Zach sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. Although his face showed no emotion, he was completely surprised by Kendall's response. After what they had just shared, he was more optimistic about actually marrying her – but he didn't expect her to ask for a quick wedding. In fact, he found her completely confusing – her words offering an expedient business partnership while her face was a mask of sorrow. Was she already regretting their intimacy? And why was he so disappointed that she had agreed to his open marriage proposition? He hadn't really meant it – it was offered more for shock value than any other reason – although he wasn't entirely ready to admit that even to himself. However, he had never intended to trap Kendall into a relationship that made her unhappy, and had a generous release clause built into the prenuptial agreement. No, this woman was more mysterious than he had expected – but now it was his turn to respond. If he remained quiet for very long she might change her mind, and right now he wanted her to be his wife more than anything he had wanted in a very long time. Examining his motives could wait for another more opportune moment.
He expelled the breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding, "As soon as you like. We can be in Vegas in a few hours. Just say the word and I'll make the arrangements."
"Thank you. I think I'd like to do this quickly before I have an attack of conscience and change my mind," she answered with a slight sniffle.
"Kendall… No one is forcing you to marry me against your will. This arrangement will work only if we want the same things. Please don't go through with it unless you are absolutely certain that it's what you want, too," he answered firmly.
"I do want to marry you… but you saw them downstairs. I'm afraid that I'll allow them to talk me out of it," she replied sheepishly.
Zach laughed before answering, "The one thing of which I'm absolutely certain, Kendall, is that you can't be talked out of anything once you set your mind to it. If they tried, you would just marry me faster."
She giggled in reply, "Mm-hmm, I know. The more you don't want Kendall to do something the more she wants to do it – at least that's what my mother used to say… I mean my adoptive mother."
Zach wanted very much at that moment to ask about her adoptive parents, but didn't want to ruin the mood. Instead he said, "What makes you think it's going to be any different this time?"
"Because this isn't self-destructive – they don't know that, but we do. I'm afraid that the only time I get really stubborn is when that light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train," she answered with a smile. "Will you please marry me before I get cold feet?"
"If that's truly what you want…" Zach paused and carefully considered his words. "Kendall… I want you to be my wife… more now than I did when I arrived here this evening. I won't pretend that tonight hasn't been extremely… enjoyable. But now is the time to express your concerns. Once we start down this path… it might become very… um… uncomfortable for you." He would give her one last chance to back out… she deserved an opportunity to back away. He wouldn't offer her another one… and he hoped she didn't take it.
She smiled at him, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, "Oh, my… aren't you gallant all of a sudden! That's very sweet, Zach, but as I keep telling everyone – I know what I'm doing. Why don't you finish your dinner and then make some phone calls?"
With that statement, Kendall attacked her salad. She was the picture of calm as she sipped her water and poured coffee for them both. The fact that she was a nervous wreck on the inside was no one's business – especially not the business of the man seated before her at the table. If he wanted an open marriage, she'd give it to him… and that meant he didn't get to know what she was thinking. As he continued to sit and stare at her, she smiled sweetly and picked up his fork to indicate that he should resume eating his dinner. He smiled in return and began to eat again. For the remainder of the meal, they each sat quietly lost in their own thoughts, but continually glancing at the other.
After finishing the food, Zach rolled the table out into the hallway to be picked up by room service. He once again checked for surveillance, but neither saw nor heard anyone. Either they had given up their vigil or they were going to leave them alone for the night. Regardless, the matter of Kendall's clothing would have to be addressed by morning.
"Kendall," Zach said as he locked the door behind him. "We need to get you something to wear in the morning. Your dress is ruined, and as lovely as you look in my shirt – I really don't think that you want to wear it out of here."
She looked at him with a frown, realizing her predicament for the first time, "You're right… and I really don't have anyone that I'm comfortable asking to stop at my place and get a change of clothes. Do you have any ideas?"
Zach thought a moment before answering, "Hmmm… if circumstances were different, I'd call Edie – my assistant – she's quite resourceful. But she's at the casino in Europe until we re-open The Seasons."
"Europe… casino… Zach, I thought all your casinos had been shut down," Kendall said.
"Only the U.S. casinos… they're a little more tolerant in Europe. The other three are still thriving," he answered as if she had known all along that he had holdings outside the country.
