As if on cue, a car horn that played the first few bars of the Star Wars theme tune blasted from the street below them.
“And you think you know how to get rid of these guys?” she sc
offed at him.
“Aye, I do. All you need to do to make them leave is get married.” He spread his arms wide and gave her a lazy smile. “I’m offering myself up as the sacrificial lamb.”
The two sisters gave him identical open-mouthed looks.
“Are you out of your mind?” Mairi snapped. “I don’t want to marry anyone. Especially you. Go away. This isn’t funny. Go amuse yourself somewhere else.”
She shoved his chest to get him out of the doorway. It was like a butterfly trying to move a gorilla. He didn’t even sway. All he did was feel the heat of her touch sear through his shirt and make his skin tingle. He had to clench his hands tight to stop from reaching for her.
“Think about it,” Keir said. “We get married, they go away, and then we get divorced.” The last bit was a lie. If he managed to legally tie Mairi to him, there was no way he was letting her go.
“Over my dead body.” She shoved him again and made that cute little growling noise when he didn’t budge.
“It will make all your problems disappear,” he said.
“Only to replace them with another six-foot-two problem.” She put her fists on her hips. “Will you just leave?”
“Sure.” He took his own sweet time over pushing away from the doorframe. “But the offer still stands. I’m sure we could make the most of a wedding night, sweet cheeks, so it wouldn’t be a total loss.” He watched her flush and knew she was remembering the one amazing night they’d had together—before he’d blown everything they’d been building together. “Think about it. You know where to find me when you make up your mind.”
He turned and sauntered for the stairs, unsurprised to hear the door slam behind him.
???
“It isn’t a bad idea,” Agnes said, as Mairi stared at the closed door.
“Are you out of your mind too? It’s a terrible idea.”
The words came out with far more of a quaver than Mairi intended. Keir did that to her. He destabilized her foundations. He was her kryptonite. Around him, she was weak. She hung her head in disgust. Three years dealing with geeks, and even her private thoughts were peppered with comic book metaphors.
“You’d rather marry a guy you don’t know, to get out of this mess?” Agnes said.
“I’m not getting married at all. Especially if my options are a bunch of guys I’m paid to date and an ex-convict who lives to drive me insane.”
“Don’t call him that. He made a mistake. We all do.”
“My mistakes don’t send me to prison.”
“That’s only by the grace of God.” Agnes picked up her briefcase. “You said it yourself, these guys aren’t going to go away. Keir’s idea has merit. You go through with the ceremony. You show the geeks the certificate, and then you divorce Keir.”
“And then what?” Mairi threw herself onto their lumpy secondhand sofa. “If I marry someone, I lose my job. It’s not like I can carry on being a fake girlfriend when I have a husband at home.”
Agnes’ face softened. “Maybe it’s time to find a new job.”
“Where?” Mairi spread her arms wide. “Arness has two businesses. We live above one, and the local dragon runs the other.” She was not working in the local shop. Dragons were meant to be slain. She sure as hell wasn’t going to let one boss her around.
Agnes bit her bottom lip and looked unsure of herself for a second. “Maybe it’s time to leave Arness. Once I get my final exam results, I’m applying for the management job at the Ferguson hotel. I’m bound to get it. I know that hotel better than the owner. It’s a good salary, and I can finance you while you figure out what to do next. It’s the least I can do. You’ve carried the burden while I studied.”
“I can’t think about leaving Arness right now.” And to be honest, just saying the words made Mairi feel sick with anxiety. Arness was pretty much all she knew, and the big wide world suddenly seemed pretty damn terrifying. She snorted. So much for being a knight set on adventure. She took a deep breath and faced her sister. “I need to get rid of my fake boyfriends, then I’ll think about the future.”
“Honey, the future is already here. It’s beating down your door.” Agnes cast a glance over her shoulder. “Literally.”
“I know, I know.” The rope ladder idea was looking better every minute. “Go. You don’t want to be late.”
There was a scraping noise just outside their front door, and then it crashed open. Their middle sister stumbled in, apologizing to Amir, who was now sitting on the top step outside their apartment, cradling his hand against his chest.