I held up my flute. “What should we toast to?”
She said something under her breath that sounded like Mason, but that couldn’t have been right.
“How about to a civil marriage?” I suggested.
She clicked her glass with mine. Her green eyes watching me over the rim as she drank.
Outside the wind blew and lightning streaked across the sky.
“It seems like a bad omen,” she said, turning her attention to the storm.
8
Erica
I was mad. Not mad as in angry, but mad as in crazy. I had to be crazy to go along with this nutty idea. But each time I started to call it off, I thought of my precious Mason and all the treatment he’d need. I wanted to put off this wedding nonsense until Mason was discharged from the hospital. But I also had to make sure I had the money I’d need to care for his ongoing treatment, which would likely involve heart surgery at some point, according to my research.
So, I stayed the night in a guestroom, calling my mother who was staying with Mason. I had already told her what I was doing and while she thought it was crazy too, she also knew it was best to ensure that Mason would have everything he needed.
“He
won’t hurt you, will he?” my mother had asked when I explained how Simon proposed a fake marriage.
“Physically?”
“Any way, but yes, that.”
“He’s never been violent that I know of. He was sweet with me before.” Even after all these years, it was difficult to reconcile the man I’d loved with the man I was about to marry for money.
“I don’t like it, but it’s short term. If you don’t have to live with him, and it will get Mason what he needs, then I support you.”
I hugged her, feeling so grateful to have her in my life. “I love you mom.”
“I love you too, baby. Now, go get married.”
I slept in fits, and it wasn’t because of the storm. When I woke, I dressed in the outfit I’d worn there since I hadn’t planned to stay the night so I didn’t bring a change of clothes.
I walked down the stairs and Marvin met me at the landing. “There’s coffee and breakfast in the nook off the kitchen. Mr. Stark is there already.” I checked my watch. He was still an early riser I noted.
“Thank you, ah…”
He smiled. “You can call me Marvin.”
“Thank you, Marvin.”
When I got to the kitchen, I saw Simon sitting in a large windowed room that I wouldn’t have called a nook, but perhaps compared to the size of the house, it was a nook.
He looked up and smiled. “Did you sleep okay?”
I shrugged. “Marvin said you had coffee?”
“Yes. Here.” He held up a carafe and motioned for me to sit across from him as he poured a cup. “I have the prenup.”
“Is your lawyer a vampire? How did he get it done so fast?” I sipped the coffee, and I had to concede Simon still had the best brew of any I’d ever tasted.
“My lawyer is a she, and she works when I need her to. She’s paid well for it.” He handed me a manila folder. “Read it through and let me know what you think.”
I pulled out the papers and read. The house was there. So was the money. And then there was more. A hundred thousand now, plus an extra $100,000 for each month we stayed married, with a six-month marriage required.