The Contract by Marsh, Nicola (read aloud books .txt) 📕

Her early misgivings had been right; he treated her like a princess in the bedroom but when the lights came on, the shutters descended, effectively blocking her out of his life. She’d expected an open page where she could read the fine print, he presented her with a closed book. Sure, he treated her well enough but they acted like polite strangers rather than husband and wife. What did she expect? For him to fall madly and stupidly, like she had?

Despite her good intentions to hold him at arm’s length, she’d fallen for him, harder than she could’ve anticipated. Not that it mattered; Steve treated her with formality and she’d learned to respond in similar fashion. And now, to make matters worse, she had to meet his family and pretend their marriage meant everything to her. How could she pull it off?

At least the carnival flourished, thanks to Steve’s generous cash injection. She’d worked closely with her dad, building a solid foundation for the prosperous years ahead, leaving her time to pursue her dream. Not that she’d mentioned her plans to her husband; she preferred to sort out the nitty-gritty details before presenting him with her business plan. Hopefully, if he saw how much effort she’d put into it, he wouldn’t laugh at her.

The phone rang, startling her. Closing the manila folder containing shop-front rentals she’d been perusing, she reached for the receiver. “Hello, Amber speaking.”

“Don’t forget we leave for Melbourne at two. Be ready by midday.” Steve’s curt instructions did little to soothe her mood. She’d woken feeling off-colour, probably due to the increasing tension between them. She hated having to curtail her naturally extroverted personality to suit her workaholic husband and taking orders from him did not sit well with her.

“I have plans. You said we’d leave later.”

“Change them.” He muttered a curse and shuffled papers, as if emphasising he didn’t have time for her.

She resisted the temptation to slam the phone down in his ear. “What if I can’t?”

She’d scheduled an appointment with a property developer to look at a new shop in an ideal location. Her dream of operating an aromatherapy shop was so close she could taste it yet in typical fashion, what Steve wanted, Steve would get.

An ominous silence stretched between them. “I haven’t got time for this, Amber. Just do it.”

He disconnected before she could reply, leaving her with a distinct urge to throw the cordless phone against the wall.

Instead, she took a steadying breath and did the only thing possible, call the developer to schedule a shorter meeting.

* * *

Steve thrived on pressure. He lapped it up, always striving for bigger and better things. So why didn’t the new law firm he’d opened in Brisbane do it for him? He had an array of clients practically breaking down his door for representation, he’d hired the perfect staff and found offices at a reasonable rent, all in less than two weeks. Then why this feeling of restlessness, of wanting to work from home? He’d never done that in his life.

He shook his head, trying to clear the image of Amber, sleep-tousled and sated, from his mind. He hated having to leave home every morning when that was the last sight that greeted him. Damn, he couldn’t get enough of her. She’d cast a spell over him, probably using some of that hocus-pocus stuff she dabbled in. He didn’t interfere in her interests and she respected his need for solitude where his business was concerned, the perfect arrangement, just the way he liked it.

Then why did he feel a sense of loss every time he left in the morning? And why did she look at him with those all-seeing eyes like he’d hurt her?

He’d told her the truth from the beginning; their marriage would be an emotion-free arrangement. So why did he get the feeling she expected more from him, that he’d disappointed her in some way?

The sooner she had a child to lavish attention on, the better. A baby would definitely take the focus off him and he would secure his goal: to keep his grandma’s fortune away from his mother’s money-grubbing hands.

Unable to concentrate, he tidied the stack of contracts on his desk and advised Chelsea, the receptionist, he’d be away for the rest of the day. He planned to see his grandma, introduce Amber to his mother over afternoon tea and be back in Brisbane by midnight. He couldn’t subject her to the inquisition for any longer than that. If Amber survived meeting his mother, he would know she really did possess powers. He stifled a grin, wondering what those ridiculous tarot cards she favoured would say about meeting her mother-in-law; he thought she’d be better off not knowing.

Stopping for a caffeine-rich latte on the way home, Steve glanced around the riverside café, packed with business people any time of the day. As he scanned the crowd, his gaze alighted on a familiar head of sun-streaked blonde hair, bent too closely towards her companion. He stared, seeing but not quite believing his wife leaned towards a young man in a pinstriped suit, with that gut-wrenching smile she rarely bestowed on him these days. To make matters worse, she wore make-up and a sleek, figure-hugging red suit he’d never seen before.

As her companion returned her smile, Steve wanted to walk over there and beat the man to a pulp. Instead, he took a few sips of his coffee and watched as Amber turned on the charm, barely glancing at the papers the other guy offered her. So this was ‘the plans’ she’d told him about over the phone. And he’d been stupid enough to think all her plans revolved around her father, the carnival and him.

He