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Well, it was good to know I wasn’t repulsive.
‘Andrew, your bodyguard?’
She raised an eyebrow before looking away. ‘It doesn’t matter who it is. But I need this as much as you do.’
‘You need a cover, a face to present to the world.’
Nicole nodded, toying with the stem of her wineglass.
‘How are we going to do this? Where will we live? What about kids?’
‘Publicly, we need to be a united front. To look every bit smitten with one another. Privately, we lead separate lives. We can get our own place if you wish, but it’ll be unlikely that I spend much time there.’
‘Kids will complicate it.’
‘How much time did your parents spend at home with you growing up? If you were anything like us, your nannies did most of the day-to-day stuff.’ Her words held a touch of strain as she spoke about children.
‘Is that life the life you want for your kids?’ I asked, knowing just how shit it felt to have seen my father as a figurehead for most of my childhood. My mother had been loving, and losing her as a teen had been a tremendous loss, but my sibling group had always been the place I found love growing up.
‘It’s the done thing.’ Nicole straightened up and faced me. ‘I’ll give you two children, if all goes well, via IVF. We can spend the holidays together with them, and work around our schedules for the remaining time. I imagine we’ll board them once they get to school, so it’s only for a few years, anyway.’
She spoke about her kids as though they were a stranger’s cat. A problem to be solved. It wasn’t healthy. But I needed children as much as she did to see our family business continue.
I nodded my assent.
‘You’re a nice guy Logan, but I just need you to understand that I’m doing this for my family, and for myself. Not for us.’
‘There is no us.’ Saying it stung. I’d never have an us.
‘Precisely.’
She smiled and placed a hand on my arm, squeezing softly. ‘I hope that you keep any woman, or man, on the side discreet. Image is everything.’
‘Noted.’
She relaxed back against the bench and tipped her face to the night sky.
‘I guess we’d better pick a date for the engagement party.’
‘Do we need one?’ I asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Fine.’
‘Is two weeks on Saturday too soon for you?’
My stomach lurched at the thought of everyone gathered while we put on a show, pretending to love each other.
‘Okay. Have your people call my people and get it set up. I’ll cover the cost.’
‘Good, because my father has refused to pay a penny out on it.’ Nicole shrugged.
‘He really hates me, doesn’t he?’
‘Yes. But I’m sure you’ll win him over when he sees how you run your organisation. Tenacity and success always impresses him.’
I grinned at her. ‘I feel like that was almost a compliment.’
