Shattered Vows: Call Me Auntie Now novel Chapter 39

Unaware of the standoff, Tara's voice continued to buzz through the speaker. "I mean, I can ask. He works over in Easton, which is only a two-hour drive.

"Are you even listening to me?... Quinn?... Hello?"

The man leaned in, his massive frame instantly caging Quinn against the counter, completely blocking out the overhead light.

"Tara... something came up. I'll call you back."

Overwhelmed by the sudden, crushing dominance radiating from Raymond, Quinn panicked and hung up the phone.

He stared down at her. His eyes were pitch-black, his voice a low, lethal rumble.

"Drowning your sorrows?"

Quinn glanced at the half-empty bottle on the counter, then at the empty glass in his hand.

She supposed it did look exactly like the tragic cliché of a woman crying over her ex-husband.

She shook her head. "No. I just felt like having a drink."

Raymond set the glass down with a sharp clink, his voice turning impossibly rough.

"Then why did it sound like you were desperately begging someone to marry you?"

He looked furiously strict, like a teacher who had just caught a rebellious student.

Quinn swallowed hard. He had heard the entire conversation.

Mortification crept up her neck. Freshly divorced and already begging for a blind date—God knows what he thought of her.

But then she straightened her spine. She was the boss. It was none of his business what she did.

She didn't need to care about his opinion.

Her tone instantly cooled. "Your job is to be my bodyguard. What your employer does in her private life is above your pay grade."

The man fell silent, his dark gaze locked onto her face.

She desperately needed a fake marriage.

And he happened to need a wife.

"I just need a shield against my family. That's why I need a paper marriage."

She was genuinely stunned. A man who looked like him should have women throwing themselves at his feet, yet he was actually offering to marry her on a whim.

Then, she remembered what he had said at the clinic. I have no interest in women.

A wild realization flashed in her eyes. With a body that incredible, did he... prefer men?!

That was wild!

But honestly, it made perfect sense. It explained everything.

"Are you absolutely sure this isn't a joke?"

"Tomorrow morning, nine o'clock," the man said, his voice absolute. "The City Clerk's Office."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked straight to his bedroom.

Leaving Quinn standing perfectly still, completely unable to process what had just happened.