The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 8

Ferris took the seat right next to me.

Within moments, my mother had piled the plate in front of him impossibly high with food. "Work at the hospital must be so exhausting," she crooned, serving him more. "Look at you, you've lost weight again."

Her script for flattering her son-in-law remained as stubbornly unchanged as ever.

But she had entirely forgotten that Ferris abhorred tomatoes.

Noticing the slight furrow between his brows, I picked up my fork and meticulously picked the tomatoes out of his spaghetti bolognese.

Seeing this, Lucille gave an awkward twitch of her lips. "Oh, look at me. I'll never be as attentive as Selena."

A faint scoff sounded before Ferris cut straight to the point. "Did you ask us here to discuss something specific, Lucille?"

Lucille shot me a glance and chuckled brightly. "What could there possibly be to discuss? It's just been a while since I've seen you. I wanted to catch up."

She shot me a pointed look, signaling for me to offer Ferris a toast.

Normally, I would have immediately run interference for him. He was a surgeon, and he rarely touched alcohol, adhering to strict self-discipline. But the moment I recalled the scene at the birthday party, I changed my mind.

Swirling my wine glass lightly, I held it out toward him, deliberately dragging out my words. "Hubby, shall we have a drink?"

I saw his eyelid twitch slightly.

When our eyes met, I merely curved my lips into a smile, refusing to back down an inch.

"I'm scheduled for a shift tomorrow morning," he replied, his excuse ironclad. "I'll accompany you another day."

It was the exact line I had anticipated, yet it still pierced my heart.

The night of Zoey's birthday, hadn't Ferris gone to the hospital too?

At the end of the day, as his wife in name only, I just didn't hold as much weight as she did.

A suffocating ache swelled in my chest. I raised my glass and downed it in one gulp.

Lucille looked genuinely startled, offering a subtle warning. "A little drink is fine for the mood, but you can't get drunk."

Right. If I got drunk, I wouldn't be able to fulfill my baby-making duties.

I let out a bitter laugh and poured myself another glass. "It's a rare treat for Dr. Sterling to take time out of his busy schedule to have dinner with me. I have to show my appreciation."

I let out a quiet sigh of relief and trailed in silently behind him. But the man suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Unable to stop my momentum, I crashed right into his chest.

I scrambled back, but a hand suddenly gripped my slender waist. Glancing down, I saw pulsing veins and sharp knuckles mapping out the strong hand pulling me in.

A rush of warm breath brushed against my earlobe.

I swallowed nervously. When I looked up at Ferris, his Adam's apple bobbed as his breath hitched with heat.

My own heart began pounding wildly against my ribs. As my eyes slowly traveled upward, I clearly saw the dark, feral hunger flickering in his obsidian gaze.

*Thud.* The bag slipped from my hands and hit the floor. A corner of the wickedly provocative black lingerie spilled out of its packaging, completely exposed to both me and Ferris.

Before I could even formulate an explanation, Ferris shoved me away.

Thrown off balance, I stumbled backward for several steps before crashing hard against the shoe cabinet in the entryway.

Pain shot through me.

I looked up at him in utter confusion, only to find his eyes clouded with absolute, freezing contempt. "Is this the grand performance you and your mother orchestrated?"