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“Yeah, his wallet is thicker than yours. And he’s smart and successful and has his shit together—all bonuses.” She scribbled them down and then said, “Being married to him would sure help your business. I know Sapphire Glade doesn’tneedhelp. But let’s face it, people will want to hire Dax Mercier’s wife. Oh, and we mustn’t forget to note that he’s hot as a motherfucker.” She did just that. “Is his dick pretty sizeable?”
I felt my eyes widen. “Seriously, Alicia?”
“What? You can’t say such a detail wouldn’t count as a pro. He walks like a man who’s gifted down south, but I’ve known guys who do that and yet don’t have the big equipment to back it up. Is he well-equipped or not?”
“Not.”
Her face fell in disappointment. “Really?”
No. “Maybe.”
She fired me a look of supreme exasperation. “Forget I asked.”
“Planning to. Now, moving right along … His family is solid, and our parents get along. That shouldn’t be overlooked—Dad doesn’t like most people.”
“That’s true,” she agreed, noting it. “Another pro is that you can finally be done with the dating scene.”
I nodded. “There’ll be no more pressure to find someone who I could be serious about. Oh, and I don’t have to worry that Dax has an ulterior motive for getting close to me—he doesn’t need anything from me.”
“Except your hand in marriage. But yeah, I get what you mean.” After she’d added the new points to the column, she sat up with a smile and said, “Ooh, I’d get to be a bridesmaid.”
I felt my brow crease as she wrote it down. “This is about prosfor me.”
“Do you have more?”
“He fucks like a god.”
Alicia chuckled. “Oh, that’s a definite plus.” She noted it and then scanned the list. “You know, this guy is looking more and more attractive as we go on. If you decide you don’t want him, introduce us; I’ll totally consider marrying him.”
I didn’t like how that idea made my stomach hurt. “I thought you were done with men for a while.”
“I could make an exception. Now back to the list … You marrying Dax would make Felicity’s head explode. She’d hate that you’re her cousin-in-law.”
“I’m bitchy enough to find that a pro.”
Alicia smirked. “Me, too. I’m totally writing it down.” We both fell into a pensive silence. She broke it after a few moments, saying, “Hugepro: You’d be moving out, which means this house would then be vacant and I can buy it from you.”
I sighed at her. “Again, this list isfor me.”
“Don’t be selfish. I’m important, too.”
I rolled my eyes. “All right, what else?” I twisted my mouth, thoughtful. “I can’t think of any more pros.”
“Me neither. Time to move onto the cons, then.”
“Okay. Well, first of all, we don’t love each other. And I don’t see that changing. He has completely given up on finding someone he can feel that strongly for again. I’m not even sure he actually wants to be in that emotional position a second time. Not that Ineedhim to love me, especially when I’m not even sure I could return the favor. I just mean it’s a sad situation.”
“Yeah.” A frown slipped over her face. “Honestly, I’m not a big fan of love, though. I’ve only ever been hurt by the guys I fell that hard for.”
“Yeah, same here. With the exception of Lake, of course.”
“But the point remains—love can be more trouble than it’s worth, right?”
Right. “So this isn’t necessarily a con, then,” I mused.
“No. I’d say it can go on both lists. Because just maybe it wouldn’t be bad to build something long-term with someone who you don’t so deeply adore, because then they don’t have the power to hurt you. Or maybe I’m just being cynical. Whatever the case, I’m writing it down in both columns.”
While she did so, I continued, “A big problem is that Dad and Ollie will probably pop a vein on hearing I’m sticking to a fallback marriage pact rather than marrying for love.”
