The Academic Bride: Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book One Read Online Free PDF Page A

wife who would share his home, Nick needed to keep a professional distance. If Janel was as beautiful in person as she was in the picture, staying professional could be difficult. He already felt a connection to her.
    Another email popped up from Pamela—Janel’s preferred color was purple. He quickly scrolled through his contacts until he found the interior designer’s number.
    “Hi. It’s Nick. Hey, you can go ahead and finish that suite. Purple. It’s up to you. Thanks.”
    Everything should be ready for Janel to move in on Monday. His house had two suites on the east end. He had his own suite done in tans and natural stone, but no one touched the other suite in the five years he’d lived there. When he met with Pamela and she mentioned needing a room for his wife, he felt like the space was waiting for that exact moment.
    It was going to be a busy weekend.
    There was a strange thunk under his desk. When he looked, he realized his leg was bouncing. Every time his shoe hit the floor it made a noise. Placing his hand on his knee to hold it still, he wondered, Am I nervous?
    He was always a little on edge when signing contracts, but as long as his attorney gave the thumbs up, it was something he got through with a semblance of calm.
    This was a good move for him. Not only would it take him off the meat market, it would bring someone into his home. He’d built his dream house and then dreaded walking through the door to find it empty. Someone to come home to—a wife—was going to be very good for him.
    If it was so good for him, why was his leg bouncing again?

Chapter 5
     
    Janel rolled over, checked the time on her cell phone, and groaned.
    Shopping day.
    It wasn’t that she disliked shopping; it was just that she’d spent hardly any money on herself for years. Fashion didn’t matter when she was sequestered in the library or out in the summer sun on a dig in Utah where no one cared if you wore name-brand clothing.
    As she made her bed, she found the copy of The Five Love Languages Tina had handed her yesterday on the way out the door. “Why do I need this?” Janel had asked.
    “It’s required reading for all brides and grooms.”
    “Why?”
    “It talks about the way people receive and give love. We like to use it as a tool to help couples express appreciation.”
    Janel had cringed at the idea of being part of a couple because it fit like a size-too-small shirt, Janel pressed the button for the elevator.
    “You’ll need to read it before your prenup meeting.”
    “No problem.” She doubted she would get much sleep anyway.
    Fluffing her pillow, Janel acknowledged that she’d been right about not getting any sleep, but the love book had little to do with it. Instead, resurrecting her files on the Guatemalan dig had kept her reading, planning, and daydreaming about what she was going to do with her new income till the wee hours of the morning.
    She resisted the urge to call Professor Ford and tell him that the dig was back on thanks to some private funding she’d lined up. It was better to wait until she was locked into the contract and everything was sure. Besides, it was all a bit much. Mr. Ryburn might be some kind of a jerk, and Janel could end up as Pamela’s fourth early termination contract. Wouldn’t that be a great way to start out on the new job?
    If all went well, she could live off her expense account and sock away the salary. She could send in the funds and the paperwork to get approval in the first month. Once she got that, she could buy plane tickets and supplies the next month, and it would continue like that until she was knee-deep in ancient Mayan ruins and done with the “Ryburn account.”
    She tucked the required reading into her purse and headed out the door to meet Trish. Upon entering the Billionaire Broker’s building, she spied Trish leaning against the security guard’s desk, looking like a supermodel or superhero with that half pink hair, waiting for her