A Family Circle 1 - A Very Convenient Marriage Read Free Page B

reasons.
    Lymon Beauvisage had foreseen the possibility that his granddaughter might make a marriage of convenience in order to get her inheritance and had done his best to circumvent the possibility. As the final proviso in an already complicated bequest, he'd left his friend and lawyer, Jason Drummond, the final say in whether or not Nikki received her inheritance. If he believed the marriage was real, he'd release the money at the end of the year. If he didn't, the money went to Nikki's older brother, Alan, who'd already received—and squandered—his half of their grandfather's estate.
    "You just have to convince Jason Drummond that you're in love with each other," Max said.
    "Unless he's deaf, dumb and blind, that may not be so easy," Sam said, looking as if he were starting to reconsider the whole idea.
    "All it takes is a little acting," Max coaxed.
    "There's a limit to my acting ability," Sam muttered. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Nikki stiffen and realized that his comment could be taken as a slap in her direction, which wasn't what he'd intended.
    "I'm surprised, Mr. Walker." Her voice was sweet enough to send chills down his spine. "You're so convincing as a rude, filthy wino." She paused and her delicate brows drew together in a small frown. When she continued, her tone was one of concern. "Perhaps that isn't as much of a stretch as convincing Uncle Jason that I might actually want to marry you."
    Sam winced in acknowledgment of the hit, but restrained the urge to respond in kind. The last thing he wanted was to prolong this meeting, not even for the pleasure of continuing the verbal warfare with the woman he'd just agreed to marry. He wanted to go home, wash off the smell of that alley and get some sleep. Maybe when he woke up, this idea would seem as logical as Max claimed it was and not the insanity it looked to be at the moment.
    "Uncle Jason?" he questioned.
    "My grandfather's attorney is also a family friend."
    "That should make him fairly willing to be convinced," Max put in optimistically.
    "Less strain on your acting ability, Mr. Walker," Nikki pointed out with a saccharine smile.
    "Thanks."
    It was agreed that Nikki would contact Jason Drummond and arrange for him to meet Sam as soon as possible.
    "The sooner you get his approval, the sooner you can get married," Max said.
    "A thrilling thought," Nikki said as she rose, preparatory to leaving.
    Sam, who'd been about to gather his energy to rise, a courtesy his mother had drummed into him, relaxed back into his chair. He was damned if he was going to waste his time on polite forms with this stuck-up little ice princess.
    "I'll let Max know when I've arranged a meeting with Uncle Jason."
    "You do that."
    Max started to suggest that it would be easier if she contacted Sam directly, but immediately thought better of it. The way things stood right now, it was probably safer if the bride and groom had as little contact with each other as possible before the wedding.
    "I'll be in touch," she said to Max. She glanced at Sam and gave him a cool little nod. "Mr. Walker."
    "Ms. Beauvisage." He returned the nod, his tone mocking her formality.
    Nikki's mouth tightened, and he saw fire flare in her green eyes. He waited for the explosion, but it didn't come. She turned and walked out of the office without another word. Sam watched her leave, surprised to realize that he actually felt a twinge of regret at her restraint.
    He let his eyes drift down her narrow back to her legs. She had the disposition of a pit viper. It was too bad she also had legs like an angel. It didn't take much imagination on his part to picture those legs sliding into the expensive car she undoubtedly drove.
    Or between a set of black silk sheets.
    ❧
    Nikki heard the rapid tap of her heels against the tile entryway of the office building and realized she was almost running. She forced herself to slow down as she exited the building and stepped out into the bright sunshine.
    She wasn't