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“No sex,” she said, picking a mushroom off her slice. “Never ever—”
“Of course,” I agreed, interrupting her. In no version of this marriage would I ever consider sex. Okay, maybe that wasn’t quite the truth. But obviously, we would never go there. We weren’t attracted to each other like that.
I took another bite to buy myself some time. It was a logical and useful rule to establish. And every single neuron in my brain knew that I could never, ever cross that line with Hazel. Out of respect for her and for Dylan. This could only work if we kept it friendly.
So why did hearing her say it bother me so much? It was like the moment she said it out loud, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about it. I imagined slowly sliding the strap of her tank top down her delicate shoulder and kissing the spot at the base of her neck. Then I shook myself out of my stupor and chugged my ice water. These were the exact kinds of thoughts I’d have to learn to control if I wanted this to work.
“That’s the most important thing. To keep things platonic,” she continued. “Let’s not do anything stupid.”
“Totally platonic,” I said, nodding a little too vigorously.
She pulled a threadbare blanket around her shoulders and shifted to face me, crossing her legs in front of her. “Okay, let’s think this through for real. We get married next week.”
“And I’ll add you to my insurance the next day. Our policies kick in immediately. Then you schedule your surgery.”
“It’ll probably be a few weeks before they can get me in at the surgery center, and then I’ve got to recover.”
I drop what’s left of my crust onto my plate and wipe my hands on a napkin. “Competition season starts in late June and goes through early fall. You’ll have plenty of time to work on your dissertation while I train. And when I travel, you come with me, help me handle Crystal and Cedric, and make me look responsible to potential sponsors. Hopefully, I can qualify for nationals, which will take everything to the next level.”
She tapped her chin. “So we need to stay married for what? Six months? A year?”
“You decide. How long will it take to finish your dissertation and land a job with good health benefits?”
She shrugged. “Probably a year. That’s too long…”
A year of being married to Hazel. Not something I would have ever thought would happen, but it didn’t sound so bad. I had no interest in women after the Crystal debacle, and Hazel’s focus and work ethic were bound to rub off on me. “Nope. Works for me. And you can get follow-up care. Anything you need—physical therapy, a dietitian, medicine. I mean it. I want you to take care of yourself.” Glass of water in hand, I gave her my most serious look. One that didn’t make appearances very often.
She leaned forward, pushing her glasses up.
It took Herculean willpower not to sneak a peek at her cleavage in the process.
“I have one, um, request.” She looked down at her hands, which were shredding a takeout napkin.
“Anything.”
“Can we not tell everyone it’s, you know, fake?” She stood and started pacing around the room. “Lovewell has always supported me and believed in me. And I want to make this place proud. But I’m embarrassed. And taking charity from you—”
“It’s not charity,” I interrupted, standing as well. “It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement to benefit your health.”
“Sure. But I feel pathetic. The trailer park orphan can’t even take care of herself at twenty-eight. You know how people talk.”
“Yes. I know how people talk. You should hear the things they’ve been saying about me for the past six months. And no one is going to look down on you for needing health insurance.”
She winced.
“But I respect that. We’ll come up with a story for the town gossip mill. We won’t tell anyone but Dylan.”
“And Lydia.”
“Sure. And Lydia.”
She dropped her shoulders in acquiescence. “So I have a year to get healthy, and you have a year to become a professional lumberjack?”
“Sounds like a solid plan.”
We spent the next hour making up our cover story. It probably wouldn’t have taken so long, but we spent most of that time laughing as I offered one crazy suggestion after the next. I loved making Hazel laugh.
“Witness protection?”
