Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“It’s done,” Chase said.
“This is absurd. You can’t marry her. Let alone without a prenup.”
His eyes snapped between us like we were insane for what had happened. Maybe it had been a quick ceremony decided at the last minute, but it didn’t change our love for one another. Prenup or not.
“You can still annul it.”
“Daddy, they’re married,” Ashleigh said.
“Accept it,” I added.
“So, those are the terms,” Chase said, lifting his chin. “You apologize to my wife for the horrid things you said about her, and you can have another chance.”
Arnold’s eyes were hard when they came to rest on his son. They weren’t terms. There was no possibility that this man would apologize to me. The twenty-two-year-old harlot he thought had ensorcelled his son. The only reason Chase had offered it to him at all was because he knew that his dad would never do it.
“Never,” he snarled, as I’d known he would. “This slut has twisted your mind.”
“Joseph, call security, please,” Chase said with a dismissive glance away from his father.
“Of course,” Joseph said.
“How fucking dare you!” Arnold said.
“Come on, Harley. This meeting shouldn’t take long,” he said, holding his hand out to me.
But Arnold grasped his son by the collar. “You can’t do this to me.”
Chase moved me hastily behind him. “I’ve done nothing to you. You did all of this to yourself. These are the consequences to your actions. You might never admit your fault, but you did this. You ruined your position here. You hurt countless women. And you lost the love and support of your wife and children all on your own.” Chase wrenched his suit out of his dad’s hands just as security rushed out of the elevator. “And you will suffer those consequences for once.”
“You need to come with us, Mr. Sinclair,” one of the officers said, reaching for Arnold.
“Get your hands off me!” Arnold swore at the security guards. He swung backward to get out of their grip. The first guard secured his arms, and the other began to drag him backward. “You can’t do this!”
“Good-bye, Dad,” Chase said resolutely.
I put my hand into his as we watched his dad be dragged away while he ranted and raved. It was a sad sight, but also a welcome one. As Chase had said, he’d gotten what he deserved. Finally. At least someone had.
“Well, that was dramatic,” Ashleigh said with an eye roll.
“Quite,” Joseph agreed. “He always did have a flair for the dramatic.”
Ashleigh laughed. “It runs in the family.”
“You are quite dramatic,” Chase agreed.
“Me?” She shot me a glance. “Y’all went and eloped!”
“We did,” Chase said with a smile, and he kissed me again.
“Congratulations, by the way,” Joseph said.
“Thank you,” I said.
“I want to know all the details and why I wasn’t a bridesmaid,” Ashleigh said with a pointed look. “But can we finish this meeting first?”
“I believe that’s in order,” Chase agreed.
“If you don’t mind, Mrs. Sinclair,” Joseph said with a head nod in our direction, “I’d like to borrow your husband for a minute to vote him in as CEO.”
I flushed at those words. Mrs. Sinclair. I wasn’t changing my name—that was for damn sure—but that didn’t mean I didn’t like hearing it. I was his. His. And now, people knew. All that was left was to break the news to my family. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait.
“I don’t mind at all as long as you bring the CEO back to me in one piece,” I teased. “I have plans for him tonight.”
Ashleigh chortled.
Chase grinned down at me devilishly and slung me up into his arms. He kissed me hard. “I love you.”
I laughed. “I love you, too.”
“I cannot wait for these plans.”
“Oh yeah? You don’t even know what they are.”
“I can guess,” he said with a seductive look.
“How about telling my brothers?”
He put me back on my feet with a smile. “I can take a punch.”
I snorted. “I was thinking of putting a family feud to an end.”
“Let’s do it.”
25
HARLEY
“Ready?” Chase asked from the driver’s side of his Porsche.
I sat on the passenger side, staring down at the diamond ring on my left hand. I still couldn’t believe how stunning it was and that he’d picked out my dream ring without my input. I twirled it around and around and around. A new habit that I had no intention of breaking. I never wanted to take the beautiful thing for granted.
“Harley,” he said softly.
I jerked my gaze up to meet his. I wasn’t nervous. Not really. Not after what we went through to get where we were. But calling a meeting of all the Wrights at Wright Vineyard was a bold move. Maybe I should have done it another way, but I wasn’t sure how.
“I’m ready.”
“We don’t have to tell everyone like this.”
“I want everyone to know,” I assured him.
“That’s not in doubt.”