The Favor

“You’re really starting to worry me now.” I glanced around and shrugged. “We can use the bathroom.”

We headed inside the restroom. After I’d checked that it was empty of people, I locked the main door and turned to Melinda. “Go on.”

She nervously rubbed her hands together. “I’m sorry in advance if any of this hurts you, but you have a right to know.”

“Okay.”

“Dane’s brother, Travis, came to see me. He was very nice, very polite. And very concerned for you.”

Oh, Lord. “Melinda—”

“He told me something. Something that has me very worried. He wanted to come to you about it, but he thought it might be less hard on you if you heard it from someone you love. Dane has a trust fund, Vienna. Hugh left it to him. But there are conditions. He has to be married before he can access it, and he has to be married before he’s thirty-eight or he can never touch it. Dane’s thirty-seven now.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “And?”

She looked at me, bewildered. “In light of that, don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that Dane pushed you to marry him so soon? I’m not saying he doesn’t care for you. I believe he does. But I also believe there’s a good chance that he only wanted to marry you so fast because he wanted to get his hands on the trust fund.”

God, Travis was such a bastard. “Have you told my father?” Because Simon might very well lose his shit.

“No. I haven’t even told Wyatt yet. I wanted to tell you first.” She touched my arm. “I’m sorry to be the person who gives you this news. I know that it must hurt.”

“I already knew about the trust fund.”

She gaped. “You knew?”

I nodded. “I’ve known about it since before Dane and I started dating. He told me himself.”

“And it didn’t ring any alarm bells when he proposed so soon? You didn’t think to ask him to wait a while just to see what he’d say?”

Ugh, now I was going to have to tell even more freaking lies than I already had. “He didn’t push me into marrying him in Vegas, Melinda. He said he’d like me to, but that he’d give me a fairytale wedding back at home if that was really what I wanted.”

“Then why didn’t you wait?”

“Because it wasn’t really the dress and reception and flowers that I wanted. I just wanted him. I’ve always wanted him. Travis isn’t the nice man he pretended to be. He neglected to tell you a few things. Like that he’s well aware I know about all this. Like that he’s been trying to cause trouble between me and Dane for a while. Like that Dane’s trust fund would be divided between his brothers if he didn’t meet the conditions to access it. Travis just wants his share. He isn’t concerned about me. He wants me out of the way, even if it means ruining my and Dane’s marriage.”

Melinda’s expression softened slightly. “Poor Dane. To have his own brother working against him like that …” She exhaled heavily. “I can’t say I’m totally convinced that Dane’s rush to marry you wasn’t prompted by the conditions of the trust fund. It just seems too … iffy for me. And I’m shocked that you’re so wrapped up in him you don’t even care if he proposed so soon for the right reason.”

“And if it had been you and Wyatt? Would you have asked him to wait just to prove to you that what he felt was real?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“I like that I can help him access the trust fund. Dane’s a man who has pretty much everything. But this is something that I can do for him that he wouldn’t have been able to do himself. And if we later divorce at some point, I won’t regret that I helped him.”

“Vienna …”

“You said you believe he cares for me.”

“I do.”

“Then can’t that be enough?”

She turned away and thrust a hand through her hair. Seconds ticked by as she said nothing. Finally, she faced me again. “It won’t be enough for Wyatt. He’s a suspicious creature. He’s going to want to talk to Dane about this.”

And that “talk” would no doubt get heated fast. “I’d imagine that’s what Travis hoped for.”

“What?”

“That you, Wyatt, and Simon would all turn on Dane. Just bear that in mind when you tell Wyatt what Travis told you, and ask Wyatt to bear it in mind, too.” I escorted Melinda to the elevator. I waited until it began to descend before heading to Dane’s office.

I knocked on the door, and he quickly bid me to enter. I walked in, closed the door behind me, and leaned back against it with a heavy sigh.

His brow quirked. “Problem?”

“Travis has been up to his old tricks again.” I pushed away from the door, took the seat opposite him, and brought him up to speed. “Melinda doesn’t suspect that the marriage is fake. She believes you ‘care’ for me; she’s just not so sure that you married me so soon purely because you care for me.”