Twisted Affair: The Complete Series Box Set by M. S. Parker Page A

talking her out of it.
    “I am going to shower and then I will be out to hear about your day.”
    I waited until the bathroom door closed behind her before letting out a loud sigh. This was such a bad idea. Livie was smart. Like gifted smart, but I knew that didn't always translate into common sense. Most of the time she was the most grounded person I knew, but she'd always had this blind spot when it came to her idea of what our lives in America should be. Unlike a lot of the girls in the orphanage who had dreamed of coming to America, a husband had never factored into the picture, only her dream business.
    I pulled my feet up onto the couch and tucked them under me as I reached for my wine glass. I emptied it and then poured myself another. I needed some time to think about this. As much as I wanted Livie to get everything she ever wanted, I didn't trust this Blayne Westmore to keep his end of the bargain. I just needed to figure out a way to convince her of this.
    Before Saturday.
     

Chapter 12
    Livie
    I debated the wisdom of quitting my job before Saturday, especially with Katka constantly in my ear, telling me all of the reasons this was a bad idea. If I quit my job and Blayne decided not to go through with the marriage, I would be unemployed with no prospects. In any case, I wouldn't be able to give a proper two-week's notice because, after the wedding, Blayne and I were going on our honeymoon.
    I had been surprised by that. Since this was a business arrangement, I had thought we might take a quick trip. Maybe to New York or Niagara Falls, using something as an excuse to appease his father. The wedding was a quick one, but Blayne had already told me that his father had agreed that if I wanted a large ceremony, it could be arranged as well. It just had to be legal this Saturday afternoon.
    Blayne had assured me that, while our hotel reservations were for the honeymoon suite, he already planned on sleeping on the living room couch that the expensive hotels always provided in their suites. Apparently, we would be spending three days in London, three in Madrid, three in Paris and three in Venice. He seemed surprised that I'd already been to all of those places, but understood once I'd explained I had worked as a model for a few years. He'd been impressed by that, and then told me he'd told his father I was a businesswoman.
    That had been the perfect opportunity for me to explain my plans to him and I was pleased at how supportive he'd been. We'd had that conversation on Wednesday. On Thursday evening, when an overly friendly customer tried to grab my breast and then asked how much it would cost to sleep with me, I quit. I may not have known Blayne very well, but I knew he wouldn't call things off.
    Katka hadn't been pleased about that decision either and had made a point, on Friday, of informing me that she was going to work since one of us needed employment. I believed that Blayne would come through. After all, he had more to lose than I did. I told my sister that too, but she had merely commented that if he found a woman willing to sleep with him too, what was to stop him from breaking off our engagement and marrying her.
    I hadn't tried to argue with her. I knew my sister. Once she decided that she was right about something, nothing could change her mind. She wouldn't believe that Blayne was going to marry me until I had the signed certificate, our prenuptial agreement that included all of the financial things he and I had discussed – couched in terms like 'allowance' and 'alimony' – and the first check had cleared. When I'd brought the contract home to review, she'd immediately pointed out that it said nothing about me not having to sleep with him. I'd countered by indicating the section that stated the agreement was null and void in the instance of any sort of abuse, entitling me to half of everything he stood to inherit or make. I didn't even bother to add that, no matter what his reputation was, Blayne would