Free Substitute Bride (Beaufort Brides Book 2) by Noelle Adams Page A

last place he’d used the phone.
    Once he’d grabbed it, he made a quick stop in the bathroom.
    He could hardly go back to work with an erection.
    ***
    James stayed at work later than
usual. There were a lot of things he needed to get done, but he was also
relieved at the excuse to avoid Rose for a little longer.
    He felt guilty about his responses to her lately, and he was
afraid it would complicate what had been a very good working relationship
between them for more than two years.
    He just needed a little time and distance, and then he would
be fine.
    He told his assistant to go home at six, but he stayed on,
clearing out email and working through the pile of paperwork on his desk. He
would have to get home early enough to spend some time with the girls, but that
still gave him another hour to delay.
    At close to seven, the office building was mostly empty, so
he was surprised to hear a tap on his office door. He stared at the door
blankly for a minute, trying to figure out if he’d actually heard the knock or
imagined it.
    Then the door pushed open, and Genevieve walked in.
    His eyes went wide, and he stood up immediately, feeling a
wave of defensiveness and confusion. “What are you doing here?”
    She gave him a sultry smile. She wore heels and a belted
coat, and her hair was pinned up with a clip. “Is that any way to greet me?”
    His confusion was now paired with annoyance. “What are you doing here?” he asked again, a little more gravel in his voice.
    “I wanted to say I was sorry.” She smiled again, this time
looking apologetic, although James didn’t really believe it was genuine.
    He stayed behind his desk. “Sorry for what?”
    “For pouting the way I did. I was just upset. You know I
don’t normally act that way.”
    In fact, he knew very well that she always acted that way.
She had a whole routine she used to get her way, and pouting was one of her
strategies. He’d never put the pieces together this way before, but he could
see it all now. She’d always been that way.
    Whatever she was doing here was part of a strategy too.
    “Okay,” he said. “You’re sorry. I accept the apology, but it
doesn’t change anything.”
    She came over closer to the desk he was still standing
behind. “I think it changes a lot.”
    He shook his head. “What exactly does it change?”
    “I don’t think you really wanted to break up with me, and
I’m telling you that you don’t have to.”
    He almost groaned in frustration. This was not what he
wanted to be dealing with at the moment. He wanted to go home and see his
girls. And maybe brood about Rose a little more. “I think I made myself
perfectly clear two nights ago. It wasn’t working, and it’s time for us to just
call it quits. I’m sorry if it hurts you or if this isn’t what you want, but I
don’t know how else I can say this. I just don’t want to marry you.”
    He felt bad for the words, since he didn’t actually like to
hurt people, but it was as if they didn’t even penetrate to Genevieve’s brain.
She didn’t stop smiling and giving him her sexy eyes. “I think you do—you just
need a little refresher.”
    “I don’t need a refresher. I just need—”
    He didn’t have a chance to finish the sentence because
Genevieve unbelted and then dropped her coat to the floor.
    She was completely naked beneath it.
    She’d always had an attractive body, and he didn’t mind that
her breasts were almost certainly surgically enhanced. Men didn’t tend to be
too picky about that kind of thing. But he was so tired of her and frustrated
by her behavior that his body didn’t even react to the sight of her naked body
in front of him.
    “This kind of refresher,” she murmured.
    “Genevieve,” he said, blowing out a breath, “Put your coat
back on.”
    “You don’t want me to.”
    “Yes, I do. I’m not going to have sex with you. I’m not
going to stay engaged to you.” He walked around the desk and picked up her
coat, handing it to