“Now that you mention it—”
“Shut the fuck up, Silas,” Trent snapped with a growl, glaring in his direction from across the counter. “That was one time, and she said she was thirty-four.”
“Maybe in bra size. That girl was clearly in her late twenties at best.”
“Look, I know this isn’t an ideal situationfor anyoneinvolved, but Dakota and her sister are close; always have been. The secrets of the society are bound to come up, and she doesn’t want to risk destroying the closest relationship she has, and neither do I. Not when I know I can prevent it with your help.”
“Fuck, I’ll marry her if she’s anything like your wife. Have a little spitfire of my own. I saw her the night they both came in. She’sfuckin’ hot.” Silas chimed in, crossing his arms over his chest with a bold grin.
“The ball’s in your court, Trent.” I shrugged my shoulders, giving him one last chance to accept my offer before throwing it to Silas as a last-ditch effort.
They were the only two I’d ever trust to protect Tiffany and treat her well, which is what made the decision easy from the start, and I bet either one of them would fall for her in time.
The only reason I chose Trent was because he was single out of pure fear of falling for a woman and then losing her to the test, like Leighton lost Chloe. He never intended to spend the rest of his life as a bachelor, and if this worked out before Dakota’s target was assigned, they could possibly take it together with both of us assisting.
After a few minutes of silent contemplation and a slight territorial glare at Silas, Trent blew out a sigh with his answer.
“Alright, I’ll do it… But ononecondition.” Standing from the bar, Trent shoved his right hand into his jeans, tipping his hat with the left till we saw eye to eye. “I wanna meet her first. I’m not about to marry a woman whom I,one, don’t know, andtwo, will spend the rest of her life resenting me for it.”
“No woman in her right mind would ever resent a man who fucks her like a God.”
“Silas…” The clear warning in his tone told me that Trent was done with his shit for the evening. “Just shut the fuck up and go home already.”
After giving up a sarcastic two-fingered salute, Silas leaped over the wide counter with a power slide and happily strolled into the back, leaving Trent and me to finish our discussion without his unsolicited commentary.
“As I was saying, I’m not going to make the poor girl miserable for the rest of her life just because her sister wants someone to share her secrets with–” Trent was tough and intimidating as fuck when provoked, but he had a heart of gold, the best a man could have this side of the Mason Dixon. “But if this is what shewants, what shechooses, then I’ll treat her right regardless of our circumstances.”
“The plan isn’t set in stone, at least not yet. Dakota is still working on convincing her that this would be the best option for their future. Hopefully, we’ll know in the next few days.” If we didn’t, they’d definitely be tested individually, and I wasn’t sure how Tiffany would fare on her own. “She won’t force Tiffany into anything against her will. If she’d rather Dakota never tell her anything about her life behind closed doors, then she will make it work.”
“You really think your girl can keep her lips sealed if Tiffany chooses not to do this?”
I sure as fuck hoped so…
Chapter 28
Dakota
IfRhylantaughtmeanything, it was patience.
I waited a few days before confronting Tiffany again. It was my last effort at keeping my sister within arm’s reach without having to shut her out from a significant part of my future.
We weren’t kids anymore, but I never thought there would be a time in our lives where we wouldn’t be close, and this drastic change in lifestyle would eventually drive a wedge between us, potentially fracturing our relationship forever.Because how the hell could I ever explain disappearing out of the blue for weeks at a time?
I may not have known what to expect after my test, but she’d become suspicious at some point.
“Let me ask you this: Do you actually love him, or are you doing this to make some kind of shocking statement? Like all those thirty-something-year-olds that go all dramatic and blow up their lives—or get fuckin’ bangs?” To no surprise,Tiffany had been combative from the start. She was a younger version of me; stubborn, defiant, and occasionally, calling it like it is…a brat.
“If you’re suggesting that my marriage is part of some midlife crisis, then the answer isno.” I’d fallen for Rhylan, with every fiber of my being. But I didn’t expect her to understand how I’d gone from wanting to set his ass on fire to settling down within a matter of weeks. Fuck, I barely grasped the concept myself.
“Are you sure you weren’t in some sort of psychotic episode with the whole shit show with my ex creating a situation that he took advantage of?”
“Okay,Harriet the Spy, enough with the crime fiction analysis. He asked, and I said yes,willingly. There wasn’t any kind of blackmail or coercion. Iwantto be with him.”
“It’s not overanalyzing when you’re the one begging for me to accept an arranged marriage to one of his…friendsjust soyoudon’t have to keep secrets. What is there to hide? What the fuck have you gotten yourself into that would even require something so extreme? Is he working for the mafia? The cartel? A drug dealer?”
“Not… exactly…”
“Worse? What could be worse than a mob boss for a husband?”
