Page 41 of Bound To Be Mine

“That was different,” I said immediately.

“How?”

“Because Adrian actually liked Elizabeth. He wanted to be with her.”

“And you don’t want to be with Mandy?” Dash asked, grinning. “Because I have it on video that you can’t help falling in love with her.”

I narrowed my eyes at him for quoting my karaoke song. “I don’t even know her.”

“Well, you’re about to get to know her real well,” Sebastian said. “If you’re going to fake a marriage, you’re going to have to make it look convincing. That means spending time together. Being seen together. Acting like a couple.”

I groaned and covered my face with my hands.

“Look on the bright side,” Dash said. “Could be worse.”

“How could this possibly be worse?”

“You could have married someone ugly.”

I glared at him through my fingers. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m just saying,” Dash continued. “If you’re going to be stuck in a fake marriage, at least you got lucky in the looks department. And she’s smart. Successful. So yeah, it could be a lot worse.”

“I hate that you’re making sense right now.”

Sebastian leaned forward. “Here’s what I think. You should work with her on this. Draw up a contract. Make it official. Terms, conditions, duration. That way you both know what you’re agreeing to and there are no surprises.”

“A prenup after the wedding,” I muttered. “That’s backwards.”

“Everything about this is backwards,” Dash pointed out. “Might as well embrace it.”

I sat there for a long moment, thinking. They were right. If I was going to do this, I needed to do it properly. Legally. With clear boundaries and expectations.

“You think I need to add something about my money?” I asked.

“You think she wants your money?” Dash asked.

“She’s not exactly broke,” Sebastian said. “She’s only going to get wealthier.”

“She doesn’t want your money, dude,” Dash said. “I don’t even think she wants you.”

“Don’t remind me.” I rubbed my hands over my face. I still had that murky, groggy feeling and I wasn’t thinking straight.

“Mom is going to shit her pants,” Dash said with a laugh. “I think Adrian was going to tell her. Warn her.”

“What a fucking mess.”

Dash grinned. He was loving this.

“Fine,” I said finally. “I’ll draft something.”

“There you go,” Sebastian said, standing up. “Now we should probably get packed. Flight leaves in a few hours.”

“I’m not going back yet,” I said.

They both looked at me.

“I need to stay here and work this out with Mandy. Figure out the details.” I pulled out my phone. “You two go ahead. Tell Adrian I’ll be back in a couple days.”