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)
The next day, I was in the middle of placing an online order for rental equipment for an upcoming event when a curt knock came on my office door. I looked up from my laptop. “Yeah?”
Sabrina opened the door and poked her head inside. “You have a visitor,” she said, her smile a little strained.
I felt my brow crease. I’d checked my schedule earlier—there were no appointments listed for today here at my office. “Visitor?”
She tucked a curl behind her ear. “It’s, um, Dax’s mom.”
I tensed, my gut twisting. “Oh.” Shit, this might not be good. Dax had said that he believed she truly was behind him as she claimed, but that wasn’t to say she hadn’t changed her tune. “Send her in.” I sat up straighter and closed my laptop.
It was mere moments later that a super pretty dark-haired woman with mismatched eyes entered the room. Her posture wasn’t tense or confrontational. But her steps were a little uncertain, as if she felt somewhat awkward.
Samesies, lady.
I pushed out of my chair, rounded my desk, and held out my hand with a smile. “It’s good to see you again, Mrs. Mercier.” Unless she was about to ream my ass, though it wasn’t the impression I was getting.
She shook my hand. “Kensey is fine.”
“Call me Addie or Addison, whichever you prefer.” I gestured at the chair Sabrina often claimed. “Have a seat.” I returned to my chair and rested my clasped hands on the desk.
Her gaze fell to my hand. “That’s quite a ring,” she said, her smile weak.
I looked at her own ring finger. “Right back at you.” Her wedding band was just as exquisite. “So, what can I do for you?” I asked, proud of how remarkably at ease I sounded when, in fact, I felt the complete opposite.
She sat up a little straighter. “I was hoping we could talk.”
“Of course.”
She raised one hand slightly. “Don’t take this the wrong way …”
“But you’re struggling to support Dax’s choice,” I guessed.
She gave me a sheepish look. “That’s the crux of the situation, yeah.”
“I get it. He’s your son. You’d rather he marry for the more obvious reasons. You’d rather have a better guarantee that he’ll be happy with whoever he ties himself to. I don’t at all blame you.” I’d feel the same if it were my son.
Her head tipped to the side. “Dax wasn’t clear on what your reasons are for marrying him. I mean, I know about the pact. But you’re not required to stick to your word. Why do it?”
“Because his persuasion techniques are off the charts,” I muttered.
She chuckled with a slow nod. “He’s always been good at getting his way.”
“My reasons … I don’t know if I can make you fully understand. To many others, my decision probably seems like an overreaction to my circumstances. But, to put it simply, I’m tired of waiting for what I want to come to me. It hasn’t happened. Maybe it would one day if I held out longer, but then it might not.”
Of all the men in my past other than Lake, only one stood out; only one never let me down; only one made their mark on me. That was Dax. If it hadn’t been for that, I might not have agreed to keep my word—I couldn’t be sure.
“I did some research on marriage pacts recently,” I told Kensey. “I saw plenty of success stories. I’m hoping that can apply to me and Dax.”
“I hold that same hope, but at the moment I’m kind of skeptical. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to ask that you call off the wedding. You’re both adults. Your choices are your own. And I do understand why he’s choosing to do this. But … I suppose I’d just like to hear that you feel something for him. Even if it’s only plain regard. Which may be unrealistic of me, but I hate the thought of him being stuck in an empty marriage.”
I sat back in my chair. “I won’t lie to you, I can’t claim to love him. But I trust him. I respect him. I would never deliberately hurt him. And I hope we can build something good and strong. Like him, I don’t intend for this to be a cold marriage.”
“That does make me feel a little better.” She sighed. “I worry that you two are making a mistake but, as I told Dax, I’m fully behind him if this is truly what he wants. I mean it. I’m telling you this because I think, in your shoes, I’d worry that his family was against me. We’re not. We’re all on the same side.”
I gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you.” I had been fretting that his parents would give me the cold shoulder.
“Not that I can honestly say Blake isn’t finding this hard to understand. But he has no issue at all with you. Only with the situation. He doesn’t fully get why Dax would consider this his best option.”