It had only been less than a week, but Claire felt it had been an eternity since she stepped into the penthouse. The men had thrown a welcome party all on their own, and she could tell Axel was deeply impressed by their efforts."You're sure this was not your idea?" He asked Donald the seventh time.Donald sighed. "I didn't even know there was a party until this afternoon."Axel narrowed his eyes at him. "Where were you all morning, then?"A blush crept up Donald's cheeks, and Claire and Danielle descended on him."Something happened, didn't it?" Claire jumped up and down eagerly. "What did I miss?"Danielle clapped her hands dramatically. "There was this nurse at the hospital. She's so pretty."Claire put her hands on her hips. "Are you serious? And they talked.""Totally." Danielle drew out the word and swiped the air in front of her. "For long hours every single day. She literally abandoned all her duties!"Donald turned crimson, and Axel snorted."I thought you had the best poker f

Claire's fork dropped loudly into her plate. "This weekend? That's barely four days from now!"Axel nudged her, and she bit her bottom lip and swallowed her words. She wanted to scream in protest. She also wanted to plant a fist in the smug looking face of the Chairman. They had been making small talk, before the Chairman dropped the bombshell; he wanted Axel and Claire to get married that Saturday.If Claire took out the next day, which would find them busy preparing for the ball, they had only three days. She had always dreamed about having a beautiful wedding, but weddings like that took months to plan. How would she pull off all the preparations in two days, and still have enough time to rest on the third day?"Why should there be any delay? You both were already married. We need to get this done and out of the way, so he can finally focus on the company."What the Chairman said made perfect sense, at least to his wife. Claire could not tell what Axel was thinking. His lips were t

Claire grabbed Axel's hand and snuggled closer to him. She flashed the brightest smile she could at the reporters and swung her hips gracefully. Axel followed her movements warily, and she giggled silently. She was his wife, and she was done hiding in the shadows. She was going to act the part of the wife to the most powerful billionaire CEO in New York City.Two butlers stood by the golden double doors to check people's invitations. They opened the doors once they saw Axel approach."One of the perks of being your wife." She muttered under her breath."What was that?" Axel asked with a look that told her he had heard her clearly.She gave him a fleeting scowl. "You don't have to look so smug.""Now, now, we can't afford to ruin you makeup with frown lines."Claire pinched his side, and grinned when he jerked. It was his turn to scowl, and her turn to tease him."Now, now." She mimicked his velvety drawl. "The doors are open, and the audience can see you already. We can't afford to ru

Danielle gently shoved her forward. "Don't worry about that. At the rate at which you're eating, you'll probably not fit into the dress by weekend."Jenise snorted out a laugh. "I guess that means we will need to do the fitting of the dress on Friday night."The ladies giggled in amusement, and Claire glowered at them."That's not funny, guys!" She grabbed Coco's hand. "Come on, Coco, let's leave them to their impolite behavior."Her reaction only made them giggle more. Claire was not particularly upset. She felt pretty good that they were at least having fun. She could not begin to imagine what they had gone through when she had been in the state of coma. She had not even properly thanked them yet.Claire could see Donald from afar, through the glass doors. He was leaning on the limo, speaking into the phone and smiling widely. Occasionally, he would draw circles with his toes or scratch the back of his head, an indication that he was speaking to his new girlfriend. His relationship

It was the ladies' turn to exchange glances. "How can you not know what happens the day before a wedding?" Myla asked. "Even my Coco knows!" Axel raised a brow. "I do know about the bridal shower, but you already had one yesterday."Jenise nudged Danielle. "Tell him. Put them out of their misery." Her voice rang with mockery.Danielle and Claire giggled. "We are going to the spa and hair salon!" Hunter rolled his eyes. "For a second there, I thought something really important was going to happen."Jenise puckered her lips. "Getting a massage and your nails done is "something really important", especially if you are getting married the next day."Axel rose. "You should tidy up the rest of the invitations. Donald, make sure you send them out, along with the accompanying emails."Claire ruffled through the invitations. "I didn't accidentally put one for Croatia in there, right?""Claire." Axel extended a hand towards her. "Walk with me for a second."She reluctantly took his outstretc