The Academic Bride: Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book One Read online

  As the weight of her realization hit her, she grabbed Nick’s hand, and a small sob escaped.

  “What’s the matter?”

  Janel shook her head. Now was not the time to bare her soul. She said, “She’s on her way over.”

  “Now?”

  “Now.”

  Nick looked down at the towel around his waist and then back up at her. He had a wicked grin, like someone who was about to jump out of an airplane. “What we need is damage control.” He wiped away the last of her tears. “I’m going to get dressed and you’re going to change into something less rumpled.” She looked down to inspect the damage, but he hooked his finger under her chin and brought her eyes up to meet his. “We need a united front. My mother’s a no-nonsense kind of woman.”

  “Do you want to tell her about BMB?”

  “Not really.”

  Janel didn’t blame him. She’d rather not tell her parents either. “Then what do we say?”

  “I … Let’s meet back here in five minutes, okay?”

  “’Kay.”

  Janel ran into her room. She grabbed a brush and yanked it through her hair as she rummaged through the closet, looking for something to impress her mother-in-law. Finally settling on a blouse and a tight pair of jeans, she hurried to apply some makeup.

  Chapter 22

  Once Nick was dressed, he grabbed his phone off the bed and sent a text to Brenda to cancel his morning meetings. She replied quickly despite the early hour.

  Nick went in search of Janel. He found her in her bathroom putting on mascara. She glanced at him in the mirror and gave him an unsure smile before finishing up. Stunning, even in jeans and a loose-fitting shirt, she’d combed her hair, and it was all he could do not to reach out and run his fingers through the silkiness.

  “Let’s meet her in the library.”

  “Is she going to be mad?”

  “Probably.”

  They hit the bottom stair just as the bell rang. Janel held back while Nick opened the door. Mom brushed past him with a curt “hello” and stood with her hands on her hips, facing Janel.

  Nick plastered a smile on his face. “Mom, this is Janel. Janel this is my mother, Rebecca.”

  Janel offered her hand and smiled. With a shaky voice, she said, “I’m sorry for being rude on the phone. I didn’t know who you were.”

  “Well, that was obvious.” Mom took her hand and they shook, though it didn’t look like she was melting much.

  “Let’s have a seat.” Nick motioned toward the library.

  He and Janel took the couch, and Mom took the loveseat. Her eyes bore into Nick, and he was briefly reminded of the time he and his brother jumped off the roof onto the trampoline and Jared ended up with a broken arm.

  She pulled her purse off her shoulder, crossed her legs and folded her arms. “So, how did this happen?”

  Nick cringed. He glanced at Janel, feeling a need to protect her from the unpleasantness that occurred because he hadn’t been honest. It was time to come clean. He didn’t want to rush through things, this would take a deep explanation.

  “Janel and I dated for a while …”

  Nick stopped. Their regular explanation just wasn’t going to work here. Hang the confidentiality agreement. If he was going to make this all work with Janel, he needed to start by being honest about how they met—at least to their families.

  “Janel and I were set up by a marriage broker.”

  Mom held up her palm. “A what?”

  Nick sighed and placed his elbows on his knees. Janel wasn’t sitting close enough that their bodies touched. He needed her support in this. If they looked at all weak, Mom would pick up on it. She needed to know they’d entered into their marriage by mutual consent and desire.

  Janel placed her palm on his back. The simple touch let him know she was behind him, ready to jump in if needed. He was grateful for her silent show of support. He knew she had a deadline to meet, and every minute spent with his mother was one less she had to work on her applications.

  Nick took a breath before jumping in. “I was looking for something, something more than just another dead-end relationship. I wanted a partner in life. I’d heard about this marriage broker. She specializes in what she calls business marriages.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I signed up for her service, and about two months later, I met Janel to sign the prenup and we were married.”

  “Wait, you didn’t know her before you married her?”

  “No.”

  “I don’t understand. How could you want to marry a person you’d never met?”

  “The brokerage specializes in creating mutually beneficial relationships.”

