to be dragged around too often."

"Yes, that's fine."

"And you'll go with her to one public function a week as well, I a.s.sume?" Damon asked, not even looking up from his piece of paper.

Mitch.e.l.l felt a s.h.i.+ver of annoyance toward the other man's evident distraction, even though he knew it was just part of a strategy Damon had seen work in business dealings in the past.

He cleared his throat. "I'd be happy to reciprocate, but what kind of public functions do you need to attend?" She didn't seem to be a party animal, and she worked as a receptionist, which wouldn't have a lot of social obligations.

"Well," she said, dropping her eyes as if she were embarra.s.sed, "I know Grandmama would like us to go to church."

Mitch.e.l.l froze. "You've got to be kidding."

He hadn't been to church since he was eight years old.

Deanna lifted her eyes and met his, suddenly looking not shy at all. The look was almost a challenge.

"It seems reasonable," Damon said calmly. "One public function each a week-whatever it happens to be."

"Fine," Mitch.e.l.l said, shaking his head at the idea of attending church for the next six months. "I'll just need to know in advance. My schedule is pretty tight, so you can't wake up one morning and spontaneously plan a social outing."

Deanna's silvery green eyes narrowed slightly. "Understood. And the same goes for you, I a.s.sume."

"Naturally." He didn't look away from the challenge in her eyes.

There was a long pause as they both stared at each other. Finally, she looked away, and it felt to Mitch.e.l.l like a victory.

Maybe she was used to manipulating men with her gorgeous eyes and her mild manner, but she would definitely find he wasn't a pushover.

"Okay," Damon said, into the silence. "I have a few questions about these numbers."

As Mitch.e.l.l had feared, Damon's questions turned into concerns, which turned into objections, until the final financial arrangements were much higher than he'd antic.i.p.ated.

He would pay to restore the old house, up to a certain amount which seemed entirely exorbitant to Mitch.e.l.l. But then he would also have to match her salary for a year, since she would need to give up her job for the six months they were married so she could travel with him when necessary, and then it might take her a while to find another job afterwards.

Mitch.e.l.l couldn't imagine it would take her six months to find another job as a receptionist, but he somehow found himself agreeing to the terms anyway.

He would pay for her lifestyle, of course, but he managed to insist on a monthly allowance, rather than just giving her a credit card.

She didn't seem to be a big spender, but then she'd never had money before. Who knew what would happen when she started to shop?

Finally, they'd worked through all of the terms Mitch.e.l.l could think of. The contract was not at all what he'd antic.i.p.ated it would be, but he could live with it.

It would be worth it if his mother could finally get her restaurant back.

"All right then," he said, leaning back in his chair and feeling almost exhausted from the negotiations. He gave Deanna a cool look. "Is that it then?"

"I think so." She looked over at Damon with a trust in her eyes that she'd never shown to Mitch.e.l.l.

He suddenly wondered if they might be having an affair. He'd always heard Damon was a family man and devoted to his wife, but that could be all talk. Why else would the very busy man fly out of his way to take on such a strange little contract negotiation?

Mitch.e.l.l didn't like the idea at all. Deanna could sleep with whomever she liked, right up to the time they got married. But then she'd better stop.

As if he'd read his mind, Damon said, "You better talk about s.e.x."

Deanna gave an audible intake of breath, and Mitch.e.l.l raised his eyebrows.

"Seriously," Damon said, all business, despite the topic of conversation. "You need to work it out beforehand."

"Well, we're not going to have s.e.x, are we?" Deanna asked, her gaze moving from Damon to Mitch.e.l.l. "I mean, we don't even...know each other."

"But you'll get to know each other. What if you decide you want to later on?"

Deanna looked faintly disgusted, which wasn't at all flattering. "I...I don't think that's going to happen."

"We'll have s.e.x if we both want to, and we won't if one or both of us don't. I don't think that's too hard to work out." Mitch.e.l.l gave Damon a cold look, since the other man was just being difficult now.

"All right. But what about s.e.x outside the marriage?"

"We're not going to have s.e.x outside the marriage, are we?" Deanna said, her eyes very wide now. "I mean, it might just be a business arrangement, but I'm not going to be part of a marriage of any kind where there is cheating."

Mitch.e.l.l cursed himself for not thinking of something so obvious before. He knew Deanna looked at marriage differently than he did. Where the h.e.l.l had his mind been? "It wouldn't be cheating if it's agreed upon beforehand," he said gently.

"No." Deanna's shoulders were stiff and her graceful neck very high. She obviously took this very seriously, which wasn't surprising, given how old-fas.h.i.+oned she was. "If you're planning to have s.e.x with anyone else while we're married, then there won't be a marriage at all. That's a deal-breaker for me."

"But you're not willing to have s.e.x with me?"

"I don't foresee it happening, no. So just decide whether getting this restaurant is worth going six months without s.e.x."

Mitch.e.l.l was angry now-since her terms were entirely unreasonable. He hadn't gone six months without s.e.x since he was a teenager.

