Page 1 of Nicco

"You've made the kitchen your business."

"Yeah." She grinned. "Me and my sisters have."

Noah grinned too.

Jacqui's gaze dipped to his lips. Then she swallowed and looked away. "Anyway, the inheritance comes with marriage, along with another percentage of ownership in the restaurant. If me and another of my sisters married, that would get us two more percentage points, and ownership would be split evenly between us and Nãinai. If all three of us got married, that would give us controlling interest."

Those two words kept rolling through his mind:controlling interest. Noah wanted both from Jacqui Chou; her interest and to make her lose control. He could see it now, her buzzing with excitement.

"I have a proposition."

Jacqui blinked, sparks going off again.

"Marry me."

She laughed. It was an explosive thing. Not of joy. It was a burst of incredulous surprise.

Noah stepped closer.

Jacqui stepped back, the surprise instantly leeching from her face. "That's ridiculous."

"You were going to offer yourself up to that loser." Noah chucked his thumb over his shoulder where Mason had disappeared with his cake.

"You were listening?"

Noah shrugged.

"You are entirely unprofessional. And possibly a stalker."

"Is that any way to talk to your fiancé?"

"You are not. You will never be."

"Fine. Pay up now and I'll be on my way." Noah held his breath. It was a gamble. One he suspected would pay off.

When Jacqui didn't immediately lambast him, he knew he'd won.

ChapterTen

Jacqui stood frozen, the aftermath of Noah's brazen proposal echoing through the tidy confines of her office. Each word floated around her head, dust in the afternoon sunlight. Any small intake or exhale of breath made the letters flutter. But each time they settled, they formed the same words.

Marry me.But then camePay up now and I'll be on my way.And somewhere in there had beenYou were going to offer yourself up to that loser.

Her mind raced, teetering between outrage and a guilty appreciation of his audacity. How could a proposal so reckless, so... pragmatic, also sound so temptingly rational?

Jacqui eyed Noah carefully, her gaze sweeping over his disheveled jeans and the way his hair fell just a bit too long, brushing against a collar that needed a good wash. His face, unshaven and undoubtedly rough to the touch, was not in line with the meticulous order of her daily life. He looked like chaos personified, a walking, talking embodiment of disorder.

For a moment, she worried over her wiring. She'd even gone and inspected his work late last night. All of the wires were neatly organized and labeled where they had been a frayed mess weeks before. The man made no sense to her orderly brain.

And here he was, offering a solution that was undeniably perfect on paper. Marry him, delay the payment, and secure her inheritance—all while keeping her business afloat. It was a lifeline, one she desperately needed. But at what cost?

"I won't come cheap," Noah said as he stood there in discount jeans and scuffed boots that looked Army-issued.

She noticed how close she was standing to him. When had he come around her desk? Where he was standing, he could dip his head and be within kissing distance. Not that she wanted that.

Jacqui took a step back, but there wasn't anywhere she could go. Her office, usually a sanctuary of organized papers and neatly lined books, felt suddenly too small, the walls inching closer as she considered the implications. Noah and she were like mixing gas and oil. Sure, together they might run an engine, but at the risk of a spectacular combustion.

"I want room and board, meaning I'll stay with you at your house. And you'll feed me. All that, plus the repairs—including work for your sister's place, in exchange for three months of marriage."