The Billionaire's Runaway Bride Read Free

cell phone rang and he answered it, immediately dismissing her from his mind as he dealt with yet another of the multitude of business details he responded to each day.
     
    She wished she could tell him that she wasn’t hiding from him. But she was. She’d run away from him all those months ago when she determined that Jason had only married her out of pity. It hadn’t been a guess. Her stepsister Jocelyn had told her that, in no uncertain terms, Jason had found her silly, heartbreaking existence too much to bear and had taken it upon himself to keep her from being a laughing stock after Sophie’s father had died.
     
    That afternoon had been devastating for Sophie. From the first moment she’d met Jason, she’d woven fantasies around him. She’d been twenty three when her father had taken her to a ball and had been wearing one of her father’s favorite dresses which meant it looked like a funeral dress in Sophie’s mind. The long, black dress which covered her from her neck to her ankles, even the long sleeves not showing any skin, was the kind of dress her father thought was appropriate for his daughter.
     
    Sophie remembered seeing Jason across the room and her heart had instantly accelerated. When he’d turned and caught her eye, it was as if a spark of electricity had traveled the length of the room and connected the two of them. He hadn’t let her look away as he made his way across the room. But he didn’t need to worry that night. As her father made the introductions, Sophie was transfixed by his hard, chiseled face and determined eyes. He was so tall, he practically towered over her by at least seven inches. Her head barely came to his shoulder even in her heels.
     
    But when he took her hand and led her onto the dance floor, she fit into his arms perfectly. The entire dance, she continued to look up at him, thrilled with his handsome looks and feeling other women’s eyes on her. When the dance ended, Jason was gentlemanly as he tucked her hand into his arm and led her back to her father’s side. He bowed away, smiling and winking at her. That was the last time she saw him until her father’s funeral.
     
    Looking back, she’d probably looked like a simpleton that night. Sophie wasn’t well versed in the art of flirtation so she knew all her emotions were spread across her face for him and everyone else to see. Sophie shifted in the limousine seat uncomfortably as she thought back to how incredibly naïve she’d been. And when he’d shown up at her house after the funeral, it was as if all the loneliness caused by living under her father’s harsh eyes just disappeared.
     
    He’d taken her to dinner that night and made her laugh, something she hadn’t done a lot of while living under her father’s roof. His looks made her feel pretty and feminine. When he walked her to the door that night, he gently kissed her lips, only brushing them softly before pulling away. He proposed on her doorstep that night and Sophie accepted, never considering why a man like Jason would want someone like her after only two meetings. She was too enthralled by the man to question motives.
     
    Sophie sat as far away from him as she could in the limousine on the way back to Jason’s house, staring out the window as the car drove smoothly from the small village she had made her home, into London’s center. They drove right to the house she’d shared with him for six, lonely months of their marriage. Staring at the huge mansion with so much history, she wondered how she would ever find happiness within these hallowed walls.
     
    Sighing, Sophie got out of the car, not even waiting for the driver to come around and open the door for her. She always hated that custom and she was determined to avoid it whenever she could. She didn’t understand it anyway. She was perfectly capable of opening her own door, so why shouldn’t she? And if it irritated Jason, then so be it. In fact, all the better, she thought to herself.