The Playboy's Princess (35 page)

She nodded, her leg bouncing from nerves.

“Well, that’s true. When we got married, I said I loved you, and I didn’t. But you need to know that I genuinely developed real feelings for you. When I called you the night you left and said I loved you, I honestly meant it with my whole heart.”

“I believe you.”

“Good.” He relaxed into the couch. “But it’s more than that. You make me want to be a better person, Jade. Before you, I was living a selfish life. I did what I wanted, when I wanted, and expected everyone to cater to me. Suddenly, I was thrust into living like an adult. I had a wife when I’d never even had a girlfriend. I was developing real feelings for a girl who refused to even talk about us being together…Why was that? Has this always been about the money for you? Sometimes I thought you might care about me, but your wall was so strong I couldn’t break through it.”

“It was never about the money for me,” she admitted. “Well, maybe the first week. I originally agreed to the contract because I needed money, but I wouldn’t have gone through with it if I didn’t like you.”

“So, you
do
like me.”

She laughed and then bit her lip. She looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Yes. Very much.”

“How much? Enough not to call it like?”

“Then what would we call it?”

“Maybe another word that starts with L?” He gave her a sheepish grin. It felt right to be flirty and playful together. It was a role they both played well. And that’s where Jade’s fear came from…Was this still an act?

No. There was no one to act for in her living room. It was just them.

“Lust?” she asked.

Drew laughed. “That wasn’t what I was thinking, but lust certainly works for me.” He shifted on the couch so he was a few inches closer to her. “I was thinking about another L word.”

She tried her best to think of another word that started with L, but he must have known she was stalling because he said her name with a playful, warning tone.

She giggled. “Yes, Drew. I loved you.”

“In the past tense only?” He slid closer on the couch again.

“Does that matter?”

“It does to me.”

“You’re the only one here,” she said, both in response to his statement, but also to remind herself that this was real. He wasn’t acting for anyone.

His arms slipped around her, and he held her close to his chest.

“I grew up for you, Jade. I wouldn’t have done it for anyone else. You wanted more than the words. You wanted proof of how I feel…Well, there it is. I haven’t had a drink for ninety-six days. And if you need more convincing, then here’s an action to prove my feelings. No words needed.”

He pulled her in and kissed her. It wasn’t like any of the other kisses they’d shared. She could feel the difference. Drew wasn’t putting on an act, or holding his own feelings in check. He was loving her with his hands on her waist. He was loving her with his lips on hers. He was loving her with every breath he took.

And she believed him.

When they broke apart, he looked at her with a worried expression, and she knew why. He’d played his ace card and was waiting to see if it was enough.

“Present tense,” she said.

The grin that spread over his face was luminous. He pulled her in for another kiss and whispered in her ear, “I love you, Ariel.”

Epilogue

Coming Clean

“A
RE
Y
OU
S
URE
you want to tell your parents tonight?” Jade asked from the passenger seat. Her leg bounced idly, and she gripped the seat when Drew took the corner a little too quickly.

“I think it’s better to just get it over and done with, don’t you?” He glanced away from the road and frowned at her bouncing leg. “Please don’t tell me you’re still nervous around my parents.”

“Well, they’re not exactly going to be happy when we tell them.”

Drew rolled his eyes as he pulled up in his parents’ driveway.

“Look,” he said. “We both know this isn’t working the way it is. It’s better for everyone if we’re just honest about it. Then we can all move on and forget this whole mess ever happened. We need a fresh start without all the baggage.”

Jade sighed. “You’re right. I just don’t want to see the disappointment on their faces.”

Drew nodded and got out of the car. During their fake marriage, he’d always made a show of opening her car door. He didn’t do that anymore. She followed him inside and looked around the now familiar entryway. If she’d tried to tell herself a year ago that she’d be relaxed in Aaron Malik’s home, she’d have committed herself to the nearest psychiatric institution. How things change.

“Drew!” Laura appeared in the doorway and hugged her son. She smiled at Jade over his shoulder.

Jade’s stomach churned. She really didn’t want to upset Laura, even if it was the right thing to do for her and Drew.

“Come on in, you two. Dinner’s on the table.” Laura pulled Drew by the hand into the dining room, and Jade followed.

“Hello, Caroline,” Drew said, giving the housekeeper a wave as they passed the kitchen.

The smell of roasted meat and freshly baked bread would normally have had Jade salivating, but she was too nervous to eat. She’d been nauseous all day.

“Where’s Aaron?” she asked.

Laura gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “He’s stuck on set. Something about bad lighting and needing to do reshoots. Hopefully he’ll be home before you leave.”

Drew shot Jade a questioning look that she interpreted as
Do we still do this?
She gave a small nod. Giving bad news was always best done quickly. Drew frowned.

“Mom, do you mind if Jade and I talk in private for a moment?”

“Of course, dear.” Laura disappeared into the kitchen, speaking to Caroline about lumps in the gravy.

“Maybe we should wait.” Drew ran his right hand over the scruff on his chin. Jade hated when he didn’t shave. Looking disheveled only reminded her of the alcoholic playboy he’d been when they’d first met.

“There’s never going to be a good time to tell her we’re getting divorced, Drew.”

“What?” Laura screeched from the kitchen. She ran into the dining room and stared at them both with wide eyes. “You’re getting divorced?”

Drew shot Jade an annoyed look and moved across the room to pull his mother into a hug. “Mom, please just let us explain.”

“What did you
do
, Andrew? Are you drinking again?”

“Laura,” Jade said, keeping her voice even. “Why don’t we go into the living room and sit down? We’ll explain everything to you.”

Laura shook her head sadly and began to cry as they all went to sit on the sofa.

