“I’ll have dinner for you. Both of you,” Tinsley clarifies. “A wedding dinner.”
“And Leo will be on his best behavior,” Sol declares. When I don’t chime in immediately, Sol gouges me in the side. “Right?”
“Sure.” Because what could go wrong with this plan?
CHAPTER 4
TINSLEY
Knowing I’m going to see Leo at some point today, I take my time getting ready. I know he only finds me annoying, but I can’t help but want to look nice. I want him to think of me as pretty or something. He’s five years older than Sol and me. My mind can only conjure up an idea of what the women he might date look like.
If he is involved in this underground fighting stuff, I imagine half naked girls that are all dolled up screaming his name from the sidelines while he’s in the ring. If there is even a ring. It could be a cage. I clearly know nothing about these things. But I bet all those older women who attend and know what they are doing throw themselves at him whenever they get the chance.
All the knowledge I have of this subject comes from the romance novels I’ve read. I’m not sure how accurate the details are in them.
Not knowing how today is going to play out, I decide on a plum velour dress with long sleeves that will keep me warm. It has crystal buttons in the shape of little bows. I snag a pair of boots, slipping them on before I put a headband in to hold my hair back.
I quickly do a touch of light makeup. My doorbell starts going off. I snag my phone off the charger before leaving my bedroom to go and see who’s at the front door. Mindy beats me there. I didn’t know she was here already. She takes a package from the courier, signing for it.
Mindy has been a staple in my life since I was a little girl. At one time she was my nanny until I went to boarding school. She’s always kept up the home.
“Morning, Mins.”
“You look pretty today.” She gives me a warm smile. “Breakfast?”
“No, thank you.” She hands me the package.
“Cartier? Got yourself something fancy?”
“Kind of. It’s a present actually.”
When I first met Sol, she had complimented me on one of my Cartier bracelets. I had a few on my wrist that day. I pulled one off and gave it to her. She wouldn’t take it at first, but I pushed, showing her that I had a handful on my wrist. She finally agreed to take it. If she had known what it cost, she would have made me take it back. She wears hers every day, and I do the same.
Knowing how much she loved the bracelet, I thought I could get rings that were the same style. We’ll need something for the ceremony.
“Do you need anything from me today?” Mins asks.
“Not that I can think of.” My phone starts to ring. Grant’s name comes across my screen. I ignore it. Mins gives me a knowing look. “I’m headed out.” She gives me a kiss on the cheek before I’m out the door and headed to Sol’s place. The SUV I called for earlier is waiting out front for me.
There has been a change of plans. I emailed the family lawyer late last night telling him my plans to marry. He’d gotten back to me first thing this morning and told me I need to go today and get the marriage license. That both Sol and I had to be there to get it. He also told me that I was out of time. You have to wait twenty-four hours after getting the license to marry, and tomorrow is my deadline.
This is a mess of my own making. I’ve been trying to ignore it. I don’t know why. I foolishly thought that if I did, it would somehow go away. That’s not the case, and now my entire future is on the line. I take a deep breath, trying not to think of the worst-case scenario. Looking on the bright side, at least I have a plan. I text Sol to let her know I’m headed her way along with a screenshot of what Mr. Edwards said about the marriage license.
My phone starts to ring a few moments later. She’s calling me. “Hey,” I answer.
“Sol’s not feeling good,” Leo’s deep voice informs me. “She has a fever, and her stomach is killing her.” I can hear a trace of panic in his voice.
“It’s the flu,” I hear her say, followed by a loud groan.
“This is not the flu, Sol. We’re going to the hospital,” he tells her.
“I’m ten minutes out. I have a car. I’ll take you,” I tell him.
“No! We don’t have insurance. We’re not going to the hospital,” Sol protests.