Ted MacTaggart's overbearing father is still trying to control his life, even from the grave. His will insists that, in order to inherit the family company, MAC Superior, Ted must be married by his twenty-fifth birthday -- and the marriage has to be "real." As in the board of MAC has to sign off on it.<br><br>Ted could fight the will, but then the handsome, artistic Ryan Costa, an old friend from school days walks back into his life, offering to be his groom-of-convenience. Ted draws up the contracts and Ryan, who has family medical bill problems, agrees gladly to the terms. Ted, emotionally walled off and afraid of his attraction to Ryan, also suggests they should keep their relationship strictly professional. Caring for people has always proven a weakness for him. Now isn't the time to start.<br><br>It's not long before Ryan's charm breaks through Ted's walls, but Ted isn't his own worst enemy in this case. Other forces are vying for MAC Superior, and even when their relationship is becoming the real deal, its shaky foundations land Ryan and Ted in trouble.

Poor Little Rich Boy

“Of course you do.” Ted came from a new angle before there could be any question of himself becoming a topic of conversation: “Tell me about your travels. You were gone for a whole year, right?”


“Yeah.” Ryan had wide, pretty lips and a smile that lit his entire face. The freckles on his nose crinkled as he did it. “I kind of just bounced around India and Thailand. It was crazy—I think a lot of them had never seen a black person before, and some of them just thought I was, you know, Indian.”


“No, but I found a bunch of rude, white tourists taking up space in temples,” he replied with a laugh.


“What took you there?” Ted asked, still sipping away, relaxing slowly into the ancient wooden chair. Yes, this was good. It was easier not to think when he had someone rattling away at him like this.


Chapter 8