Marrying for King's Millions (2 of 2 free samples)

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COPYRIGHT
Marrying for King's Millions by Maureen Child. Copyright 2008 by Maureen Child.
All Rights Reserved. Sharing not permitted.

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ONE (CONT'D)

“A couple of reasons,” he was saying and Julie listened up. “First, because we know each other and I know you need this, too. Second, because I trust you to stick to our agreement and not try to bleed me for extra cash.”

She knew he was wary of most women because King men attracted gold diggers in greater numbers than the gold rush had back in the day. “But if I marry you, what makes me different from any of those other women? I’ll still be marrying you for your money.”

“Yeah, but on my terms,” he said with a smile.

Hmm. He might think that was funny, but she didn’t see the humor. Julie watched women throw themselves at Travis for years. And all of them had had one eye on his exceptional behind and the other eye on his bank account. If she allowed him to pay her to marry him, wasn’t she just another member of a very large, mercenary crowd?

Julie groaned inwardly and sucked at her chocolate shake. When tumultuous times struck, always have chocolate handy. A good rule of thumb for life’s little miseries. She didn’t like the idea of people thinking she was after his money.

“I don’t want or need a husband,” she pointed out, even though she distinctly felt herself losing the battle.

“Maybe not, but you do need the money to start that bakery you’ve always wanted.”

True. God, she hated that he was right. She’d been working like a dog and saving every spare dime for years and still she was light years from having enough money put away to open her own bakery. She couldn’t get a loan because she had no collateral, and if things stayed as they were, she’d be at retirement age before she could afford her dream shop.

But was that any reason to get married?

Hadn’t she turned down Travis’s offer of a loan before this? She’d known him her whole life. Her mom had been the cook on the King ranch until she’d married the gardener and hung up her apron when Julie was twelve. As kids, Julie and Travis had been friends. That had lasted until high school, when Julie’d first heard the laughter about the rich kid hanging out with the nobody. Their friendship had gradually cooled down, but they’d remained “friendly.”

Now that they were grown, they weren’t exactly close anymore, but the memory of that friendship was strong enough that Julie hadn’t wanted to borrow money from him and muddy up their relationship.

Wasn’t marrying him even worse?

“It’s one year, Julie,” Travis said, tapping his fingertips impatiently against the white Formica tabletop. “One year and I’ll have the distribution deal I want and I give you financial backing in the bakery. Everybody wins.”

“I don’t know.... ” She still wasn’t convinced. And it wasn’t just the thought of marrying for money that had her hesitating, though heaven knew, it should have been enough. Nope, there was something else bothering her as well. “And when the marriage ends, that would leave me a two-time divorcée.”

How tacky was that? God, thirty years old and a two-time loser? Oh, if she could step back in time a year or two, she’d avoid Jean Claude Doucette like the plague. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do that and that French rat was going to remain apart of her past forever.

“Yeah, but that first marriage lasted what? Two weeks? It hardly counts,” Travis argued. “Besides, who cares?”

“Me.”

“Don’t see why. So you made a mistake. Big deal. You wised up, got a divorce... ”

Yeah, she thought, after Jean Claude dumped her and arranged for a quickie Mexican divorce.

“Put it behind you, move on,” Travis finished. “Anyway, he was French.”

Julie laughed.

“And, I offered to beat the crap out of him for you,” Travis reminded her.

“I know.” She really liked having Travis as a friend. Was she ready for that to change? “And I appreciate it.”

“So then marry me already.”

“What would your family say? Oh, God, what would my mother say?” she wondered aloud, knowing even as she asked it that he’d have a ready answer. “This is coming out of nowhere and—”

“Hell,” Travis said on a laugh. “They’ll understand. We tell my family and yours the truth of the situation, but no one else. And let’s remember how Gina and Adam got married last year, huh? It’s not like this idea has never been thought of before.”

“Yes.... ” Travis’s brother Adam had married his neighbour Gina for all the wrong reasons, but their marriage had turned into something wonderful. Now Gina was pregnant and Adam was walking around looking like the emperor of the world. “But Travis... ”

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