My Rival's Willing Surrender

Synopsis

I slammed the wedding invitation down in front of Franklin Harvey, my eyes rimmed with tears and my voice shaking. "Franklin, you're really marrying someone else?" I demanded. He looked up, his signature charming eyes usually carrying a hint of a smile were now calm and unreadable. "It's a business marriage," he replied. "I won't allow it," I shouted. All around us, there was silence. I took a deep breath, gritting out the words I'd been rehearsing the whole way here. I said, "Marry me. "I win, you lose." He was stunned. I expected him to laugh at me, reject me, or pull one of his usual tricks to make me furious. But instead, he just stared at me quietly for a few seconds, then broke into a smile. "Okay," he said. "I lose."