"Wait a minute… you asked me to marry you specifically to run your casinos!" she said indignantly.
"That's right… the casino here and the one in Vegas… and you will make half the profits on both as well as get half of Cambias when we win my suit against Ethan," he said simply.
"But… if you have other casinos… why haven't you mentioned them?" she asked, not knowing whether to be angry or intrigued.
"Because they're still in operation and I don't need a wife to obtain gaming licenses," he answered. "It's all spelled out in the pre-nup… what did your lawyers say about them?"
She looked slightly embarrassed as she admitted, "I haven't shown it to them yet."
He smiled and laughed before picking up his suit jacket from the sofa and handing her a legal document he pulled from the inside pocket. "Here, read it over now. If you have any qualms or concerns we'll iron them out with the attorneys before you sign. It's really very straightforward. While you go over the papers, I'll just go… and… uh… shave."
He left the room to give her privacy for reading the document, and wondered what her reaction would be when she read the release clause – and discovered how much he owned that was being excluded from their agreement. It had not mattered when it was drawn up, but he was suddenly afraid that she would change her mind… and wished he had been more upfront about the extent of his holdings. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he was not pleased with the man who stared back at him. He hadn't exactly lied to her… and it was spelled out very specifically in the pre-nuptial agreement… but he should have told her about his European, Australian and other holdings before that moment. But then again… shewould have known already if she'd bothered to read the pre-nup.
Meanwhile, Kendall made herself comfortable on the bed and read through the document, finding it blessedly free of extraneous legal jargon. It was a quite simple and elegant document. After they married, she would obtain business and gaming licenses to the two U.S. casinos, running them on Zach's behalf, and in exchange she would receive half ownership in them. In addition, any acquisitions either of them made after their marriage would be shared equally between them – including any inheritance that might normally be excluded. It did not expressly mention Cambias, but it did mention that any pending litigation resolved after their marriage would also be shared equally. However, she was more than surprised at the list of holdings excluded from their agreement – she had known Zach was wealthy, but had no idea the extent of his diversification in the U.S. and abroad. Even if he gave her the casinos outright, his fortune would be little damaged by it. She couldn't help but wonder if Ethan knew how little he had hurt his father in shutting down the two casinos.
Zach listened from the bathroom for a cry of rage that didn't occur. After shaving, he poked his head around the doorway to see if it was safe to re-enter the room. She was still sitting on the bed with the agreement in her lap… and he had no choice but to walk over to the bed to get her reaction. He wondered if she was waiting to attack him or if she hadn't understood it. Kendall looked up at him with a broad smile as he approached the bed.
"You are not as trustworthy as you implied," she said with a giggle. "You never mentioned the release clause… and that if I'm your wife for only one day I will become a very wealthy woman."
He looked at her in complete surprise, not able to school his features to behave. She laughed again at his expression before he replied, "You're not angry? I was afraid that once you'd read it through…"
"Zach… you were very naughty in not telling me about all of your other businesses… but you didn't really lie. You told me what I would gain – and you included a release agreement that would require you to sell some of those holdings to pay off. I mean… twenty years of alimony for 24 hours of marriage? Are you insane?"
"Actually… I'd prefer not to answer that question… and if anyone asks, I'd advise you to take the fifth as well," he answered with a grin.
She grinned back at him, "I only have one condition. After this is over and we have won Cambias and protected Bianca and Miranda – I want to go on a grand tour of all your other casinos and businesses around the world. Do we need to call the lawyers? Or can we just write it in?"
"You do realize that if we add Cambias to those holdings – the trip might take a very long time," he said still grinning at her.
"That's the point… if we survive all this and still want to be married to each other… then I think we deserve a trip around the world to celebrate," she said laughingly. "Don't you?"
"That's if we survive," he answered soberly. "If you really want that in writing, I'm sure we can write in ourselves. However, I will make that a promise right now… and if we can tolerate each other for that long, I don't think we'll need it in writing."
She held out her hand to him somberly, "Then let's shake on it at least."
He held out his own hand to shake hers before tugging on it gently. She allowed him to pull her into his arms and kiss her provocatively before pulling slightly back and saying, "Mmm… sealed with a kiss… I like that." She then moved to claim his lips once again, knocking the pre-nuptial agreement to the floor as their passion smoldered.