“Yeah, that works.”
“Beautiful, I have you down. Can I get your home address?”
“Sure.” I rattled off my address for him.
“Great, I’ll have the driver pick you up around seven if that works.”
“Seven is fine, but I don’t need—”
“Cheers, love.”
And that was that.
With another deep breath, I hung up the phone, then put the lid back on the box and tucked it under my desk. I didn’t want to accidentally knock it over and have the contents spill out. With my luck, it would happen right at Mr. Calloway’s feet and I’d have to explain why Camden Cox was sending me lingerie. Not a conversation you wanted to have with your boss.
Just like Oliver said, a driver arrived at my apartment to pick me up right at seven. He politely ushered me into the back of the limo, but it was empty. No Cox.
I tried not to fidget on the large seat as we drove. Maybe I should have asked to sit up front like I had with J.J. in Vegas.
We turned down a long drive with an amazing view of the water and parked in front of a large house with a covered entryway and dark wood double doors. The windows glowed with light and I could see it was right on the lake.
Apparently he hadn’t just invited me to dinner. He’d invited me to his house for dinner.
The driver opened the door for me and I got out just as Cox appeared in the entry.
“Thanks, Carson,” he said.
The driver lifted his hand in greeting, then got back in the limo.
Cox turned his attention back to me and the smile that stole across his face made my tummy flutter.
It’s fine, Sophie. He’s just your accidental husband. Who lives in a mansion on the lake. No big deal.
“Hi, sugar,” he said, and that accent was going to be the death of me. “Thanks for coming.”
I approached, trying to act like everything was fine. But it was hitting me hard that I’d married this man and I had no idea what we were going to do about it. “Thanks for inviting me.”
He gestured for me to come in, so I followed him inside. He shut the door and led me into the kitchen—the most incredible kitchen I’d ever seen. It was big and open with wood cabinets and granite counters.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked.
I snort-laughed as I set my coat and purse on a stool. “I think I’ll stick with water. Or something non-alcoholic at least.”
The corner of his lips twitched. “We do seem to get ourselves into mischief when alcohol’s involved.”
“Mischief? More like an epic disaster.”
“It’s not that bad, is it?”
“We got married.” I paused for a second. “We did, right? It’s legal?”
“Afraid so. Looks like you’re stuck with me.”
I laughed again, but there wasn’t a lot of humor in it. “Until we figure out how to fix it.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, just started taking to-go containers out of a brown bag. But the way his eyes flicked to me and back to the food made me wonder what he was thinking.
“I’m not much of a cook,” he said finally. “So I had Oliver do the honors and order dinner. I hope you like Thai.”
“I love Thai food. Can I help with anything?”
“Sure.”
I helped him bring dinner to the dining table and only stopped to gape at the view for a moment or two. This felt so strange—so quiet. When we’d been together in Vegas, it had been all bright lights and noise. This was so serene.
We sat and dished up. Everything smelled amazing.
“So how was your flight home?” he asked when we were both settled with our dinner.
“It wasn’t bad. Yours?”
“Flying with a hangover is never pleasant, but at least it wasn’t far. Did you get the package I left for you at the Bellagio?”
My cheeks warmed. I couldn’t believe I’d dashed out of his room without my bra. “I did. Thanks.”
For a second, I thought about asking if he’d written Mrs. Sophie Cox on that note, but decided against it.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d go back for it.”
“Is that why you sent me the, um, gift today?”
“I thought it was fitting,” he said with a grin. “How long have you worked for Shepherd Calloway?”
“About two years.”
“Do you like your job?”
“I love my job. I’m not really one for being in the spotlight, so I like working behind the scenes, if that makes sense. And Mr. Calloway is a great boss.”
“That’s good to hear. What about family?”
I tilted my head. “You’re very inquisitive.”
“I’m just trying to get to know my wife.”
I rolled my eyes at his joke. His wife. Hilarious. “I’m an only child. My mom passed away when I was little, so it was just me and my dad.”
He met my eyes and there was an intensity to them that made my heart flutter again. “I’m very sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks. What about you?”
“I’m also an only child of a single parent. Although in my case, it’s my mom.”
That was interesting. I thought I remembered Cox living with both parents when we were kids. But maybe I was mistaken.
“Are you close to her now?”
“Very.”
“That’s nice. Does she live nearby?” I took another bite of my dinner. Delicious.
“She does. I moved her up here from Texas a few years ago.” He wiped his mouth, then set his napkin aside. “I suppose we should talk about our marriage.”
I laughed a little. “I don’t know if we should call it that.”
“We are married.”
“I know, but it’s not like we meant to. We don’t even know each other.”
“We’ve known each other since we were eleven.”
“Not exactly. Until you helped me off that balcony, we probably hadn’t seen each other in twenty years.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Oh yes, the balcony.”
My cheeks warmed. “Stop.”
“You know, in some cultures, arranged marriages are still common. The bride and groom might not even meet until they’re already married.”
“And your point is?”
“Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing.”
My mouth hung open for a second as those words swirled around in my head. Not such a bad thing? “You can’t be suggesting we stay married.”
“No, of course not. At least not long-term.”
“What does that mean?”
He held my eyes and that intensity in his gaze was back, making my tummy whirl with something. Nervousness? Excitement?
Arousal?
No, definitely not arousal.
Okay, maybe a little.
“Hear me out,” he said. “My former business partner… let’s say he got caught in a compromising position that resulted in an unfortunate public scandal—”
“He was doing coke with prostitutes.”
“You heard.”
“Everybody did.”
“Fair enough. Because of that, I lost several investors in a multimillion-dollar project I’m putting together. That’s why I went to your boss. If Calloway invests and my other investors stay on board, which I think they will, the project will be back on track and all will be well with the world.”