r hissed shut behind them, seali

re the steady hum of the air filtration syste

ntiseptic and a fain

tal gown, Callan Aldridge's broad shoulders and long frame filled the rein

ed onto her the second

ove the bed. A virtual keyboard displaying all twenty-six letters, along with YES/NO

iages standing on the opposite side of the bed adjusted

ormal legal capacity assessment, please con

the green YES box in the center of the screen. T

rimony with Miss Riley Mercer? Do you also voluntarily authorize her as your designated medical decision-mak

His gaze lingered for half a second on her slightly messy brown hair an

nitor, locking onto the words I DO

ine chim

his official seal to the marriage certificate and th

the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,

mitting them straight to the Boston trust board and triggering the emergency suspen

ugh the main doors to handle the legal public notices,

xpression turning slightly awkw

wever, there is one urgent sub-clau

wyer warily. "What clause? Don't tel

pulled up a scanned parch

ize the estate, the late Madame Margaret included a strict physi

glish, co

u must complete seventy-two consecutive hours of cohabitation with the Colonel in the master suite of the Aldrid

llan's heart rate quietly ticked

paralyzed man on the bed, a

the same bed? Plus r

iefcase shut and bac

he transfer, is waiting in the underground garage. We will move the Colonel back t

The suite was completely empt

. Loose strands of her dark brown hair fell over her should

skin cut through the hospital smell. C

ide rails, bringing her face inches fr

You can hear me

s, the deep blue-gray of his irises dark and

oice low, meant

on. I married you purely for the money, to get my m

a flash of icy defiance

o his chin, her callused fingertips deliberat

y-two hours. Once the board power is permanently in

closer to his ear

illion, buy the biggest yacht in Florida, a

Beep

apid alarm as his heart rate surged to 125 bea

in surprise before rapping her knuckles

s this cheap mach

h the sheet. His gray-blue eyes burned into her