Page 12 of Untamed Billionaire
Marco shrugged, delighted with her shock. After only a few minutes, she was coming out of her shell. And Marco loved the way she literally glowed with happiness!
“I’ve seen it in many weddings lately. The old traditions are being challenged, so let’s just keep breaking down the status quo.”
“Oh, that would be so much fun!”
“You’re just excited to see the look of fury on your mother’s features, aren’t you?” he offered, then chuckled when Chloe nodded eagerly. “Then I’ll try and come up with other ways to rock the boat.” He lifted her hands, kissing her fingers again. He heard the slight intake of air when he touched her like that and tucked that piece of information away for future exploration.
“What is your favorite color?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Will you be okay with yellow for the bridesmaids’ dresses?”
“If that’s your favorite color, then let’s do it.”
Chloe smiled and felt more of the stiffness leave her body. “Okay, what about food? What’s your favorite meal?”
“Whatever you like is fine with me,” he replied.
Chloe stared at the man, exasperated already. “Marco, this wedding is to help both of us. I’m not going to dictate all of my preferences.”
He chuckled and took her hand again. “The only thing that I’d like is to get to know you before the wedding. I know that you are going into the marriage because of your sister, but if we’re going to have a healthy marriage, then we should become friends, right?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes. That sounds like a great plan.”
“Plus, it will get you out of your parent’s house more often, right?”
She laughed. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“It does occur to me that your mother will want to control most of the wedding planning, right?”
All of the sparkle left her eyes and Marco wished he could take back the words.
“Yes, you’re probably correct,” she replied, then rallied. “But I’m sure it will all work out in the end! It will still be lovely, and I don’t really care what the wedding looks like. As long as Emma will eventually be safe.”
Marco stared at her and…she was lying. Chloe cared. She cared deeply. And that damn protectiveness reared its crazy head once more.
“If you could have it any way you wanted, what would it look like?”
Chloe tilted her head slightly, thinking. Then a small smile formed on her lips. “It would be small. Maybe on the beach at sunset. There would be yellow flowers and lots of laughter. I’d love casual food instead of a formal meal. Good music, dancing and…!” Her eyes focused once more and she pulled her lips into a disparaging cringe. “However, my mother will endeavor to make this wedding the social event of the season.”
He didn’t say anything in response. In fact, Marco couldn’t think because he could picture her wedding in his mind. And the kiss! And damn, the wedding night. With effort, Marco kept his eyes on her face and didn’t look down at her pert, perfect breasts. They were small and high and perfect! He’d wager that her nipples would feel incredible under his tongue. Would her skin be as soft on her thighs as it was on her arms? He couldn’t wait to find out!
“Do you have time for lunch? We can discuss some of the details.”
Chloe gave him a startled smile, slowly nodding her agreement. “That would be lovely!”
For the next hour, Marco watched Chloe nibble on a salad without any dressing while he asked her questions about her life. Initially, she was hesitant to talk about herself, always pushing the conversation back to him and asking his opinion. But slowly, with persistence, she opened up to him. And when that happened, Chloe seemed to blossom! Her eyes lit up with laughter and sadness at different moments, her lips curled into a soft smile when she talked about Emma. And when she relaxed, she ate a bit more. It was still only salad, mostly lettuce, but it was something.
Chapter 3
Chloe knocked on the door to the library, then waited. She knew that her father was inside because she’d been waiting for him to come home. She’d watched him toss his keys onto the foyer table, pull his jacket off and unknot his tie as he headed directly from the door to his library before closing himself inside. Nervously, she pushed her open palms down her outer thighs, trying to eliminate the evidence of her trepidation.
It took a long time for him to reply to her knock, so she was a bit startled when she finally heard him. “Come in!” was her father’s gruff reply.
Chloe pushed the door open and stepped into the dark wood paneled room. She’d always hated this room. It felt…evil somehow. She knew that it was only the darkness and the smell of bourbon and cigar smoke, but the sensations still felt heavy.
“If you’re going to talk about Emma again, then I’ve already warned you that…”
