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Dax dipped his chin. “I’ll have that covered.”
“Okay,” I replied, pulling the fridge door open. “I can take care of the logistics of the wedding, but I’ll need your guest list.” I paused as I began placing vegetables in one of the fridge drawers. “Email it to me when you can.”
“I’ll get it to you tomorrow.”
“Do all your family members know about the pact?”
“Only my brothers.” Unlinking his fingers, Dax began tapping them gently on the island. “They’re supportive of it. Now that I know we’re definitely going ahead with the wedding, I plan to tell the rest of my family. Probably tomorrow.”
I slid a tray of eggs onto a fridge shelf. “How do you foresee them reacting?”
“They’ll no doubt be surprised. Maybe even disappointed, to a certain extent. They’ll want more for me than an arranged marriage. But they’ll understand and respect my reasons, and they’ll accept you just as Caelan did. It’s how they are.”
Personally, I thought it was possible that he was being a little too optimistic. But I didn’t know any of them well enough to be sure. I’d only met them a few times.
I carefully positioned a milk jug in one of the side compartments. “I told my family yesterday, because I knew then that I’d give you a yes. There was some ranting and raving, but they calmed down and swore they’d support me in this.” I nudged the fridge door shut with my elbow. “I warned them before I left that if they felt the need to contact you they needed to wait until this evening so I had a chance to talk to you first.”
“Dane will probably ask that I reconsider this.”
“Several times,” I hedged, moving onto the next bag of groceries. “He’s persistent. I don’t doubt that he’ll pester me the same way during the run-up to the wedding. Others will as well—possibly from both my familyandyours.”
“It will be a waste of their time.” He gave me a pointed look. “I won’t change my mind.”
“Neither will I.” I placed the loaf in the bread bin, stupidly almost trapping my fingers. “What exactly do you want out of this marital arrangement? Just to be clear.”
His gaze snared mine, a warning and a promise there. “It may be an arrangement, Addison, but we’re not going to have separate bedrooms or any of that shit. You’ll sleep next to me, where you’ll belong.”
As thoughts of what would happen in his bed—well, it would beourbed—slinked through my mind, butterflies took wing in my stomach. “I had no intention of doing anything else.” I paused. “We’re both busy people, but I think it’s important we spend time together at home the way any normal couple would.”
“Agreed. You’ll be my wife, not my housemate. Our behavior should reflect that.”
Relief fluttered in my chest. It was only then I realized I’d worried he had some notion that, to a large degree, we’d live separate lives. I wouldn’t want any children we had to thinkthatwas what a relationship should be. “So we can be friends, then?”
“Friends?” he echoed, tasting the word. “Yes, we can be that. It wouldn’t have worked before.”
Back when we weren’t “involved” with each other, he meant. And no, it wouldn’t have worked, because we’d have crossed platonic lines for certain. “Good. If we’re going to parent children together, we should at least be friends. How many kids do you want?” I really hoped they had his mismatched eyes—a silly thought, maybe, but I loved them.
“I don’t have a specific number in mind.” He twisted his mouth, his expression thoughtful. “Two at a minimum.”
“Works for me.”
“I suggest we don’t try to conceive straight away. We should take at least eight months to get settled and find our balance.”
“I agree.” It would be both stupid and selfish to bring a child into the kind of situation we’d be navigating until, as he’d said, we found our balance. “Where is it exactly you want us to live?” I asked, placing some spices on the counter rack.
“My villa here in Oakengrove. Come visit me there tomorrow evening. We’ll have dinner. I’ll show you around. You don’t like it, we’ll move.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. I wouldn’t live in a place I didn’t like. Do you think I’d ask it of you?”
“No, I guess not.” I shoved tins of cat food into one of the lower cupboards, which reminded me … “I’ll be bringing Gypsy when I move. My cat.”
“Not an issue. Anything else you want to get straight?”
“I think it’s important that we be honest with each other. Good communication will be key for us, considering we don’t have the emotional connection most married couples do.”
“Yes, honesty is important.” An odd glint entered his eyes. “A point which, in fact, brings me to what I meant to ask you after we’d finished our discussion, but now is as good a time as any.”