  “I see.” Mom turned to Janel. “And what do you get out of this?”

  Janel cleared her throat. “I lost the funding for my PhD and this will take care of that.”

  “So you married him for his money.” Mom’s accusation was in her voice and her glare. Nick leaned back so his shoulder touched Janel’s.

  Janel stiffened. “As per our contract, I earn a salary. I don’t want, nor do I expect, anything more than the money I earn.”

  “Uh-huh, and how do you earn that money?” Mom’s eyes flicked over Janel.

  Nick sat up taller. “It’s not like that.”

  “Then, what’s it like, Nick? You’ve been avoiding me for three months, and then I find out that you’re married to some woman I’ve never met and whom you didn’t meet until the marriage. What am I supposed to think?”

  Janel turned to see what he would say.

  Nick swallowed. “Our marriage helps us both. Janel is invaluable here. I, I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

  Janel smiled up at him. “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  Janel’s cheeks turned pink. Nick watched the color spread, relishing the thought that his happiness was her happiness. This woman, this woman undid him. Nick leaned closer, his heart beating wildly.

  “Nick. Focus.” Mom stood up, slinging her purse strap over her shoulder. “How is a business marriage supposed to really help you? She may be a fine business partner.” Mom sniffed. “But don’t you want love and children?”

  Nick rubbed his jaw, unsure of what to say. He did want those things—he wanted them with Janel.

  He wanted Janel.

  Nick studied her. She was his equal in all the right ways, yet she wasn’t his clone. She was quite different from him. Those differences didn’t weaken their relationship; they strengthened it. Perhaps, if given time, Janel would see they were a match that could last much longer than a year.

  He stood up and offered his hand to help Janel off the couch. Now was not the time to bombard Janel with declarations of love and ask her how many children she wanted. Right now, he needed to get his mother out of their house, so Janel could finish her application.

  Mom had a right to be upset and worried, as any good mother would be, but he didn’t want to attack something he held dear—his wife. Though Mom was a good person at heart, she often put up a hard shell that came across as gruff and uncaring.

  He turned to his Mom. “I know this has been a shock.”

  Mom harrumphed.

  “Why don’t I take you to breakfast and fill you in on what’s been going on?”

  Mom looked pointedly at Janel. “Are you coming?”

  Nick jumped in before Janel could answer. “She’s got an important deadline this morning.”

  Janel’s eyes went wide. It was almost like she’d forgotten about her application. Was it possible that she’d placed their marriage above her dig? The thought warmed Nick’s heart.

  “It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Ryburn.” Janel gave Mom a nod and slipped past Nick. He squeezed her hand before letting her go, and she rewarded him with a smile that lit up his whole day.

  It was a good thing, because breakfast was going to be awful.

  Chapter 23

  Though Janel left the library looking like the picture of calm, she tore up the sta
irs like a bargain shopper the day after Thanksgiving. She couldn’t believe she’d been so upset about Nick’s mother that she’d forgotten about her dig! If Nick hadn’t said anything, she probably would have volunteered to go to breakfast with them. Then all her hard work and her marriage to Nick would have been for naught.

  She paused at the door. Would it have been for nothing? If she never went to Guatemala and still got Nick, would she be okay with that? A quick check of her heart told her she would. She loved him more than she loved the idea of a Mayan dig—and that was saying something.

  Glancing at her computer, she had to wonder if Nick felt the same way. What if Rebecca, her mother-in-law—what if she talked him out of their marriage? What if she convinced him that it was as crazy as she thought it was? Pamela had called Janel a business partner, but was Janel really all that? She didn’t feel like she brought as much as Nick did to the marriage. He was making her dreams come true, and she just kept his home life moving along. Was that really a balance? She guessed it was. By doing what she did, she freed Nick to pursue his dreams at IdeaTech.

  It’s not crazy. Janel sank into her chair. It’s wonderful, and messy, and better than … than … anything and everything. She sighed. Life with Nick would be a challenge, but a good challenge, like pushing yourself to accomplish something worthwhile, something that made you excited to wake up every morning.

