Read Online Unwrapping Mr. Roth by Holley Trent - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Holley Trent
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latter.
“A favor, Gillian,” Mother said softly. “Will you do it for Kori and the girls? It’s hardly a fate worse than death.”
Gillian wrapped her fingers around a tendril of her hair and twirled. “It’s a hell of a favor.”
“You could be queen.”
“That wasn’t exactly an item on my bucket list.”
Mother grinned. “Then at the very least, it’d make a good story for you to tell your friends.
“Yeah, all two of them.” Gillian pulled her gaze away from Mother and looked to Nick. “The marriage is fully reversible, right?”
“Yes, pet,” he said flatly. “Perfectly reversible.”
Too bad for her, though, that she had to get him to agree.
What elf would give up his true mate? A foolish one.
Of all the things Nick was, foolish wasn’t anywhere on the list.
CHAPTER SIX
“This is fully reversible, right?” Gillian asked Nick yet again later that day in the Florida children’s group home they were visiting. She leaned over the back of his Santa chair and whispered, “If we get divorced, or whatever you elves do, you still get to keep the throne, right? Reassure me.”
Their joining might have been the quickest ceremony ever—some repeated words and a walk around a chalk-drawn circle in Eldora’s chambers—but judging by the way the lights had suddenly brightened in the palace as soon as they were done, Gillian was guessing it was the real deal.
That had scared the snot out of her. It’d taken her three shots of absinthe to calm down.
“Yes, Gilly,” he said through clenched teeth. “It’s reversible, but not without some doing. We’re bound by magic. Frankly, I think you should just take advantage of the fringe benefits.”
“Such as what?”
“Your half of my bed, Mrs. Roth,” he muttered.
Her sex gave a hell yes clench, but Gillian wasn’t going to be swayed by a body part ruled by hormones rather than logic. “I’m not changing my name. We don’t even have legal paperwork.”
“Sure we do. Perhaps you should consult the records of your county courthouse.”
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t pay me enough for this.”
“As of today, I don’t pay you at all . Being on my payroll would be kind of inappropriate, don’t you think? Besides, what’s mine is yours and vice versa. You don’t need a paycheck.”
“No way. You’re still gonna pay me, Santa. I’ve got bills.”
“Your bills are mine, which means I made them go away.”
She gaped. “You don’t have to do that. I’m used to paying my own way.”
“It’s already done.”
“ What ?”
He rolled his eyes as the group home’s activities coordinator glanced over at the staging area.
“Oh, God. What does she want now?” Gillian whispered.
Obviously they were in accord in their impressions of the woman.
Tricia giggled nervously, and turned away as if she’d changed her mind mid-route.
“I think you scared her off with the way you questioned her last time,” Gillian said.
Nick raised his shoulders in one of those graceful shrugs. “Inviting the tots’ parents was a bad idea. She had to know that.”
“You’ve done a lot of these?”
“Yes. They tend to be rather tense for the children. They’re less open than they would have been if their parents weren’t here. Many of them hope to go a holiday without seeing their parents. Too often, it’s the adults who decide what’s best for them, and those adults are often tone deaf about what the children need.”
Huh . She was always so stunned by how intelligent he was. She wasn’t sure why she’d assumed he wasn’t. Maybe his prettiness confused her.
“You like kids, huh?” she asked.
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t have this job if I didn’t. Why does that surprise you?”
She shrugged and busied herself with tidying up the stacks of gifts behind Nick’s chair. She wanted so badly to believe that Nick was a horrible person so she didn’t have to like him. Not liking him was becoming more and more difficult.
She
“A favor, Gillian,” Mother said softly. “Will you do it for Kori and the girls? It’s hardly a fate worse than death.”
Gillian wrapped her fingers around a tendril of her hair and twirled. “It’s a hell of a favor.”
“You could be queen.”
“That wasn’t exactly an item on my bucket list.”
Mother grinned. “Then at the very least, it’d make a good story for you to tell your friends.
“Yeah, all two of them.” Gillian pulled her gaze away from Mother and looked to Nick. “The marriage is fully reversible, right?”
“Yes, pet,” he said flatly. “Perfectly reversible.”
Too bad for her, though, that she had to get him to agree.
What elf would give up his true mate? A foolish one.
Of all the things Nick was, foolish wasn’t anywhere on the list.
CHAPTER SIX
“This is fully reversible, right?” Gillian asked Nick yet again later that day in the Florida children’s group home they were visiting. She leaned over the back of his Santa chair and whispered, “If we get divorced, or whatever you elves do, you still get to keep the throne, right? Reassure me.”
Their joining might have been the quickest ceremony ever—some repeated words and a walk around a chalk-drawn circle in Eldora’s chambers—but judging by the way the lights had suddenly brightened in the palace as soon as they were done, Gillian was guessing it was the real deal.
That had scared the snot out of her. It’d taken her three shots of absinthe to calm down.
“Yes, Gilly,” he said through clenched teeth. “It’s reversible, but not without some doing. We’re bound by magic. Frankly, I think you should just take advantage of the fringe benefits.”
“Such as what?”
“Your half of my bed, Mrs. Roth,” he muttered.
Her sex gave a hell yes clench, but Gillian wasn’t going to be swayed by a body part ruled by hormones rather than logic. “I’m not changing my name. We don’t even have legal paperwork.”
“Sure we do. Perhaps you should consult the records of your county courthouse.”
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t pay me enough for this.”
“As of today, I don’t pay you at all . Being on my payroll would be kind of inappropriate, don’t you think? Besides, what’s mine is yours and vice versa. You don’t need a paycheck.”
“No way. You’re still gonna pay me, Santa. I’ve got bills.”
“Your bills are mine, which means I made them go away.”
She gaped. “You don’t have to do that. I’m used to paying my own way.”
“It’s already done.”
“ What ?”
He rolled his eyes as the group home’s activities coordinator glanced over at the staging area.
“Oh, God. What does she want now?” Gillian whispered.
Obviously they were in accord in their impressions of the woman.
Tricia giggled nervously, and turned away as if she’d changed her mind mid-route.
“I think you scared her off with the way you questioned her last time,” Gillian said.
Nick raised his shoulders in one of those graceful shrugs. “Inviting the tots’ parents was a bad idea. She had to know that.”
“You’ve done a lot of these?”
“Yes. They tend to be rather tense for the children. They’re less open than they would have been if their parents weren’t here. Many of them hope to go a holiday without seeing their parents. Too often, it’s the adults who decide what’s best for them, and those adults are often tone deaf about what the children need.”
Huh . She was always so stunned by how intelligent he was. She wasn’t sure why she’d assumed he wasn’t. Maybe his prettiness confused her.
“You like kids, huh?” she asked.
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t have this job if I didn’t. Why does that surprise you?”
She shrugged and busied herself with tidying up the stacks of gifts behind Nick’s chair. She wanted so badly to believe that Nick was a horrible person so she didn’t have to like him. Not liking him was becoming more and more difficult.
She
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