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Cloe hadn’t planned on telling her sisters the truth, but she couldn’t let them continue to worry about her. Her mama and daddy worrying was more than enough. Mimi wasn’t worried at all. She was convinced Cloe had made the right choice and with time love would come. But there would be no time. Something she needed to tell her sisters.
“I’m not staying married to Rome.”
Five pairs of wide eyes stared back at her from her laptop screen. Liberty was the first to snap out of it and laugh. “Why, you devious little con artist. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“You planned this entire thing?” Sweetie asked.
“Planned what?” Noelle leaned closer to the camera, a whisk in her hand. “I don’t get it.”
Hallie threw her hands in the air. “Good Lord, Elle, pull your head out of your social media fantasy world. Cloe married Rome to get Mimi to sell the ranch. As soon as he pays off Daddy’s debt and gets the land, Cloe will get a divorce.”
Noelle blinked. “But that’s really mean. Mimi is counting on keeping our land in the family. She’s going to be heartbroken.”
“Well, she would have been even more heartbroken if she had lost her house and the land,” Sweetie said. “Which is exactly what would have happened if Cloe hadn’t stepped in.” She paused, a worried frown on her face. “But I still don’t know if this was a good idea, Clo. A lot can go wrong. Is Rome in on this?”
“It was his idea.”
“Told you he was smart,” Hallie said. “And I bet it pissed his daddy off to no end that his son married a Holiday. Our daddy is fit to be tied.”
“If Sam is upset, he hasn’t shown it,” Cloe said. “Of course, I get the feeling the Remingtons don’t share their emotions easily.”
Noelle snorted. “Not Casey. He shows his emotions to every girl in town.”
“Ple-e-ease,” Hallie said. “Can you just shut up about Casey Remington already? We get it. You hate him. This isn’t about your weird obsession with Casey. It’s about Cloe taking one for the team.” She bumped the camera with her fist. “Way to go, Clo.”
“Amen,” Liberty said. “I couldn’t have come up with a better plan myself. If I was you, I’d get Mimi to sign over the ranch as soon as possible. You don’t want her finding out you and Rome tricked her until it’s too late for her to do anything about it.”
Cloe cringed at just the thought of her grandmother finding out. “I don’t want her ever finding out. Or Mama and Daddy either. I think they both know why I did what I did, but they still think wedding vows are sacred and should be kept. As does almost every person in town. Which is why y’all need to promise to never tell a soul I planned to divorce Rome all along.”
“Of course we won’t,” Belle said. “But we still should take an oath.” She placed one hand over her heart and lifted her other. “As a sister of the Holiday Secret Sisterhood, I pledge to never tell anyone about Cloe and Rome’s plan or I will be banned from the sisterhood forever.”
The rest of her sisters lifted their hands and repeated after her.
Hallie leaned closer to the camera. “So now for the juicy details. Is sex part of this fake marriage?”
Since Rome caught her naked in the bathroom and the incident on the stairs, Cloe had tried her best to keep all sexual thoughts about Rome out of her head. She had failed miserably. At the most inopportune times images popped into her brain. An image of his hungry eyes when she’d caught him looking at her in the bathroom. Another of his lean, muscled body in nothing but a white towel . . . with an obvious tent. Not only did the images leave her feeling flushed and needy, but they also left her with one question.
Did Rome desire her?
“Well, I don’t see why sex is off the table.” Liberty cut into Cloe’s thoughts. “If you have to live with him, you might as well enjoy it.”
“Stop, Libby,” Belle chastised. “I’m sure Cloe is still too upset over Brandon to be interested in Rome.”
Cloe had been upset. But since running into Brandon and Sabrina at the coffee shop, she’d become more angry than upset. And anger was easier to deal with than hurt.
“Actually,” she said. “I’m over Brandon. Hallie was right. He is a selfish, arrogant asshole. And I’m better off without him.”
“Woot!” Hallie punched the air. “See, if everyone would just listen to me, they’d be much better off. Now let’s go back to you doing the nasty with—”
Before she could finish, Casey walked into the kitchen. “Hey, sis! I thought you might want to go riding so I saddled you up a horse and Lady Grantham is waiting out—” He cut off when he saw the screen of her laptop. “Whoa! Now there is a fine selection of beautiful women if ever I saw one.” He pulled off his hat as he leaned over Cloe’s shoulder. “Good afternoon, ladies.”
“Hey, Casey!” her sisters chorused . . . everyone but Noelle, who just glared.
If he noticed, Casey didn’t let on. “I guess you heard I’m your new outlaw.”
Liberty laughed. “Outlaw?”
“I’m not your in-law, but I figure I’m close enough to still be considered family.”