  Despite the ring on her finger, Nick wasn’t a guarantee. She needed to finish these forms. Strange how her old plan became her backup plan and her backup plan had become her new plan.

  With a small smile, and the image of Nick in a towel tugging at the back of her mind, Janel worked for an hour, making painfully slow progress. Fighting against the panic, she plowed forward. At 7:30 A.M., her phone rang.

  She hit the speaker button without looking at the caller ID, then panicked, wondering if Rebecca had her number. “Hello?” she asked tentatively.

  “Hi.”

  Janel’s fingers skittered across the keyboard at the sound of Nick’s voice. She hadn’t expected to hear from him. “H-Hi. How was breakfast?”

  There was a pause. “Do you want the truth?”

  “Always.” Janel braced herself.

  “Not great.”

  Janel groaned. “She hates me, doesn’t she?”

  “I don’t think she hates you personally. I think she hates the idea that I got married and lied about it.”

  “Nick, I’m sorry. I should have, we should have been honest with her from the start.” Janel’s stomach dropped. She hadn’t been to see her parents since before they got married. In the beginning, it was difficult to come up with an excuse for Sunday dinner. Last Sunday, she’d rattled off a reason without even thinking hard. She needed to fix that. Her parents didn’t deserve to be left in the dark.

  “You’re quiet. What are you thinking?” asked Nick.

  “About my parents.”

  “Do you want to invite them over?”

  Janel paused. “I should probably talk to them alone first. It would be better, especially with my dad.”

  “Let me know what you need, okay? I’ll do whatever I can to make this easier on you.”

  Janel cradled the phone to her ear. “Thanks.”

  There was a pause, and then Nick asked, “Are you busy?”

  Janel considered the books and papers strewn across her desk. “Just a bit.”

  “Gerry from HR is on his way over. He should be there any minute.”

  The doorbell rang, and Janel cringed. She didn’t have time to do an errand for Nick. “Sounds like he’s here.” Janel jumped from her chair and charged down the stairs. The sooner she got this over with the better.

  “Good. He should be able to help.”

  “Help? Help what?” She paused at the door, waiting for instructions.

  “Help translate. He’s fluent in Spanish. Served some sort of church mission in Guatemala.”

  Janel whipped open the door. “Gerry?”

  Smiling, the man with the short haircut and baggy suit waved. “Hola.”

  Janel grinned and motioned him inside. “I’ll grab my laptop and meet you in the library.”

  “You can use the office,” offered Nick.

  “Are you sure?”

  “It’s all yours.”

  Janel was halfway up the stairs. “How did you know I needed help?” Come to think of it, she hadn’t told Nick about the deadline, and yet he’d mentioned it to his Mom.

  Nick cleared his throat. “I’m just pulling into the office. I have to go.”

  “Okay. Thank you so much.”

  “No problem. Bye.”

  Janel hung up the phone and continued her mad dash to grab her things. Entering her room, she tripped and almost fell. Turning to see what caught her toe, Janel found a pair of Nick’s shoes just inside her door. She looked from the shoes to the bed and back again. Pressing her hands to her cheeks, she blushed. It wasn’t a dream. Nick must have seen the forms on the computer. Tears formed. How did he manage to give her exactly what she needed? She touched the Spanish-English dictionary on her desk. Remembering the interpreter waiting in the library, Janel wiped away the tears and gathered her laptop and notes.

  She paused to straighten Nick’s shoes. She should take them to his room and write him a thank-you. She grimaced. A note just didn’t seem like enough, not after he’d saved her expedition.

  Gerry turned out to be a gold mine of assistance. He had her proposal proofed, interpreted, and finished with twenty minutes to spare. She asked a few questions about his church service, and he fueled her desire to get to Guatemala by talking about the wonderful people and beautiful landscape. Janel let him out and sent a copy of the official email to Professor Ford.

