Free Hold Me Closer (Sea Island Brides Book 1) by Georgia Kelly

he’d been with were quick to agree with anything
he said. Even in his every-day business dealings since he’d
taken over more of the company duties, he was constantly frustrated
by the fact that people were afraid to disagree with his ideas or to
stand up for what they believed in if those beliefs happened to
contradict his own.
    Annabelle
was different. She wasn’t afraid to speak up about what she
wanted.
    “I
think it’s important for us to sit down together and discuss
any questions you have about our current arrangement,” he
began, clasping his hands together. “There are also a few
ground rules I would like to go over before we continue with our
engagement announcement in a couple of weeks.”
    When
she didn’t speak, he continued.
    “How
did you sleep last night? I hope the cottage was comfortable for
you?”
    For
the first time that morning, Annabelle’s face broke out in a
smile that lit up her entire face. “Yes, oh my gosh, the
cottage was amazing. I adore tabby houses.”
    Her
happiness lifted the tension from the previous night’s
argument, and his shoulders relaxed slightly. “Do you have any
questions before we discuss the rules?”
    “Why
don’t you tell me what your rules are, then I can tell you
whether I want to change them or not.” The challenging look she
flashed at him as she crossed her tanned legs made him shift in his
seat. He looked at her full lips and thought of the way it had felt
to kiss them.
    Tearing
his gaze away, he tried to focus on the purpose of their meeting. “I
wrote down a few guidelines that should help us discuss the
boundaries of our agreement. If you have any questions or suggestions
as I read through them, please, just let me
know.”
    On
the outside, he sounded like his normal self, conducting a standard
business meeting. But on the inside, he was picturing her half-naked
body pressed against his. The image of her stretched out on the
beach, his body hovering over hers in the sand, flashed through his
mind, intensifying his need for her.
    “Number
one,” he managed to say, doing his best to push those thoughts
beneath the surface. “It’s important that no one outside
of the Montgomery family knows that our relationship or pending
engagement is an act. You cannot tell your friends, your old boss,
your family, no one. The only people who are aware of our arrangement
are my immediate family and my secretary. All of our household staff,
from our chef to the limousine driver, have
to believe that we are in love and getting married. The slightest
leak to the press and we’re finished.”
    “Okay.”
    He
looked up from his paper and stared into her eyes. She seemed so
unaffected by him, and here he was, tortured by thoughts of what it
was like to feel those warm, lush lips against his own. “That
also goes for after the acquisition has gone through,” he
continued. “Even if it’s ten years from now and someone
asks you about our relationship. Whatever we decide on as our public
story has to be the story we tell everyone from now on.”
    She
offered no protest to his first rule, and he had to wonder if there
was anyone she was close to in her life. He’d checked into her
background before proposing this deal, and knew she’d been
through some hard times. Losing her parents at such a young age must
have been very hard on her. He wished he could talk to her about her
past. Get to know her inside and out.
    “Is
there anyone you’d like to invite to the engagement party? You
have a cousin you’re close to, right? Would you like to invite
her?” At the mention of her cousin, Annabelle’s smile
faded and she leaned back in her seat.
    “No,”
she said sharply. “I’d rather not bring my family into
this, if that’s okay with you.”
    The
sadness and fear that fell over her features made him want to reach
for her. He was struck by the force of her emotions. When she smiled,
he felt the whole room light up, but when she was sad or angry, it
tore him up