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This time it’s both of his hands that cradle my face as he angles my head to look up at him. “My wife.” The words are a deep, rumbly growl from his lips. “Mine, Mo. There will be no one else. I’m not an animal. I can abstain for however long it takes.”
Desire courses through my veins like hot lava rolling down a mountainside. Heat pools between my thighs. It wasn’t my intention to anger him, but damn, he’s hot when he’s fired up. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Legend. I just thought it was important that we discuss it before we announced to the world that we are an us.”
“What about you?” he asks. “Can you go without?”
“Trust me. You have nothing to worry about.”
He nods and drops his hands but doesn’t step back. “So, we’re doing this? We’re going to tell everyone we’ve been dating for a while? Get engaged, get married, and be married for a year?”
“Give or take.” I shrug. “We’ll stay married as long as we need to.”
“The letter outlined a year.”
“We can’t very well run and get divorced that afternoon or the next day. Once the money is yours and in your account, we’ll end things.”
“Monroe.” He bends his head, resting his forehead against mine. His arms wrap around me. “This is huge. What you’re doing for me, and for my family. I promise you, I’ll be the best fake husband you could ever dream up. I’ll also take care of you when this is over. I know you said you don’t want money, but I’ll find a way to repay you.”
My heart melts at his words. I don’t want any of that. I don’t want a cut of his inheritance.. I just want to help him. I’m happy that I’m able to do this for him. “Just be happy. Don’t let their negativity steal your light. You walked into this house today with the weight of the world on your shoulders. I hate seeing you that way.”
“You’re one of a kind, Monroe Morrison.”
“Right back at ya, boyfriend.”
He pulls back, kisses my forehead, and takes my hand, lacing our fingers. “We might as well get used to this.”
“Yeah,” I agree, feeling the warmth of his hold spread up my arm. He gives me a smile, a genuine Legend smile, and leads me out of the room and back downstairs.
As soon as we enter the living room, conversation stops and all eyes are on us. “Have you met my girlfriend?” Legend asks.
He leads me into the room, and back to the love seat, pulling me onto his lap. We tell them what we’ve decided and swear them all to secrecy. I know in my heart this is the right thing. It’s eighteen months, tops. I’ll focus on my job, save money, and at the end of this, I’ll find my own place and start my life.
I glance at my best friend, who is snuggled up on her husband's lap. I might never find that kind of love, so this… this will give me a small taste of what that kind of love and devotion would feel like. If I know anything about Legend, it’s that he’s a good man and a man of his word. He’ll be good to me. I just have to remind myself that this isn’t real.
Let the adventure begin.
CHAPTER
FIVE
Legend
It’s Monday morning, and I’m dragging ass. I slept like shit last night. I’m not sure what I expected, considering my life just got flipped upside down.
I’m getting married.
To Monroe.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of this. She volunteered without hesitation, and no matter what I tossed at her, she wasn’t backing down. That girl has a heart the size of Texas. Is this a good idea? Probably not. Are we doing it anyway? Yes, we are.
Starting today.
Everlasting Ink is usually closed on Sundays and Mondays. However, we shut down on Saturday for the wedding, so we moved the clients that were able to today. Monroe is not in today. She works four ten-hour days. Her day off fluctuates, but today she’s free. She’s bringing me lunch, and we’re starting small. Letting the Everlasting Ink staff know about us. Forrest referred to it as a soft opening. It sounds crazy, but when you think about it, it makes sense. Small doses to get the word out there and for us to get used to being… close to one another. Closer than our flirting and banter made us before.
It’s a ruse. All of it. However, I still find myself watching the clock, waiting for the moment my new girlfriend gets here with lunch. It’s not because I’m hungry. That alone tells me this is a terrible fucking idea, but even knowing that, I’m not stopping it. There’s something about the idea of her being mine. She’s not really mine, but she will be for a while, and that’s fucking with my head. I’ve never thought much about getting married. I assumed one day I’d find the one I couldn’t live without, and it would happen. Now that it’s here, it feels wrong, yet there’s a small part of me that knows it also feels right.
The money can do a lot of good for the people I love. I wouldn’t be doing this if it were anyone other than Monroe. She’s a fucking knockout, and she’s going to be my wife. There’s a reason why I’ve always shamelessly flirted back with her all of these years. It wasn’t just for fun. I can admit that.
Since the moment she spoke up last night, she’s all I can think about. Not the money. Not deceiving our families. Her.
