The Billionaire's Temporary Bride (Scandal, Inc #3)(8)

Then he'd met Charlotte.

He hadn't known that she was the person they had in mind. He had just heard that she would be Callie's maid of honor. She was, to say the least, unexpected. When Callie had first suggested the idea, he'd assumed she'd try to find the Hillary to his Bill. He wasn't sure he wanted either half of that relationship.


Instead, they had delivered a red head who wore glasses, who was soft spoken and with whom he felt an instant intimacy and understanding. When Callie had proposed the whole marriage of convenience thing, he had balked. After meeting Charlotte, he was intrigued.

She didn't seem to give a damn about his money or his power. He liked that, but was that really enough to justify asking her to spend a year and a half pretending to be his wife? She seemed like a genuinely nice person, someone who didn't need or want the attention of being a public figure. He had expected someone different, a marriage mercenary. Someone who would turn on the charm in public and treat the rest like a business deal, but Charlotte? He could tell right away that she wasn't like that. He just didn't know if that was good or bad.

Jack paced back and forth across the room waiting for Charlotte to arrive. The minutes seemed to drag by, and she couldn't get there soon enough. He hadn't heard from her since that walk along the river, and the question of how she was leaning with regards to the marriage contract was driving him crazy. While passing the head table, he noticed that he and Charlotte had been seated across the room from each other. He picked her placard up and read it.

"Charlotte Crowley," he whispered to himself. "Charlotte Coburn," he repeated in his head. Mrs. Charlotte Coburn. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Coburn. Mr. and Mrs. Jack and Charlotte Coburn. "Charlotte," he said in surprise as she walked into the room.

He quickly found his placard and swapped it with the one next to hers. With that mission accomplished, he headed over to the bar to pretend like he hadn't noticed her entrance.

While trying to ignore Charlotte, Jack had gotten himself embroiled in a long conversation with Callie's aunt about the medicinal properties of grain alcohol. It took him fifteen minutes to extricate himself and head over to Charlotte. Either she was ignoring him too or she hadn't noticed him yet. She was talking with one of Logan's cousins on the other side of the room.

Jack turned and watched Charlotte for a moment. She looked even more beautiful than he had remembered. Her hair seemed lighter, almost strawberry blond in the late afternoon light, and the little freckles on her nose and cheeks almost made her look tan. By the time he reached her, Charlotte had noticed the seating arrangements.

"Looks like we're sitting together," Charlotte said, rolling her eyes and smirking as she held the placards up. "I wonder whose idea that was."

"I'm sure it was Callie and Logan's call," Jack said, "but it is their night, so I guess we should humor them."

"Yeah," Charlotte said, "but the funny thing is, I helped Callie make the seating chart, and you were supposed to be all the way over there." Charlotte pointed out at the harbor. "I had reserved a special buoy with your name on it."

"Why would you do a thing like that?" Jack said. "I guess it was fate."

Charlotte smiled. "Seems like fate had a helping hand," she said.

"No need to dwell on the past," Jack said. "I guess we'll just have to make it work."

"Right," Charlotte said. "Spoken like a true politician."

"I'll try to hide how much that hurt," Jack said. "Just smile and nod, and everything will turn out just fine."

"For better or for worse," Charlotte said.

"For richer or for—" Jack stopped mid-sentence as the bride and groom made their entrance into the room. "You know the rest," he said.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you like me," Charlotte said.

"Now, I wouldn't want you to think that," Jack said. "Word might get around, and my reputation would be ruined."

Charlotte grinned and headed off to greet the bride and groom. Jack hung back and watched the way Charlotte talked and laughed with her friend. He wanted to follow her over there and keep the conversation going. He wanted her to grin at him again. Maybe there was more to this than he had thought.

An hour later, after the cocktail hour and the small talk with Logan's friends and family, Jack took his seat next to Charlotte. She was staring at the enormous lobster on her plate and holding the tiny lobster fork in her hand as she tried to figure out what to do next. "Are you ready for your speech tomorrow night?" he asked.

"This must seem dumb to you, but I'm nervous," Charlotte said. "It's just a lot of people." She looked around the room. There were probably forty people at the rehearsal dinner. There would be hundreds at the wedding.

"Why would that seem dumb? I used to get nervous all the time before big talks, but there's a simple trick to getting over that fear," Jack said. He cut into his steak and took a bite while Charlotte stared at her lobster.

"Oh yeah?" Charlotte asked. "Let me guess, I'm supposed to picture everyone naked."

Jack's eyes darted up and down Charlotte. "Not the worst idea."

"Hey, I didn't say to picture me naked. Besides, that never helps."