Maxine Sullivan - The CEO Takes a Wife / The Throw-Away Bride

“Not personal? You want me to marry you and share your bed and you say it’s not personal?” Her brow arched. “Just when does it get personal, Alex?”

His jaw set but he acknowledged her words with a nod. “Okay, I concede the point.”

Olivia met his gaze levelly. “Then we have an agreement?”

A brief hesitation as he scrutinized her, then, “Yes.”

Relief swept through her. Relief she would get the money, not relief she was marrying him, she told herself. “Good.”

For a moment she wondered if she should tell him about her mother’s money problems. Could she trust him? No. She didn’t know him at all. Besides, it was her mother’s secret.

As for her own secret, she’d never tell him about that. She wouldn’t have to tell him about it, considering the briefness of their upcoming marriage.

Suddenly he was all business. “Can you be ready in two weeks’ time?”

Her mouth dropped open. “ Two weeks?”

“We have to do this as soon as possible. I’ve already booked the Sydney Opera House for the ceremony.”

She swallowed, ignoring for the moment that the Opera House was one of the most beautiful venues in the world. “You were that certain of me?”

“Yes.”

“You’re an arrogant bastard.”

“I believe you’ve mentioned that already,” he drawled.

“I can’t possibly be ready in two weeks’time. I’m off to LA in a couple of days. I promised my mother I would visit with her. She hasn’t been feeling very well lately.”

And that was an understatement. Her mother knew she couldn’t continue with her lavish parties and her high maintenance. She knew it was coming to an end unless she found herself a major role.

All at once Alex looked thoughtful. “You know something. This could play in our favor. If you keep a low profile while you’re over there, it will add to the mystique of our wedding.”

Our wedding.

She sent him a cynical look. “Yes, and we definitely want mystique for those perfume sales, don’t we?”

He glanced at her oddly, as if it was a given. “It’ll help your sales as well.”

Okay, so he was right. But getting her mother to keep a low profile when the media were bound to be knocking at their door? Impossible! Of course, using Alex’s “mystique” angle might be the way to go. Felicia loved “mystique.” She knew the value of it.

“What about your father?”Alex asked, drawing her from her thoughts. “Do you want him at the wedding?”

An old heartache jarred but she quickly stomped on it. “No. He lives in Vancouver with his family and I have little to do with him.”

He nodded with a grimace. “Some men don’t know when they’ve got a good thing.”

She shrugged. “Owen Cannington was a B-grade actor who gave it all up years ago. He divorced my mother when I was two.”

“She kept his name,” he pointed out.

“Only because she was becoming well-known as Felicia Cannington.” Her lips twisted. “Mum said she may as well make some use of him.”

“Sounds like the divorce was amicable,” he mocked.

She couldn’t help herself. She had to smile, if only the tiniest one she could find.

Taking her by surprise, Alex was suddenly in front of her, putting his hand under her chin. She started to speak, but his mouth closed over hers, holding her there beneath him, taking without asking, as if it was his right.

And then his tongue dipped inside her mouth and did a sweep, exploring her, getting to know her, until she shuddered from a flood of sensation that shook her world.

He eased back, his eyes dark with a passion that didn’t surprise her at all. “There,” he murmured huskily. “At least that’s one thing we’ve got out of the way.”

She swallowed hard. “Um…I didn’t know it was in the way.”

He arched a mocking brow before leaving. They both knew she was lying, if even to herself.

Alex watched Olivia walk toward him in her wedding gown. The white, off-the-shoulder, satin dress was slim and elegant, and it looked absolutely stunning on her. How had he not known she existed before this? he wondered, filled with a deep satisfaction that he’d found the woman he’d wanted for his temporary wife.

God, she was beautiful.

Beautiful and lovely and so very picture-perfect.

Surprisingly he’d missed her these last two weeks and had actually been pleased to see her when she’d arrived back in the country only forty-eight hours ago.

There’d been a hell of a lot to do with a high-profile wedding such as theirs, the time having gone fast, though not fast enough for his peace of mind. He’d wanted this marriage signed and sealed and he wanted Olivia Cannington in his bed. Just the thought of making her his sent the blood rushing through him.

Right then she reached him and their eyes met for one long moment before they turned toward the female marriage celebrant.

The ceremony began, and through the huge window in front of them, they could see the sun shine on the spectacular backdrop of the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge suspended over vibrant blue water dotted with sails.

They exchanged traditional wedding vows, and Alex felt a twinge of guilt when he promised “to cherish her until death do us part.” He would have liked to change the vows to “to have and to hold for as long as they both stayed married.” Only he didn’t want to think about divorce on their wedding day.

Then suddenly their marriage was a fact and he was told he could kiss the bride.

With pleasure.

Soft pink colored Olivia’s cheeks as he leaned toward her. Seeing her eyes drop to his mouth sent something powerful flaring inside him. He placed his lips against hers for a long moment that wasn’t wholly for the benefit of their guests.

Tonight there would be no audience…

Soon they stood on the steps of the Opera House, where it seemed the world’s media wanted to take their picture.

Not that he minded, usually. He’d grown up in the Australian spotlight, but this was different. One part of him felt a wedding day should be private, yet another part was gratified he’d done the right thing in using this avenue to highlight Valente’s Woman.

“Can we have a photograph of you and Olivia looking deep into each other’s eyes?”

He glanced at Olivia with a sideways smile. “Can we do that?”

She gave a tight smile. “Yes, I think we can,” she said, but only he could see her eyes were guarded as he turned to stare into them.

“You’re doing fine,” he murmured, noticing the flecks of different shades of blue that sparkled in her eyes.

She winced a little. “This is hard work.”

“Just pretend you love me,” he drawled, attempting to put her at ease.

A genuine smile tilted the corners of her mouth. “It would be easier if I didn’t hate you so much.”

He chuckled and cameras snapped all around them, and he realized being joined in holy matrimony with Olivia was going to be more than interesting. She was a challenge. And he liked challenges.

“Can we have a picture of you both with the bride’s mother?”

Alex felt Olivia stiffen beside him and that reminded him of last night’s dinner. She’d seemed edgy around Felicia, as though she expected her mother to take center stage all the time.

And of course “the star” had done exactly that, he remembered with mild amusement. The older woman was elegant and charming, and he could easily see where Olivia got those same qualities from.

Yet he sensed Felicia had an emotional fragility about her that Olivia didn’t. Perhaps that’s what made Felicia such a good actress, he mused, as she came forward and smiled at the cameras like the pro she was.