Page 44 of The Reason I Married Him
“We have a connection,” I say, my heart racing as I lay out my plan, seeing it’s already starting to fail from the look of disbelief in her eyes. “The farm.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Can we please sit down? I can tell you everything.”
She purses her lips, and I can see her debating what to do.
“Please,” I say, practically resorting to begging here.
She lets out an irritated sigh and then moves past me, bumping my shoulder in the process, and sits in one of the chairs in front of her desk. Grateful, I take the seat next to her. She crosses her legs, pulling them both up on the chair, and stares at me expectantly.
Okay, you have her attention. Let it all out.
“Like I said, there’s a family cabin that means a lot to me. Consider how much this farm means to you, and that’s how I feel about the cabin. When my grandfather passed, I just assumed,given our close relationship, he’d leave it to me. However, per his will, the first grandchild to get married takes possession. I’m not sure if he did this to make sure the lineage is carried on. Either way, it put a wrench in my plans. My cousin Wallace is engaged now. He didn’t have the same relationship with my grandfather. He hated the cabin, and I know if he takes ownership, he’ll bulldoze it and build something more modern. I can’t stomach that. So my friend Laurel helped me come up with this plan.”
“And what is the plan exactly?” she asks, folding her arms over her chest.
“You marry me for a year?—”
“A year? That’s insane.”
“It wouldn’t be that long in the grand scheme of things.”
“A year is a year. And why would I even consider doing this for you?”
“Because,” I say, taking a deep breath. “If you marry me for a year, then I’ll give you the rights to my half of the farm when we divorce. It’s all yours, no questions asked.”
Her eyes narrow at me.She’s not a fan of the plan.
“That’s blackmail.”
“Uhh, not really,” I say. “It’s called making a deal.”
“A deal is like I’ll give you an apple for this orange. You’re asking me to marry you!”
“Well, if you think of the apple as the marriage and the orange as the land, then it could resemble the deal you’re talking about.”
“You have lost your mind.” She shakes her head. “Wyatt, marriage is serious. And what am I supposed to do, marry you and then say peace out, see you in a year?”
I cringe, knowing she’s really not going to like this part. “Uh, actually, we would have to pretend we’re married.”
Jaw clenched, she asks, “What do you mean, pretend?”
I clear my throat. “You know, uh, live together, that sort of thing.”
“No fucking way.” She stands from her chair and moves out of the office before I can even stand.
I chase her and say, “It won’t require intimacy if that’s what you’re worried about.”
She turns on her heel and faces me. “Anything that involves having to live with you is intimate. It’s bad enough I have you following me around this farm. The last thing I need is to come home to myguest house, and see you there, with your feet propped up on my pillow, typing away on your computer.”
“I’ll have you know, I’m the kind of husband who’d never prop his feet up on your pillow.”
“Jesus,” she mutters before she continues walking.
“We could make it work, Aubree. We could get a house in town or something.”
“With what money?” she asks. “Also, I like being near the farm. I like being near Ryland to help him out. I’m not going to move just to accommodate your asinine idea.”
