Page 68 of Finding Hayes
“And if any of that were true, wouldn’t she have attended his funeral? She didn’t keep in touch with him, nor did she care about him at all,” I said, my words shaking a bit as I spoke.
“Listen, her case is weak at best. The verbal agreement won’t stand up in court, and her not attending his funeral looks bad for her. But she’ll most likely try to prove that you only got married in order to get the inheritance and then push that she had a verbal agreement,” he said, as if we were discussing the weather and not the fact that we’d broken the law. Emerson stared down at the table, and Nash shot Hayes a knowing look. They were clearly suspicious, too, now that they were hearing all the details—or maybe they already knew and they just weren’t saying anything. “Savannah, Hayes, I don’t need to know anything more than the fact that you’re in love and married. I’m here to help you prepare for what might be coming. It may not be anything. She might just shoot her shot and try to get a cut of your money, which we will not let happen. She doesn’t have a leg to stand on.”
“Unless she proves that we’re frauds?” Hayes hissed, as if he were completely offended at the idea.
We are frauds. It isn’t that offensive.
“Correct. If she were to have a case there and have any proof of any wrongdoing, then the contract would be void, and she could technically go after the money with her verbal agreement defense. If I were a betting man, I’d say that’s what they are doing. She had you served with the papers, so she’s coming after you. But I have never seen a verbal agreement win in a courtroom over a signed legal document. She’s definitely reaching here. But you still need to be prepared for what’s coming.”
“What do I do?” I asked, trying hard to hide the tremble from my voice.
“Let’s just say that if she was onto something, you would need to do everything in your power to prove her wrong. They are most likely going to bring in people to investigate your lives. So, for example, if you are not sleeping in the same bedroom,” he said, raising a brow before continuing. “This is real talk. We’re on the same team. If you ran off to get married because you reunited and there were old feelings there—fan-fucking-tastic. But if it’s anything else, and I don’t want or need to know that, I’m not here to judge. But we need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. It’s always better to be prepared.”
“And what does that look like?” Hayes asked.
“They will hire people. They will contact people in your lives behind your backs. They’ll offer money and try to catch you in a lie. Let’s start with the basics. Do you have a cleaning woman?” he asked, looking between us.
“Yes. She’s back tomorrow. She’s been on vacation for the last two weeks,” Hayes said, and I sucked in a breath because I didn’t even know we had a cleaning woman.
“Perfect example. They’ll try to get to her. They’ll ask if you’re sleeping in the same room. If you’re affectionate in front of her. For all I know, they’ll have people looking in your windows. Snooping around your workplace. Landscapers. Employees.They’ll try everything.” He cracked his knuckles, his gaze moving from Hayes to me. “You just make sure you are sleeping in the same room and there is not a single reason for them to doubt that this is real. There should not be clothing hidden in a guest room closet. The only bed that looks slept in is in your bedroom. That you share. Trust me, people get crazy over money, and they will snoop around and try to find things you wouldn’t even think of.”
“That’s not a problem,” Hayes said. “But I’m gone three nights a week when I have my shifts at the firehouse.”
“It’s your job; they can’t argue that. Savannah should be seen at the firehouse, and you need to be seen out around town often, as well,” Easton said. “If you don’t give them any reason to question you, they can’t do a damn thing. I’m here to tell you what to do to protect yourself. If you listen to me, you’ll be fine.”
I nodded. There was a huge knot in my stomach, and my hands were sweating.
“They’ll go to your parents, as well, so just make sure everyone is thrilled about the marriage.” He glanced at his sister, who’d just reached for a muffin, and she chuckled before handing it to him.
“Oh, I haven’t told my parents.” I needed to be straight with him in case he was right.
The room fell silent, aside from Hayes, who spoke up immediately. “We got married fast, and she was afraid her parents wouldn’t approve of us tying the knot without them. We were planning a trip to see them for the weekend and tell them in person soon.” He squeezed my hand because we both knew we had no intention of going to tell them in person.
“My dad has cancer.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I didn’t want him to have to travel here. And we didn’t want to wait to get married.”
Something crossed Easton’s gaze, and I couldn’t quite read it. But there was an understanding there, and he nodded. “Tellyour parents today or by the end of the weekend. You can get on FaceTime or Zoom and do it face-to-face. If you want to plan a trip there soon, that’s fine. But they need to know as soon as possible, or it will look suspicious. They could reach out to them; we just don’t know. So, let’s get ahead of this and get that taken care of immediately. How about your parents, Hayes?”
“My father and I haven’t spoken in years, so there would be no reason to tell him. My mother knows, and she is thrilled about me and Sav getting married, as is my sister. Our friends are also happy about it,” Hayes said.
“Good. So, Savannah calls her parents sooner rather than later and checks that off the list. You—er, continue staying in the same bedroom, even if you have an argument. There is no room for openings here. And absolutely no room for any indiscretions.” He gathered all the papers and slipped them into his briefcase. “I’m going to read over these later today, and I’ll be in touch with any questions.”
“You don’t have to worry about either of us having indiscretions. We’re ridiculously happy,” Hayes hissed, and everyone chuckled.
“Thanks for helping us,” I said, my voice quiet.
“Hey, Savannah, listen… Abe wanted you to have the money and the house. I have no idea why he put in such a ridiculous clause, but I’m happy that you two found your way back to one another.” Easton smirked. “If he wanted Sheana to have the money, he would have left it to her. So don’t worry. It’ll all be fine.”
I nodded, and Hayes squeezed my hand the slightest bit. Most wouldn’t have noticed, but I did. He could tell that I was spiraling. He wanted me to believe that everything would be okay.
But would it?
Hayes had agreed to help me. He wasn’t having sex with other women in an effort to protect this secret, and now he’dbe under a magnifying glass even more. And I’d have to move into his bedroom.
This was a complete mess.
We exchanged phone numbers with Easton, and he explained more about what to expect and continued to tell us how important it was to make sure everyone we interacted with knew that we were blissfully in love.
Hayes assured him that there was nothing to worry about because my fake husband was going to do whatever he could to protect this secret.