“Mom, it’s not that Jade and I don’t love each other—”

“I’m home!” Aaron roared from the front door. “I made it. You haven’t started eating, have you?”

“We’re in the living room, Dad,” Drew called, loud enough to be heard over his mother’s cries.

Aaron appeared in the doorway and froze. He looked at the blubbering mess that was his wife and a huge grin spread across his face. “You’re having a baby!” He moved quickly through the room and pulled Jade up into a bear hug, swinging her legs off the ground.

Laura wailed even louder and began stuttering. “Th-They’re…divor—breaking up…”

Aaron put Jade down and looked at her, confusion clouding his features.

“You’re getting divorced?”

“Have a seat, please, Aaron,” Jade said.

It took over an hour for Drew and Jade to explain their situation. Aaron kept interrupting with questions, and Laura sniffled and kept wiping her eyes. They started at the beginning, describing how they met, their contract, and the reasons for the fake marriage.

Jade had hoped that knowing that the marriage wasn’t real would soften the blow of the divorce, but it appeared to hurt them more.

“So, let me get this straight,” Aaron said, cutting them off for what felt like the hundredth time. “You only got married to get around the clause in the will about your trust fund?”

Drew nodded, color rising up his cheeks.

“Unbelievable!” Aaron stood and started pacing the room. “I’d really started to think you’d grown up, Drew. I was proud of the man you’d become, but it was all a lie.”

Drew’s face crumpled, and Jade felt the need to cut in.

“Aaron, you’re right. At first it was just a plot, and I’m ashamed to say that I agreed to marry Drew for the money. I did give most of it back when I realized I couldn’t go through with it, but that doesn’t change the fact that we did it in the first place. I’m sorry we hurt you.”

Laura gave her a small smile, but her tears showed she wasn’t all right with their explanation.

Drew appeared to energize at her words. He sat up straighter, and the gleam came back into his eyes.

“So, we’re getting divorced,” he said, sounding more proud than upset. “The wedding we had was fake. The vows were lies, and the sentiment wasn’t there.”

“That’s not something to brag about, Andrew.” Aaron still paced the room.

Drew stood and went to sit next to Jade, taking her hand and holding it in both of his. “We know that, Dad. And despite how it all started, Jade and I began to develop real feelings for each other. We’re in love. For real.”

Laura coughed and looked at them, her eyes narrowed. “I don’t understand.”

Jade smiled.
This
was the moment she’d been waiting for all night. She took the wedding ring and engagement rings off her finger and placed them neatly on the coffee table. Both of her in-laws stared at the little pile of jewelry.

What they were about to do was important to both Drew and Jade, and they couldn’t have done it without coming clean about what they’d done before.

“We’re getting a divorce,” Drew said again, “so that we can do it right.”

He dropped to his knee and kept a tight hold of Jade’s hand.

“Jade,” he said, “I utterly adore you.”

Both Aaron and Laura fell deathly silent as he pulled a ring box out of his pocket and exposed the brilliant diamond.

“The last time I asked this question, I didn’t understand the depth of what love was. I didn’t fathom the enormity of what a marriage meant, and I certainly didn’t treat you the way a husband should. But I know what love is now. I grasp the idea of committing myself to one person—you—for the rest of my life, and I vow to treat you with tenderness and respect every day. Jade, will you marry me…again?”

She knew it was coming. The whole reason they’d been honest with his parents was so they could get married for real, and yet hearing the words and knowing they were sincere was mesmerizing. Her heart swelled, and tears welled in her eyes as she smiled down at the man she loved.

“Yes,” she said simply.

Drew leapt to his feet and pulled her up into his arms, kissing her deeply and smiling against her mouth.

“I’m so confused,” Laura said with a laugh. “So, you’re
not
getting divorced?”

“We are. But then we’ll get married again. The right way,” Drew said, hugging Jade to his side.

“With a pre-nup,” Aaron added.

Jade looked over at her father-in-law and saw distrust in his eyes. She couldn’t blame him. His family had a lot of money, and she’d just blatantly admitted to marrying his son for the sole purpose of getting paid.

“Dad!” Drew said.

“No, Drew, it’s fine. I’m happy to sign a pre-nup. We’re getting married for love. I don’t care about the money.”

Aaron appeared appeased. Jade knew that, in time, she’d wind him around her little finger again. He was too good a man not to forgive her.

“Caroline! We need champagne in here. Oh!” Laura looked at her son. “And a glass of sparkling apple juice, please? We’re celebrating.”

Drew smiled down at his fiancée and rested his hand on her stomach.

“Actually, Mom, just two glasses of champagne. Jade and I are both non-drinkers now.”

Aaron smiled, all tension disappearing from his face, and Laura gasped.

“Are you pregnant?” Laura asked, new tears welling in her eyes.

Jade placed her hand over Drew’s and nodded.

“That’s why we want to make things right,” she said proudly. Despite their rough start, or perhaps because of it, Jade knew she and Drew were strong together, willing and wanting to be dedicated to each other and their future. “We’re going to be a real family.”

Acknowledgments

So many people have worked hard on this book. First I have to start by thanking the whole team at Omnific Publishing for continuing to believe in me and for allowing me to share my stories with the world. Especially to my hard working editors, Jen, Kasi, and Cindy, who have been so supportive and encouraging.

Thanks to my pre-readers, and friends, Bree and Mikahla, for loving this story when it was just a draft and for brainstorming the ending with me. I also want to thank my mom for believing in me, supporting me and giving me a love of books and reading. I never would have been an author if she hadn’t taught me to love words. And to my friend, Josh Campbell, who will always be my image of Drew Malik. Keep an eye on this young new actor, he’s going places!