Shattered Vows: Call Me Auntie Now novel Chapter 40

The next morning, Quinn woke up with a dull ache behind her eyes.

The wine had left her with a lingering hangover.

It made her seriously question if last night's proposal had been a fever dream.

When she walked downstairs and saw Raymond fully dressed, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Gone was his usual all-black tactical attire. Today, he was wearing a crisp white dress shirt and tailored charcoal slacks.

The refined, formal look made his striking features look devastatingly handsome, like a billionaire straight out of a romance novel.

Noticing her staring, Raymond raised a dark brow. "Aren't we going to get our license?"

Reality crashed into her. She wasn't dreaming. This gorgeous man was actually going to marry her.

"Right. Give me five minutes."

She hurried back upstairs, threw on a fitted white silk shirt, and pulled her hair into a sleek, elegant ponytail, looking fresh and radiant.

Sitting in the passenger seat of the car, Quinn couldn't help but glance at the imposing man behind the wheel.

"Before we sign anything, we need to set some ground rules."

Raymond kept his hands casually draped over the steering wheel, his eyes on the road, waiting for her to continue.

"First, this is strictly a contract marriage. We play the part of a couple when necessary, but we do not interfere in each other's private lives."

"Agreed."

"Second, I will continue to pay your salary as my employee. My assets and income remain mine. Our finances are completely separate."

"Fine."

"Third, absolutely no one can know about this for the next two months. We keep it completely buried."

Raymond's dark eyes finally shifted, glancing at her through the rearview mirror. After a long beat, he nodded. "Deal."

Quinn was immensely relieved by his lack of argument.

"Those are my terms. What are yours?"

Raymond lifted his sharp jaw, his voice dripping with ice. "I will never fall in love with you. Don't get any romantic ideas."

Quinn was speechless.

The sheer arrogance of the man!

They pulled up to the City Clerk's Office, and before long, they walked back out, each holding a sleek marriage certificate.

Her balance completely gave out, and she pitched forward.

In a split second.

A massive, unyielding hand clamped around her wrist.

The grip wasn't painful, but it possessed absolute, terrifying power, violently jerking her backward.

The world spun.

She crashed directly into the rock-hard wall of Raymond's chest.

His dominant, intoxicating scent instantly swallowed her whole.

Cedar and raw masculinity.

His other hand had already shot to her lower back, locking her firmly against his body. The sheer, radiating heat of his palm burned straight through the silk of her shirt, sending a wild shock through her spine.

They were suffocatingly close.

He looked down at her. "You claim you aren't interested, yet here you are, throwing yourself right into my arms."

She was used to his cold, silent demeanor, but this sudden flash of wicked arrogance caught her entirely off guard. The scorching heat of his hand and the terrifying intimacy of his body pressed against hers made her heart pound wildly out of control.