  Sitting back in Nick’s chair, Janel contemplated the morning. Nick couldn’t be angry with her. In fact, he was just the opposite—caring and supportive in her time of need. And forgiving of her blunder. He could have been upset that she’d blabbed to his mother, but instead he pulled close to her to work through the issue. What did he say? They needed a united front? That was exactly what he’d done and what had set her at ease. When she and Nick worked together, the sense of unity strengthened her feelings for him.

  He’d cared for her much too tenderly to be angry. So if he wasn’t angry, why had he avoided her—well, avoided her when she was conscious?

  She smiled as she thought about Professor Ford’s advice to study it out. As if husbands came with a textbook.

  Janel bolted upright in the chair. She did have a textbook. Taking the stairs two at a time, Janel made it to her room in record time. Scanning her bookshelves, she grinned when she pulled the Love Languages book off the shelf.

  Thumbing through the front of the book, she remembered that she and Nick both spoke the language of physical touch. That explained why it was so instinctive to touch him and for him to touch her. It was their mutually understood form of communication.

  Her other language was acts of service, so of course she melted when Nick buckled her seatbelt or sent someone to help her translate applications.

  Nick’s second language was quality time. Janel plopped down on her bed. She didn’t know how to speak that language. She tapped the cover. Learning a new love language couldn’t be much harder than interpreting Spanish. She adjusted her position and dove into the book with more enthusiasm than she’d dug into the Guatemalan government forms.

  She quickly understood that quality time included listening to Nick, giving him her undivided attention in a relaxed atmosphere where he felt free to discuss his ideas and thoughts. As she read, a plan formed.

  By noon, Janel had finished reading, showered, and changed, and she was headed toward Nick’s office. He had appointments on the other side of the city this morning, and she hoped to find his office empty.

  After asking the receptionist where to go, Janel found Nick’s nameplate on the wall next to an opulent office. She waited for his assistant to get off the phone and then gave
her a friendly smile.

  “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Janel.”

  “Oh, my goodness.” Brenda jumped to her feet and came around the desk. She took Janel’s hand, and instead of shaking it, she pressed it between her palms. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

  Janel used her free hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Really?”

  Brenda nodded and in a conspiratorially tone said, “I have to ask if you brought brownies.”

  Janel laughed. “I’ll make you a deal: if you help me get a night off for Nick, I’ll make you a whole batch.”

  “Done—I’m a sucker for chocolate.”

  Some things are universal.

  Brenda went back around to her computer and pulled up Nick’s calendar. Janel brought out her phone and did the same. Her heart stuttered. What if Nick didn’t want her?

  “Let’s see what we can do here,” said Brenda.

  Janel pressed her lips together. She’d never know if she didn’t try.

  Chapter 24

  “What about sales?” Nick asked Brenda as she straightened up his office, putting files away and snagging his empty soda can.

  “They’re done.”

  “There has to be someone I can meet with.”

  Brenda dropped the can in the garbage by his desk and gave him a stern look. “You’ve spent the last week and a half managing this company to death. You’re micromanaging your managers and they are going to revolt. Go home.”

  Nick checked his calendar one more time. His spot was empty, the first and only empty spot for the next few weeks since he’d spent every minute he didn’t have a meeting lining up a meeting.

  This could be bad. He didn’t want to go out with the guys. However, he didn’t want to go home. What if he bumped into Janel in the kitchen, or worse, the hot tub? He’d managed to smooth things over with his mother. She was still miffed, but the time limit on the marriage contract and the prenup helped to ease her concerns. He was sure, if she spent some time with Janel, she would love his wife just as much as he did.

  When he’d helped Janel into bed the other night, he’d had to exercise huge amounts of self-control not to kiss her forehead. Her forehead, for the love of Pete. Every time he got close to Janel his body hummed with joy, and when they touched, little explosions of happiness filled his chest. Kissing her was like standing in the middle of a fountain of euphoria: it shot up, around and through him. He couldn’t resist that much pressure; it was good pressure, he quite enjoyed it, but it would lead him to places Janel didn’t want to go—yet. He should spend his spare time working on a way to win her over.