Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
And that’s the only thing that matters to Luca. “It feels cold.”
He moves to the edge of the bed, leaning toward me. “Only if we make it cold. Or we could go into it knowing we’re going to be good friends who have excellent sex and work together for our people. That’s what I bring to this marriage, Anika. I bring a whole country who will love you, who will look up to you. I bring what I think you need. Purpose.”
“I have purpose,” I reply. “I’m building something of my own. A career.”
“You could build a country,” he offers. “You could change the lives of all my people.”
I shake my head. He’s got the wrong girl. “No. Whoever you end up picking could do that. You are going to dump me at the next elimination ceremony. In fact, pick me for the one-on-one date and you can dump me right there.”
He groans, a frustrated sound. “Why would I do that? You’re the only one I want. If it weren’t for the money, I would say let’s go right now. I would whisk you away to Ralavia and end this silliness.”
He’s forgotten some important details. “If you didn’t need the money and attention from the show, you wouldn’t know who I am. I wouldn’t be on that list your parents left you.”
“Then perhaps something good could come from this,” he says quietly.
I can’t believe he’s serious. This has to be some sick joke. “Luca, I’m not going to be your fake fiancée.”
“It doesn’t have to be fake,” he counters like he’s being the reasonable one. “I need to get married. You’ll look good at my side.”
“That is not a reason to get married.”
“All right.” He nods and seems to switch tactics. “How about this one? I like you. I like you far more than anyone I’ve met in years. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I wanted to kiss you that night. I wanted to go up to your flat and spend the night with you, and we wouldn’t have been playing chess.”
No. We would have been all over each other because he’s right about one thing. We have insane chemistry. I’d felt it that night. I feel his pull now.
But he’s wrong about everything else. “I understand why you’re doing this, and I even get why it makes sense for you to find someone like me and offer her a bargain. You want to make a deal with a practical, reasonable woman.”
“So no one gets hurt,” he agrees.
“Except I would.” I have to be honest with him. It’s the only thing that might save me. “I will. I guess we didn’t go as deep as I thought we had because otherwise you would know that I’m a hopeless romantic. What you’re offering me… It would be awful. I would fall in love with you and you would tolerate me.”
He reaches out as though he wants to take my hand, but I shift away. He sighs. “Why do you say that? I told you I like you. We could have fun together, do good work together.”
“It’s not enough.”
“It has to be.”
I groan because I’m not getting through to him. “Luca, I’m not going to marry you.”
He takes a long breath and then seems oddly upbeat. “We’ll see about that. I’ve been told this is a process. A journey. I have a whole journey to convince you.”
“You want me to have to watch you date nine other women, and you think that will change my mind? How many women did you kiss tonight?”
“Kiss?” He manages to make the word slightly distasteful. “I met them tonight. I wouldn’t kiss them. That Janice person did have many hands. I had to be quick. I think Shelby might have tried to kiss me, but I turned away at the precise right time. Men from my country have excellent instincts about these things.”
What planet is he on? It is certainly not planet reality dating show. “Luca, you have to kiss the women. Like all of them.”
I have finally flummoxed the man.
“Have you ever seen a show like this?” I ask, though I’m almost certain I know the answer. “Have you watched a couple of seasons of The Bachelor? Or even something like Love is Blind?”
“No,” he admits. “I don’t watch shows like that. This seemed simpler on paper. It’s more difficult now that I’m here. I’ll be honest, I didn’t like how some of the women looked at me. Like they could eat me alive. It was disconcerting.”
“Welcome to womanhood.”
“But it doesn’t matter because now I have you. I should think about the kissing thing. There’s got to be a way around it. It’s not seemly for the king to kiss multiple women. I’ll make a law,” he assures me. “So there. Problem solved. You won’t have to watch me kiss anyone at all.”