The Inheritance (Contemporary Reverse Harem 1)

That’s why I was thrilled to get out of the house and go to work. Hell, I even scheduled the business trip I’d been postponing. I could leave at the end of the week and hopefully just forget about Garnet and the new friends I’d made. I needed to get back into the swing of things at work and focus on my career.

My desk phone rang, and I saw it was Jonesy, the attorney who’d introduced me to Garnet in the first place. I had a few choice words for him.

“Hey,” I said.

“How are things with Garnet?” he asked.

What the hell did he mean by that? There was no way he’d know I’d been seeing her socially. Was there? And he couldn’t know I was now aware of the five million dollars she stood to inherit. And I wasn’t going to let on.

“Um, well, I met with her a couple weeks back just as you asked me to. She didn’t seem ready yet to talk finances. But I’m sure she’ll call me when she is.”

“Uh huh. Right. Okay.”

“Why do you ask? Do you know something different?” I couldn’t be sure whether he was calling my bluff or not.

“No, just wondering where things

were. I’ll check in with you again next week, if you don’t mind.”

“Don’t mind at all. Good talking to you.”

Now that was an odd call. He’d sent me to Garnet knowing she might be inheriting a pile of money. But he didn’t tell me that, and he had no way of knowing whether or not I’d found out yet.

I didn’t give a damn about the money. All I knew was I wanted Garnet in my life, hopefully as my girl, but if not, I’d accept her as my friend. And I really didn’t want to lose the new buddies I had. They were great guys, and the cool thing was none of us got jealous when another was with Garnet. We all had our own lives and were busy as hell, so it was good to know someone else could take care of her when one of us couldn’t.

An odd arrangement, sure. But actually, it was a perfect one, too.

Chapter 25

Garnet

I felt bad for fleeing the dinner table when I had a few nights before, but I was suddenly overwhelmed with the fact that I held the future of four wonderful men in my hands. It was a weighty responsibility, and one I did not feel worthy of. I got back to my room and cried for the better part of an hour until I passed out. I stayed in my room for most of the next day until it was time to go to work. I slipped out of the house quietly and headed into the city.

It still baffled me that Grandpa would have required me to be married to inherit his estate. I mean, who considered a requirement like that, especially when they give you only thirty days to do it? It just made no sense. It was freaking impossible. The first time the attorney came to see me, I should have told him to take a hike. The whole thing was a stupid waste of everyone’s time.

On the other hand, I suppose I would have met the four guys, anyway, regardless of Grandpa’s passing. Right? Or could meeting them have been something he orchestrated, like he did my craziness in trying to qualify for his money?

I suppose if I had to, I could just ask Win to marry me. I mean, he’d been on Cordy’s property for years, and god knew if anyone deserved to benefit from that, it was he. Of course, if I inherited the property, no matter who I married, I could let Win stay. So I supposed I could marry Brose, because those two were sort of a package deal. But where would that leave Linc and Nat?

I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting either of them. Linc, who was so sweet and shy, and Nat, who was trying his hardest to break out of his corporate rut. They treated me like royalty, and I loved them for it.

Oh, shit. Did I just say love?

I meant liked. I liked them. A lot.

Plus, I’d never had sex like that before. Never, ever. And probably never would again.

My cell rang, and I saw it was Linc. I jumped to answer it, even though I probably shouldn’t have.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hey, beautiful. Do you have a few minutes?” he asked.

“Yeah. The bar doesn’t open for another half hour.”

“Can I come over to talk?”

“Of course,” I said, my heart pounding. Was this the day he was going to tell me to take a hike? That he’d had enough drama, and besides wasn’t about to share a woman on an ongoing basis?