But he pulled back his reaction as his mind worked quickly. He wouldn't have to go six months without s.e.x. He was good with women. Deanna seemed to respond to him well enough when they weren't in negotiations. She'd been attracted to him when she'd first seen him at the party. He wasn't blind to that fact.

So he agreed to the terms and let Damon take the lead in fine-tuning the language.

He wouldn't be going six months without s.e.x. He'd get Deanna into his bed soon enough.

"You look beautiful," Kelly said, sitting on the bed in Deanna's room and watching as her sister got ready for the engagement party.

"Thanks," Deanna sighed, staring at herself in the mirror. She did look really nice in the new dark red, knee length dress that showed more cleavage than she was used to. It was the most expensive dress she'd ever owned-bought with Mitch.e.l.l's money-and it felt strange against her skin.

It didn't feel quite like her. None of this did.

"You might as well enjoy the new clothes and everything," Kelly said, as practical and no-nonsense as ever. "Just think of it as a six-month long job, and the clothes are all part of the uniform."

"Yeah. That's what I keep telling myself. This is just a business deal. Nothing to worry about."

"That should work, as long as you both look at it that way. Grandmama is in seventh heaven, of course." Kelly paused. "Why do you look worried?"

"I don't know. It's just that sometimes I can't help thinking it's a marriage-not a business deal."

"Yeah. There is that."

Deanna forced herself out of her mood, pus.h.i.+ng aside the lingering doubts and fears. They'd worked out a very good contract, thanks to Harrison's expert help, so she didn't have any worries in that regard.

This was just a job. She was being paid to go through the motions. None of it really compromised who she was. She might as well make the best of it.

"I still wish I could go to the party, though," Kelly added.

"I don't want you there," Deanna said baldly, knowing she could speak that way with Kelly without hurting her feelings. "It already feels like a lie, and it would feel more like that if you or Rose were there."

"Fine." Kelly sighed and slumped back against the pillows. "So what is he like?"

"Who?"

"Who do you think? Mitch.e.l.l."

"Oh." Deanna felt a flush that was entirely unreasonable. There was no reason to feel self-conscious at the thought of him-even though he was going to be her husband.

Yes, he was the most attractive man she'd ever met, and he had a kind of compelling quality that drew people-drew her-like a magnet.

But he was also rather self-centered. If she hadn't suspected it before, then she would know it for sure when he wanted to arrange a way for him to have s.e.x with other women while they were married.

She could never be happy with a man who looked at marriage so trivially.

He was a business partner. Nothing else. She would do what she needed to do to get along with him so things would go smoothly, but she wasn't going to let herself like him.

Somehow, she was sure that would be a mistake.

She finally answered her sister. "He's not my kind of guy at all, but I think I can live with him."

Their engagement party was a dinner in the private dining room of Mitch.e.l.l's hotel, the Claremont.

Since their marriage was going to be private, he'd insisted on the engagement party, since otherwise people would suspect that something was strange about the marriage.

The guest list was mostly his friends and business a.s.sociates-most notably the Fentons, who were the people he most needed to convince.

But his sister was there, and Deanna's grandmother and a few of her friends were there as well.

Deanna went through the motions in a kind of daze through the introductions and the meal, keeping a smile on her face that felt faker and faker.

Things would be easier once she got used to it, but right now she felt like some kind of alien who had landed on the wrong planet.

After the meal, people lingered to chat and laugh, and Deanna got cornered by Mitch.e.l.l's sister, Brie.

Brie looked a lot like her brother-dark hair, gray eyes, cla.s.sic features, tall build. She had the same warm, charismatic smile, and hers came across as entirely genuine.

"Mitch.e.l.l told me what's really going on," she said, almost without prelude. She was smiling, but her eyes searched Deanna's face carefully. "It sounds crazy to me."

"It is crazy," Deanna agreed, speaking very softly so no one would overhear. "But it seems to work out for both of us."

"You're not being bullied into it, are you?"

"No. Of course, not. Why would you say that?"

"Because it sounded like it was mostly your grandmother's idea and Mitch.e.l.l's. And I just wanted to make sure you're okay with it all. Mitch.e.l.l is a great guy-he really is-but when he gets an idea between his teeth, nothing will make him let it go. And he's got this idea to get Mom back the restaurant, and-"

"Wait a minute," Deanna broke in, her curiosity immediately prompted. "The restaurant is for your mom?"

"Of course." Brie looked surprised. "Didn't you know that? Why do you think he's going to such great lengths here? My mom started as a cook at the Darlington Cafe-almost forty years ago now. She was the one who made it such a success. She poured her heart and soul into it. But then the owner sold it to the Fentons, and she lost her job. Mitch.e.l.l is on this mission to get it back for her."

Deanna felt a swell of feeling, her eyes resting on Mitch.e.l.l across the room. He was talking to one of his friends, looking as casual and insouciant as ever.

But he loved his mother. He loved her so much that he was doing this ridiculous thing to make her happy.

He might be cool and distanced and kind of arrogant, but Lucy Damon had been right. He loved his mother.

That went a long way for Deanna.

"Didn't you know that?" Brie asked again, evidently seeing something in Deanna's expression. "Why did you think he was doing this?"