The idea had hit him right after Jayden suggested he marry a man. If he had to get married, he knew the perfect man, and he was going to do everything within his power to tie Jayden to him so tightly the man never had a chance to get away.
He knew he wasn't in love with Jayden, not yet, but he was getting pretty damn close. They might have known each other just a few days, but there was something that drew Wilson to Jayden, something he couldn't define. It was what had drawn him to Jayden that first night.
"Wilson—"
"Look, you know as well as I do that everything has to be real. It can't just look real. Any journalist worth his salt is going to look into stuff like that to try and dig up dirt. They will check for a real marriage certificate, to see if I've updated my will, even if we're buying a house together. We have to show them that our marriage is real, or this whole thing is for naught."
"Then I want that lawyer of yours to write up a prenup."
"No."
"Yes."
"No, Jayden." There would be no possibility for divorce, not if he had anything to say about it. This whole thing might have started out as a farce suggested by Jayden, but it had instantly taken root inside of Wilson's head—and heart—as the way to hold on to the handsome man.
There was an undeniable connection between the two of them, and if Jayden wouldn't acknowledge it, Wilson would make it so Jayden never left his side by other means. He didn't care if Jayden was a reporter and had lied to him in the beginning. He'd looked into Jayden's eyes and known he was a good man, a good man he wanted at his side.
"I will not take your money."
Wilson seriously doubted Jayden understood just how much money he actually had. "This is a community property state, Jayden. As soon as we marry, what's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine."
Jayden's eyes rolled.
Wilson chuckled. "You haven't told me whether you want to live here in town or out in the country."
"I have no idea. I live in a one-bedroom apartment in the city. I've always lived in apartments in the city, even when I was a kid. I've never not lived in the middle of skyscrapers and cement. Cade Creek is like an alien world to me. Don't get me wrong. I love it here. I love being so close to nature, but I'm not used to places like this."
Wilson doubted anyone not from here was used to Cade Creek.
"So, you like the idea of a horse ranch then?"
"Honestly, I've never been on a ranch before, so I really have no idea. I've never even seen a horse in real life."
Wilson breathed deep and tried not to let his dismay show. Jayden seemed to have missed as much life as Will had. Granted, from what he knew of the man, he hadn't suffered a much as Will, but he’d still missed a lot.
"Maybe we can go out and visit Ginny at the Blaecleah ranch and you can meet a horse and decide if you like them."
Jayden turned in his seat and faced Wilson. "Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what, darling?"
"That!" Jayden waved his hand at Wilson as he snapped, "I am not your darling."
"Of course you are."
"Gggrrr!" Jayden stomped his foot into the floorboard.
Wilson bit his lip to keep from laughing. Jayden was adorable when he was aggravated. His cheeks grew flushed, and his eyes sparkled with fire.
"You need to get with the program here, Jayden. We are getting married in every legal sense of the word. We are going to have a lavish wedding and a huge reception, and we're going to invite a tremendous amount of people, including the media. After a short, but sweet, honeymoon, we will come home to move into our new house and live happily ever after together."
"At least until the media frenzy dies down."
Not a chance in hell.
"Of course, darling," he answered instead of saying what was really on his mind. He'd create more media frenzy if he had to. It couldn't be that hard. "But until everything calms down, we need to both put a hundred and ten percent into this marriage thing. Lives depend on it."
"Lives?" Jayden's eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead. "It's a scandal, Wilson, not an execution."
