Chapter 2

I'd barely opened the door when I spotted his grandmother down the hall.

She clutched her chest. “My own grandson! This is going to bring on my heart trouble.”

Ethan's expression darkened even further.

“Grandma. Stop pretending.”

Realizing he wasn't buying it, she immediately dropped the act.

“I asked you about this,” she said in a perfectly strong voice. “You didn't say no.”

“I didn't say yes, either.”

“Well, they do say silence means agreement.”

He had no answer for that. She turned to me.

“Lucy, go back inside. This is your room. Let's see him try to throw you out.”

She ushered me in and shut the door, leaving Ethan and me staring at each other in silence.

He backed up to the bed and sat down, rubbing his forehead. He looked thoroughly fed up.

I stayed where I was, unsure what I was supposed to do.

His grandmother's voice came through the door again.

“Ethan Bennett, you will share that room with Lucy, and you will marry her. Otherwise, when your project comes up at next week's shareholder meeting, I have enough votes to block it. And don't even think about making her sleep somewhere cold and miserable. If she gets sick, you'll answer to me.”

He said nothing. Apparently, he'd run out of arguments.

His grandmother had thought of everything. Apart from the bed, there was nowhere in the room to sit or lie down. The chairs had disappeared. Even the rug was gone. There was just one comforter on the bed and the little throw I was wearing.

After a long silence, Ethan looked up.

“Go to bed.” He sounded impatient.

He was so intimidating that I could barely get the words out.

“I'll stay right on the edge.”

I had only taken a few steps when he gave a cold laugh.

“Dressed like that? Did my grandmother teach you that trick, too?”

Only then did I remember that beneath the throw, I was still in my underwear. No wonder he thought I was trying to seduce him.

I found my pajamas and fled to the bathroom.

After a shower, I put on a long-sleeved top and matching pants. When I came out, the room was quiet again.

Ethan seemed to be asleep.