“I need a wife.”
She doesn’t say a word, so I continue, glad I got kinda drunk for this. Nerves are clawing through my veins like crazy, but the whiskey makes it tolerable.
“Temporarily, I need a wife. Just long enough to get through the rodeo and get the Montgomerys off my back.”
“Montgomery issothe last name of villains,” she says staunchly, shaking her head, angry on my behalf. That stirs something up behind my ribs.
“Short-term, that’s all I need. And in exchange, I’d offer behind-the-scenes, unlimited access to whatever you want for your film. Anything I originally said no to,” I shake my head, “you can have it. Footage of whatever you want, the pain, the glory, moments with Sadie…” I trail off and find the last thing I can offer, a place I didn’t think I’d go but now that the threat of losing everything is in red ink on the kitchen table, I have to. “I’ll talk about Amelia and how the loss changed me, if you want.” I blink at her, hoping how much I need this isn’t dripping from every word. I only want her to agree if she wants to. I don’t want her to be guilted into it.
Quinn blinks at me as Big Bertha pecks by. The fact she ain’t in the coop doesn’t surprise me, and I ought to jump up and put her ass back but… I can’t take my eyes off of the beautiful, contemplative film-maker sitting on my porch.
“Me?” The word is quiet, hollowed, shock widening her eyes. “You want me to be your fake wife?”
“We’ll annul it quietly sometime after I win.” I shake my head. “You don’t even have to be here. And I’ll blame myself. I’ll say…. whatever you want me to say. But once I win this rodeo, paired with the marriage, the Montgomerys will get off my back. I know it. Plus, a court wouldn’t have a case.”
“So a wife only matters now?”
I nod. “I need to front-load the stability, and once a judge sees I’m stable, the case will die off. The Montgomerys know it. That’s why they’re trying to get her now, when things are the worst for me.”
She peers up at the sky and I give her time while I say a little prayer.
“What will you tell Sadie?” she asks, and I shrug, because the truth is, I haven’t thought that far ahead. Though now I know I should have.
“I’ll tell her the truth, and make her promise not to tell anyone,” I offer, then add, “I won’t lie to her. I won’t make her think it’s real then steal it away. The truth is the only way.”
Quinn clearly likes this reply, because the tenseness in her shoulders dissipates some as she relaxes back against the old wood frame of the rocker.
More silence, more thought, and I continue to watch her beautiful mind work.
“I would never press you about Amelia,” she finally says, her eyes cutting through the burgeoning night, landing on mine. Twisting her small frame in the chair, she stares into my eyes.
More silence, and I grow weary thinking she’s talking herself out of this crazy idea. And I wouldn’t blame her. I don’t want her doing anything she doesn’t want to do, but as such, I have to push.
For Sadie.
“It’s just a signature and a few months of pretending.”
She gets to her feet and I scramble to mine, too. “Can I have the night? To think about it?”
I nod. She smiles.
I walk her through the house, out to her car, and hold the door open while she climbs inside, tossing her camera bags onto the passenger seat.
She blinks up at me, mossy eyes and honey hair, stopping my heart for a second. I feel things for this woman that I haven’t admitted to myself, but I won’t. I won’t admit any of them, ever, because I have to focus on the rodeo, on the custody suit, on saving my girl's future.
“Thank you for being so great with Sadie. It’s made the filming process so much more digestible,” I say, resting my forearm on the side of her car as I peer down at her.
She smiles. “Thank you for warming up to me.”
I don’t know what to say to that, and she can see, so she adds, “And thank you for lunch and dinner. Maybe I’ll get Mabel to join us tomorrow.”
I nod. “Drive safe, Quinn.”
I close her door and stand in the drive until her taillights disappear into the night. In the shower, I find the ache between my legs and get rid of it, the same way I’ve done for the last few years.
Only this time, I’ve got someone on my mind when I do.
CHAPTER 12
