A smile broadened across his face. “I’ve heard it a time or two. Thanks for the compliment.”
He admired her gumption, but she had no idea who she was dealing with. Her little insults didn’t trouble him because he had the upper hand and would eventually get what he wanted.
She may have ended their relationship, but she craved him just as much as he craved her. He would go along with her wishes for now. His eyes moved lower to her beautiful breasts. He’d already waited four months, and work kept him fairly busy.
He could handle a few more weeks.
Chapter Five
Mrs. Derrick Hoffman.
Mrs. Eva Hoffman.
Mrs. Eva Jacob-Hoffman.
Eva twisted the platinum ring with its pear-shaped yellow diamond around and around on her finger. As promised, only two weeks after Derrick came to see her on St. Simons Island, she stood ready to get married. Her image reflected back to her from the full-length mirror in a suite at Chateau élan, a thirty-five-hundred-acre winery and resort located forty minutes north of Atlanta in the Georgia foothills.
Putting together a wedding on such short notice was not an easy feat, but when you had plenty of money at your disposal, seemingly impossible feats could be surmounted with a phone call from skilled assistants. The chateau was usually booked years in advance, but the offhand comment she’d made to one of the coordinators about it being the idyllic setting for a wedding had magically resulted in an opening. Marrying Derrick Hoffman offered more privileges than she realized.
She and Derrick had hardly spoken since they met on St. Simons Island. He remained tied up in meetings and putting out fires at the company. Much of their communication existed as texts and voice mails. For the most part, he let her plan the wedding, but a few times he overrode her suggestions, insisting that she spend more money. Outside of those few times, the decisions were made with the help of the wedding planners and Kallie.
Their lack of contact didn’t bode well for their marriage. While she should consider it a plus because it allowed her to build up a wall of protection against her feelings for him, one small part of her couldn’t fathom them continuing in the same vein and having a healthy relationship. Especially since he expected them to have a real marriage.
Kallie appeared beside her in a strapless amber-colored bridesmaid dress, concern in her blue eyes. “You okay?”
Her friend wore that look often in the past couple of weeks, and she wanted to allay her fears. As she’d pointed out a couple of weeks ago, it could be worse. “Of course. I’m getting married today.” She didn’t quite accomplish the cheery voice she’d hoped to, and Kallie’s eyes filled with sympathy.
Kallie rested her hands on Eva’s bare shoulders. “This is it. Last chance to change your mind.”
Eva smiled. They both knew she couldn’t go back. To go back meant fighting Derrick in court and possibly losing her baby, and she couldn’t take the risk.
Derrick had made sure movers had all her belongings packed up and in the house, where she would sort them out later. Her mother’s family had been flown in on commercial flights to attend the wedding, and an uncle on her mother’s side was to walk her down the aisle.
Her mother had been a teen parent and single mother who’d told her a long time ago her father hadn’t wanted a child, so she didn’t know who her father was or anyone from his side of the family. Unfortunately, her mother died with the information about her father and where he lived.
She only had a first name and an old photo found hidden away in her mother’s personal items after her death. Although she hadn’t planned to keep Derrick and his child apart in the same way, her familial circumstances provided another solid reason to submit to his wishes. Her conscience wouldn’t allow her to keep them separated when she understood the empty ache she felt in her own life because she’d never known her father.