The Marriage Contract, Natasha Black [thriller books to read .TXT] 📗

“Don’t you have to get to work?” I asked. “Won’t Jordan be upset?”

“Oh, he’s going to be fine,” she said. “Especially when I tell him why I am so late.”

I laughed.

“Maybe you should let Matt tell him,” I said. “Once he knows I told you, he won’t keep it a secret for long.”

“Come on,” she said. “This is too much. Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

“What is there to tell? I just told you everything.”

“The hell you did,” she said. “For real, are you guys in love?”

“Can you keep yourself calm?” I asked. “Or will this be one of those scream-and-break-my-eardrums situations?”

“I make no promises, but I have the keys. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Fine,” I said. “You start driving, and I’ll start talking.”

Hannah dutifully turned the key in the ignition and began to pull out of the parking lot.

“It started with him sitting across from me at the bar while I was drunk,” I started. It was a lie, everything I said to her, but in a way all of it was true, too. That was the confusing part. I was embellishing things that really happened, but I was also not entirely true that some of those things didn’t happen. The way he looked at me. The way I felt when I saw he walked into the room or came up to me to talk.

I told her about talking to him outside on the porch, and my mind wandered from embellishment to fantasy. I told her that he kissed me. That I kissed him back. That we shared a passionate moment right there, against the wall, and that’s when we both knew. There was no holding back.

“I didn’t want to move too fast,” I said, trying to bring myself back to reality and at the same time explain some of the inconsistencies of our story. “We both knew that I was still very upset from leaving home and I was vulnerable. He’s such a gentleman, Hannah. He didn’t want to go too far or do anything that would be seen as taking advantage of me.”

“That sounds like the Anderson boys. Hot, successful, and gentlemanly. I might be biased,” she said.

“Me too.” I found myself realizing that didn’t feel like a lie. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and I smiled. A real, genuine smile.

Shit.

I was either really good at this, or something I didn’t want to admit was happening.

“So, what? Is that why you moved in with us instead of him?”

“Exactly,” I said. “It’s too soon to move in together.”

“I get it. And you really think he’s the one?”

“I do. Hannah, something real is happening here, and it’s happening fast. We wanted to keep it quiet for a little while, but Mom just kind of forced my hand. I’ll tell Matt I told you, and I’m sure he will either tell Jordan or say it’s fine for you to. Just give me a little time to give him a heads-up.”

“Okay,” she said. “But you have to hurry. I can’t keep this secret for long.”

13

Matt

A long night of work without the distraction of Chloe meant I needed something else to occupy my mind when I got home. So, having not spent much time dedicated to vegging out and playing video games in the newly updated apartment, I did just that. I had to admit, I was far more comfortable and didn’t feel as childish when I had real furniture and not makeshift crap. Mounting the TV had been a good plan, too, and I was able to lean way back in the couch while I played, getting super comfortable.

Which was where I found myself at six in the morning.

I had fallen asleep a few hours before, long enough that the video game and the television had gone to sleep mode as well. The room was mostly dark, except for the light above the sink in the kitchen, and I stumbled my way to the bed to crash for a few hours more. I was supposed to go in to work the next day a little early, so I knew I had to get up and get a shower before I headed out, meaning the alarm needed to be set for noon.

When it went off, I hit the snooze far too many times and rolled out of bed groggy, frustrated, and kicking myself for staying up so late. At least when I slept, it had been sound and dreamless. Turning the shower’s hot water on, I prepared for a good long period of staring at the tile, trying to wake up.

Just as I was getting out, still sopping wet and smelling like someone had set fire to a bourbon distillery, I was startled by the sound of someone at my door. The knocking was light, and I thought it might just be a mail delivery or something that I could ask them to leave at the door. I wrapped the towel around myself and padded out there, staring through the peephole.

It wasn’t a mail carrier, though. It was Chloe, carrying a paper bag and a drink container.

Grinning, I opened the door, enjoying the reaction of Chloe’s surprised face when she saw me standing there in nothing but a towel and still dripping wet.

“Oh,” she said.

“Hey, Chloe,” I said. “Come on in.”

“Uhh,” she said, “is this a bad time?”

“No, no, it’s fine. Come on in. Is that coffee?”

Her eyes were roaming over my body, and I found myself loving it. Stammering, she looked down at her hands and seemed to see the bag and cup container for the first time. Then it dawned on her, and she looked back at me, making great visual pains to only look into my eyes.

“Yes. Coffee. And lunch.” She held up the bag. “I thought we could eat. And talk.”

“Alright then,” I said, moving aside so she could come in. As she brushed by me, I smelled the perfume that she had been wearing recently and felt my cock twitch. If I