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Chapter 18
Torin
Shock rocks through my body. I stare at her. Then I look toward the front of the SUV. Linnea has pivoted in her seat and Jonah is staring at us in the rearview mirror.
“Road,” I say to him.
He jerks his attention back to the street in front of the SUV.
Then I look at Abigail again. She’s just watching me.
Maybe I misheard her. Because what she just said is something that I want to hear and do so much that it's possible I made it up.
“What?” I finally ask simply.
“I’ve been thinking, and I realized that you and I getting married would solve a lot of problems.”
Linnea and Jonah look at one another, then look at me, then look back at Abigail.
“You do?” I ask.
“Yes.” She meets my eyes directly. “These farms are a good idea, Torin. They will be good for Cara.”
I nod. “I know.” My heart is beating so hard, I almost can’t take a deep breath.
“And we’re obviously an amazing team,” she continues, “So, how long do you think it would take for your grandfather to feel like you’re ready to take over the throne?”
“Um…a year?” I say it with a definite question mark at the end. I glance at Linnea and Jonah. Linnea nods and lifts a shoulder. Okay, yeah, a year.
“Great. If we ship in already established plants, then we can have a farm up and running in a few months and then get several programs going within a year,” she says.
“We don’t have to do it all in one year,” I assure her.
She wets her lips. “I think it’s a good idea if we have a timeline. And some established guidelines.”
“Okay.” I want her. I will probably agree to anything that gets my ring on her finger.
“You want the throne. I want a farm that can feed an entire village and proof that it can positively impact the physical and mental health of the people as well as the economic and societal well-being of the village. Cara is perfect because you don’t have any programs already in place and, because you’re the prince, we won’t have to talk to a bunch of people and jump through a bunch of hoops. You can just make them all do what we want. It will be faster and easier to get things established and providing data.”
It’s true. I would like to think I’d use more tact than just ordering people around, but I know Abigail well enough by now to know the lack of administrative bullshit is very appealing.
“I mean, even here in Shreveport, with you fully funding the farm, you still have to convince people to get on board and do paperwork and have inspections. In Cara, we can do whatever we want. Right?” she asks.
I nod. “More or less.” Again, I’m tactful and like to get people on board with ideas and plans, but yes, I can get things done without forms and meetings and approvals.
“Great.” She gives me a smile full of relief. “So that’s the plan. We get married for one year. The goals are you on the throne and a fully functioning farm where we can measure outcomes for the village.”
“What happens after a year?” Jonah asks.
I look up to find him frowning in the rearview mirror.
Abigail shrugs. “We divorce. Or annul it. Or Torin just cancels it or whatever. He’ll be king then. He won’t need a queen.” She looks over at me with a sweet, genuine smile. “Just because his grandfather thinks he does, doesn’t mean it’s true. But we’ll do what needs to be done to get him on that throne. Then he can blame our breakup on the crazy American who never quite assimilated.” Her smile fades and she looks down at our hands as she says, “They’ll probably think I’m weird and stuck up anyway. I won’t be making public appearances or be out amongst the people, so they won’t miss me when I’m gone. They might even be glad I leave.”
I frown. This is her biggest vulnerability, this idea that being introverted and having social anxiety makes her strange or wrong. I will not put her into positions that will make her anxious or uncomfortable, but I also won’t let people think she’s anything but intelligent and passionate and amazing.
“Abigail.” I squeeze her hand and she looks up at me. “No one is going to think you’re weird. They’re going to be enchanted and intrigued.”
She gives me a little smile. “Well, that’s not necessary.”
