Contracted To The Mafia Prince

I mumbled swerving i

ened? Fletcher Hines had handed me a marriage

!" I shouted at

drove toward my apartment. Three unread te

things

find t

me

nk straight. What rabbit hole had I slipped int

ift tonight, right?" Jamie whispe

shift ends. I-I can't breathe. Fletcher

end for several seconds. "Yo

id. "Just come over. I

ed th

d before. I swerved into the parking space

d pulled the folded-up contract from my clutch. Running my palms down my face, I att

f a prenuptial agreement, most likely because of the illegal money they had du

ng with water damage in the corners. This was a dream come true.

things. It meant being linked to the mafia. Potential FBI raids. The

so desperate to marry for money and not love. This was madness to co

I didn't even like this man, did I? He hardly spo

hoved her way inside and did a dance like something icky had to

s. Those guys hung around our comp

say anythi

urse. "Asked me for money and then c

and tell him to call the

hear you on the phone. You said something abo

it to her. "He needs a bride for whatever reason

ead. "You're joking? This is for you?

odd

d she laughed humorlessly. "W

o marry for love. Plus, this

let them fall against her thighs. "Thi

a. You could pay off those student loans you have for the two years at community college. Get out of the slums. You could fix every one of your p

I would have never met him

, stepping toward m

thing she said made sense. It made me want to ru

er dark brown eyes looked excited but concerned. "This

e screen. "What about that?" I asked. "How would I tell h

your twin, and you're close, but sometimes you have to

m, Jamie. I don'

ht. Maybe you grow to love him. Maybe you bite the bullet an

t door and I cringed. "Get away from

ut the ultimate reason to say no sat in

by tomorrow mornin

el different in the morning. Do you care if I crash her

g to look over this contract agai

toward the hallway. She looked down at my paintings. "

onfusion. This was the hardest situation I'd ever been in. I sa

, I stared up at the cei

g us a pot of coffee. She looked ready for

ing," she said, handing me a mug. "One spit at

sleeping angle. Jamie watched me sip my coff

r sister, and it's tomorrow morning. A

so," I whispe

life, Ava. I just don't want you to live here in this apartment with you

or and heartache

creamer when someone knocked on the door. Maybe Jamie forg

tcher Hines stood awkwardly outside of my doo

the as he knock

end told me on her way out. Open

blood. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I open

azine. His button-down was tightly fitted to h

my apartment and embarrassment c

I cracked the door behind me and turned to face him. "Why ar

d from you," he said. "I have a meeting at

arly for this. "I can't

nd to the paintings lining my hallway. "I'll buy you a gallery. Is that what you lik

t him. Buy

t from my coffee table, searched for a pen on my counter, and wrote, buy her a gallery

second. I didn'

re going to marry me, Cupcake. I know you want out of this apartment. You want a new life. I ca

ered the call. I stood silently in my kitchen staring at th

a ga

r a living. I nibbled on my bottom li

y to get dressed. I was going to sign this con

lotte at a different time. Now, I