Sweetheart Bride: A Tropical Billionaire Marriage of Convenience (Brides of Paradise Book 2) by Vicky Loebel

Author:Vicky Loebel [Loebel, Vicky]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pentachronistic Press
Published: 2016-11-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Ryan had always assumed he’d end up in a loveless marriage. Some kind of practical arrangement designed to add a few leaves to the Andersen family tree without driving anyone completely crazy in the process. He’d even gone so far as to offer himself as first prize on a wedding reality show at the Paradise Resort and then ruined everything by losing his head and eloping. And what a soul-searing pit-of-Hell experience that turned out to be.

He lit a cigarette and pushed an estimate for steel I-beams to one side on the desk. Outside his private office, last night’s promised rain whipped the beach in front of Villa Louisa into a gray frothing frenzy.

There had been plenty of examples of loveless marriages in his family. From the Danish Andersens who, if not without love, were at least frighteningly stern, to the Caribbean branch which was more-or-less shot through with matrimonial mayhem.

Of course, there were exceptions. Chris had Anna—a nice girl for a nice, slightly unimaginative guy—and Van had Cherry—a smart lady for a well-meaning dope. Could someone as idealistic as Ellie make up for Ryan’s widely recognized defects?

It doesn’t matter. We won’t have a real marriage.

The thought depressed him. He’d sunk from a probable marriage-of-convenience to an actual marriage-of-lies, and while he was more than willing to take advantage of his relatives from time to time, he’d never actually been dishonest. Ryan’s system had always been to admit he was taking advantage of people and then charm them into liking it. He almost wished Ellie had exposed him last night, had slapped his face and broken their engagement, because the idea of dragging her into something ugly made him sick.

But Ellie hadn’t slapped him. She’d held his hand and agreed to marry him.

Ryan switched on his desktop computer and brought up the old familiar pictures of his parents’ wedding at Villa Louisa. The beach, the flowers, the crazy 20th-century hair. Carl and Louisa beamed at each other with the confidence of two people who were deeply in love. He skimmed through photos, sampling ten years of life. Family parties, Ryan’s birth and christening, Louisa’s exhibitions, travel abroad. Bit by bit his mom’s expression grew more and more troubled, his father’s more remote.

The outside door opened, admitting Oscar in a gust of damp air. Her hair was green and pink today, pulled into Sailor Moon pigtails, and as an additional fashion statement she’d worn short lederhosen complete with deerskin straps.

“I thought you gave up smoking,” she said.

He had, almost. “That was exercise.” He crushed the butt. “What’s up?”

“Mrs. Jamala’s gone into a baking frenzy.” Oscar deposited a plate of cookies on Ryan’s desk. “She says if no one eats these by noon she’s quitting.”

“Our guests have gotten her riled up.” In addition to him, Oscar, Lucas, and Ellie, they now had Frank and Gran at the villa, with more of Ryan’s cousins expected by the wedding. “She’s afraid we’ll hire a chef and she’ll miss her chance to do some serious cooking.

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