Total pages in book: 190
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
I swallowed a mouthful of water. “Probably.”
She grinned. “And I get to keep the house, right?”
“You get that opportunistic streak from Dad, you know.”
“I know. It’s a flaw, but it works for me, Mrs. Mercier.”
Shooting her a dark look, I set the bottle on the table. “Don’t do that.”
“You’ll go by that title soon. Might as well get used to it. It suits you.”
I waved a hand. “Whatever. Eat your fries.”
“Sure thing, Mrs. Mercier.”
“I said, don’t.”
Chapter Seven
Having been told that I’d find Sabrina in the break room, I walked into said room the next morning. The smells of coffee, toast, and citrus-scented cleaner greeted me.
It was a typical break room. Lockers lined the cream walls near the vending machine. Four plastic lemon chairs gathered around each of the three circular white tables. The contemporary kitchenette featured all the necessary appliances.
Seeing that no others were inside, I asked, “What’s the fastest we’ve ever put together a wedding?”
Pressing buttons on the coffee machine, she slid me a quick glance. “Hmm, I don’t know, birthday girl. Probably a week, maybe less. We have a potential client who’s in a rush to get married, I take it.”
I propped my hip against the black, granite countertop. “He wants the ceremony done asap.”
As the machine in front of her whirred to life, she asked, “Anyone I know?”
“Yes. It’s Dax Mercier.”
She whirled to face me so fast it was a wonder she didn’t stagger and fall. Her expression turning all soft, she rested a hand on my shoulder. “Aw, sweetie. I’m guessing that can’t be the easiest thing to hear. I mean, I know you’re not holding a candle for him, but your hormones must be devastated. Who’s the bride? Anyone we know?”
I scratched at my neck. “It’s me.”
“What’s that now?”
“It’s me. I’m the bride.”
She gawked at me, her hand sliding off my shoulder as her arm flopped to her side. “He proposed to you?”
“Don’t think it was a romantic proposal,” I cautioned. “We made a dumb pact when we were mid-fling that we’d marry if both unattached when I hit thirty.”
Her brows met. “How come you never said anything about it to me?”
“I wasn’t being serious. I didn’t think he was either.”
Her eyes narrowing in suspicion, she folded her arms. “He asked this of you when you went to his office last week, didn’t he? That’s why you were acting weird.”
I braced one hand on the counter, careful not to knock over the box of teabags. “Yes.”
“And you said nothing to me why?”
“I hadn’t decided whether I’d go through with it at that point. I told him I needed time to think. He said he’d give me a week. I would have run it by you if I’d thought you’d contribute objective pros and cons. But all you would have done is urge me to go through with it because that’s what you’d have done in my shoes.”
“Well, we only live this life once. We might as well pounce on every opportunity given.”
I shot her a meaningful look. “See?”
She huffed. “Did you tell anyone else?”
“Only Alicia and Brooks. I knew they’d keep it to themselves.”
“I’m your BFF, but I’m the third to know?” Looking like she’d trapped a wasp in her mouth, she shook her head hard.
“I needed to talk to someone who’d help me work out what was the best thing for me to do, not urge me to push aside my hesitations. But I’m telling you now.” I straightened. “Not even Dax knows I’m going to marry him yet. You’re learning of it before him.”
That seemed to placate her ever so slightly. “You’re really going to do this?”
“I might not have if he hadn’t made such a compelling argument as to why I should. But I’ve done a lot of thinking and, well, it boils down to this: Like him, I don’t think I’ll find what I once lost. If that is the case, it means I’ll be ‘settling’ when I choose who to build a life with anyway, so is it worth waiting for this person to appear in my life? Especially when there’s a possibility I might not find them until it’s too late for me to have children?”
“When you put it that way, I guess not.”
“In Dax, I won’t have a husband who loves me. But I’ll be able to count on him in other ways. We have a connection of sorts—it’s only sexual, sure, but maybe we can build on that. Also, we both want the same things, and I know he won’t be a deadbeat dad. And, well, what’s the worst that could happen if we went through with it and it didn’t work out? We’d later get divorced.” That was it. People “in love” did that, too, so …
A reluctant smile pulled at one corner of her mouth. “I can see that you’ve really thought this through. If it’s truly what you want, I’m behind you. But let’s be honest … Ollie and your parents won’t be happy about it.”