The Wedding Charade Read Free Page A

nerves. The time was dragging and she desperately wanted this to be over with so she could feel more secure. Nic had left her dangling, uncertain of whether he was going to cooperate or not. It was too risky to leave it all up to him. She had to force his hand, otherwise she would be destitute. She didn’t mind pretendingto be a tart at times but there was no way she was going to become one because all her other options had been destroyed.
    Marrying Nic would solve everything for her. All her troubles would be over if she did what Salvatore’s will stated. The lawyer had explained it all to her after the funeral last year. She had to marry Nic by the first of next month and stay married for a full year. Both partners had to remain faithful. Jade wasn’t sure why her godfather had put that condition in. She didn’t intend to sleep with Nic. He had spurned her in the past. What was to say he wouldn’t do it again? She would find it just as shattering as she had then.
    Jade was sipping at her second glass of champagne when Nic came in. His hazel eyes narrowed as he saw her sitting with her legs crossed on the bed. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ he said.
    ‘Celebrating our engagement,’ she said with a demure smile as she hoisted her glass.
    He stiffened as if he had been snap frozen. ‘What did you say?’ The words came out slowly, menacingly.
    Jade took a sip from her glass, looking at him from beneath her lashes. ‘The press already know about it,’ she said. ‘I gave them an exclusive. All they need now is a photo.’
    Nic’s anger was palpable. It rolled off the walls towards her, keeping her rooted to the foot of his bed. Jade fought the instinct to flee. She had been hit before. Her father had backhanded her for insolence enough times for her to know how much it hurt, but her pride would not let her show it. Instead, she gave Nic a defiantly sassy look. ‘If you kick me out I will tell the press aboutthe terms of your grandfather’s will. You don’t really want me to do that, do you, Nic?’
    His top lip lifted in a snarl. ‘You trashy, deceitful cow,’ he said.
    Jade let the words roll off her. ‘Sticks and stones,’ she said in a sing-song voice as she took another sip of champagne.
    Nic strode over and snatched the glass out of her hand, spilling champagne over her lap in the process. She glared at him as she jumped up to wipe off the spillage. ‘You bastard!’ she said. ‘This dress is brand new and now you’ve ruined it.’
    His nostrils flared like those of an angry bull. ‘Get out,’ he said through tight lips. He pointed to the door with a rigid arm. ‘Get out before I throw you out.’
    Jade tossed her head and put her hand behind her back to unzip her damp dress. ‘You put one finger on me and I’ll tell even more Sabbatini secrets to the press.’
    His mouth flattened to a thin line of fury. ‘Do you have no principles at all?’
    ‘Plenty,’ she said, wriggling out of her dress.
    His dark brows snapped together. ‘What do you think you are doing?’
    Jade tossed the dress on the floor, raising her chin as she stood before him in black lace bra and knickers and her come-and-get-me heels. For a brief moment she wondered if she had stepped not just out of her dress but out of her depth as well. Nic’s gaze seemed to be seeing through much more than her lacy underwear. She could feel the heat of it all over her skin, inside and out. She could feel a faint stirring deep inside her, a fluttering little pulse that seemed to intensify with each throbbing second. ‘I’m going to have a bath,’ she said,summoning her courage and resolve. ‘Then, once I am freshened up, we are going out to publicly celebrate our engagement.’
    He stood there, breathing heavily, his eyes hard on hers, hatred darkening them in a way she had never seen before. ‘I am not letting you get away with this, Jade,’ he warned. ‘You don’t get to screw around with me, do you hear?’
    ‘What a