Free A Merger by Marriage by Cat Schield Page B

proclaimed from the doorway.
    Violet’s eyes flew open. She hadn’t even realized she’d closed them. “Harper said to wait.”
    “You don’t seriously think I’m going to sit here in suspense for twenty minutes, do you?” Scarlett flopped onto the couch beside Violet and pinned her with a steely glare. “Spill.”
    Now that the moment had arrived, Violet decided it was harder to justify her actions than she’d imagined. “I really think we should wait. I don’t want to explain myself twice.”
    She wasn’t sure she wanted to explain herself once .
    Scarlett waved Violet’s objection away. “What’s there to explain? You finally gave in to the chemistry between you and JT. Was it fabulous? Is he an intense lover? He has such great hands and those lips...”
    Violet choked back a laugh. “Scarlett!”
    “What? Harper will want to lecture you on moving too fast. I won’t get to hear any of the hot stuff once she shows up.”
    “There is no hot stuff.”
    “Really?” Scarlett’s face reflected disappointment. “I would have thought there’d be major fireworks between you.”
    “It wasn’t like that.”
    “Then why are you blushing?”
    Violet put her hands to her cheeks and found them on fire. “He caught me skinny-dipping in his pool.”
    “And...?” Scarlett leaned forward, her eyes wide and encouraging.
    “He handed me a bikini and told me to wear it next time I wanted to take a swim.”
    Scarlett sat back and regarded her sister in absolute confusion. Violet had never seen her so utterly baffled.
    “I thought your text said you spent the night with JT.”
    “I did. Only not the way your naughty mind thinks. I slept at his house.”
    Before Scarlett could reply, Harper breezed into the room. She was slightly out of breath as she demanded, “What did I miss?”
    “Not a darned thing,” Scarlett muttered in disgust. “Apparently there’s nothing for her to tell.”
    “What about that?” Harper settled next to Scarlett and reached across her to point at Violet’s left hand.
    Scarlett snatched up the hand and stared at the ring. “You’re engaged?”
    “Not exactly,” Violet murmured.
    “That looks like an engagement ring.”
    “Actually it’s a wedding ring. JT and I got married last night at the Tunnel of Love Chapel.”
    “Married?” Scarlett gaped at her sister.
    “JT Stone?” Harper shook her head. “Have you told Grandfather? Are you at all worried how he’ll react when he finds out you’re married to the competition?”
    “I’m going to call him in a little while.” Violet was all prepared with a rational explanation for her actions. “He’ll understand when I explain what happened.”
    “What did happen?” Scarlett asked. “The last time I mentioned him being interested in you, I got the distinct impression you had no intention of letting anything develop.”
    “It hasn’t exactly developed the way you think,” Violet said.
    “You’re married,” Harper pointed out. “Something had to happen between you.”
    “It’s all a little complicated.”
    “Did Rick slip something special into one of his signature cocktails?” Scarlett narrowed her eyes. “By that I mean, were you drunk?”
    “I was perfectly sober.” Violet rushed to answer the question in Harper’s eyes. “So was he.”
    “So, you didn’t just spend the night at JT’s house,” Harper clarified. “You spent the night with JT?”
    “No. It’s not that kind of marriage.”
    Harper regarded her gravely. “What sort of marriage is it?”
    “It’s strictly a business arrangement.”
    “But not funny business obviously,” Scarlett groused.
    Violet ignored her. “Mom and I went to the lawyer a few days ago and it turns out Tiberius had been purchasing Stone Properties stock from other family members.”
    “I thought he didn’t want anything to do with the company after what Preston did to him,” Scarlett said.
    “I think it was more a matter of not being able to do anything to