Read Online The Billionaire's Bargain by Sam Crescent - Free Book Online Page A

her
Duncan
was handling the situation.
    She wished she hated her father
enough to tell him to go to prison.
    Tess had convinced herself the
wedding was a fantasy. There was no way the most eligible bachelor would ever
consider her as a wife. Then today, stylists and designers had turned up to her
small apartment. They’d all surrounded her, pulling at her hair or plucking
this or that until she had finally turned up as the bride-to-be. The paparazzi
had followed her from her apartment to the church. She’d heard most of the
events of her upcoming wedding from the news. The press had fired questions at
her asking
Duncan
’s
reputation. They’d made sure she’d heard about the gossip surrounding the
recent story of his conquest with the latest fashion model. Each question
making her wonder if this decision was an act of desperation or the right one?
    All she had to do was think of her
father, and she knew she was making the right decision. No matter what he’d
done to her, he was still her father, and she loved him.
    It was desperation, but being
married to
Duncan
couldn’t be that much of a hardship?
    A busy man like
Duncan
would never spend more than a month in
one place. Surely most of the time he’d be too busy travelling to even remember he had a wife. It would give her the time she
needed to dedicate to her passion. Writing. She loved
creating magical worlds where she could get lost. No matter what happened in
the story the characters in her mind would always get a happy ending. She’d
loved books for so long that her passion had soon turned to trying to pen one
herself. Becoming a writer would be a dream come true. His secretary had
informed her that her life at the library would have to end. Duncan James’s
wife couldn’t work.
    She’d decided to use her time
married to him by trying to find her own dream. Her only other wish was to have
a family of her own with a husband to love and a couple of children.
    Tess stared out at the priest as he
gazed out at the gravestones.
Duncan
stood by the priest for several moments. She wasn’t able to make out what they
were saying. Tess stared at her soon-to-be husband. He looked handsome from
what she was able to see.
    Both men shook hands then turned to
enter the church. Her heart raced from seeing
Duncan
. She wished she had better control
over her body’s response to him.   
    Maybe she’d see this experience as
inspiration for her story. She’d write a story about a woman who was trying to
save her family only to fall in love with the man who was willing to blackmail
her. Tess chuckled to herself. She wasn’t under any false hope that
Duncan
loved her. The next
year or so she’d make sure to never give him her heart. There was no way for
their marriage to last. What marriage lasted on a bargain and a contract? Tess
knew she wasn’t his type. He was a rich playboy who was used to getting what he
wanted. She didn’t want to lead her heart down an uncertain path, and life with
Duncan
was
nothing but uncertain. She couldn’t be sure about her body. The attraction she
felt towards him affected her too much.
    She’d write in her own story about
the passion. Maybe, after twenty-three years, she’d be able to rid herself of
her pesky virginity.
Duncan
seemed to desire her. When she thought about each of them as couples she
couldn’t contain her laughter. The wealthy bachelor settling
for the mousy writer.
    Would he be embarrassed by his wife
becoming an author and demand she stop? She visibly shook herself. Tess needed
to stop filling herself with pathetic nonsense. She’d deal with any problems
that came her way with regards to her new husband. She picked up her bouquet of
white roses. It was time to become Mrs. Duncan James and save her father from
complete chaos.
    ****
    Duncan
pulled at his collar. It felt
irritating and too tight around his neck. He’d not seen Tess at all. He hoped
she was doing okay. The style team he’d sent to her had stopped him