“Last night, when I asked you what this was all about, you said Grant. And I want to know who the asshole is before I get his DNA on my knuckles.”
“Okay, first of all, settle down, Rocky. Second of all, you think if aguywas bothering me, I wouldn’t be able to hand him his nuts?”
“I know you can. Beau and I made sure of that. But I still want to know who the hell Grant is so I can pay him a visit.”
“Not awho. Awhat.”
“I’m not following.”
I exhaled a deep sigh and sank back in my chair, knowing he wouldn’t stop until I’d spilled it all. “I’m fucking up everything.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“It’s true. Everything’s breaking—the farm, my back, our bank account. I’m drowning.”
“I know.” Lincoln leaned forward, his gaze intent on me, and I didn’t dare look away. “You about ready to let someone else help?”
I would’ve laughed if I weren’t close to tears. No, I wasn’t. Even with everything that was happening, I wasn’t about to ask for assistance. I could do this on my own.
“Not someone, but I thought I found somethingthat could help. A grant, specifically for small farms.”
His brows lifted. “That sounds perfect. What can I do? Fill out forms? Make copies? Mail some shit?”
I breathed out a humorless laugh and shook my head. “There’s nothing you can do unless you can rewrite my entire life.”
“That sounds a hell of a lot more dismal than what you just said. Spell it out for me.”
“I read the fine print last night, which led to me drinking my weight in tequila. Turns out the grant isn’t available to solo applicants. They want to invest in family farms run byfamilies. Couples, at the very least. And since Dad died and Mom left, I don’t have anyone.”
“Your brother would be pretty pissed to hear that.”
I rolled my eyes. “My brother is halfway around the world playing hero with vaccines and IV drips. Besides, I’m pretty sure they mean a spouse or children. And I’ve got neither.”
Lincoln leaned back in his chair, scratching his bare abs, and shrugged…the picture of ease. “So, we get married.”
This time, I choked on a sip of coffee, my eyes wide and watering as I stared at him.
“Excuse me?” I managed to croak out.
“Married,” he enunciated. “You need a family? I’m a family. One whole legally eligible husband, right here.”
“Youcannotbe serious.”
“Why not? We get hitched, you qualify for the grant, and I get the insider hookup on your fucking delicious jam. Sounds like a win to me.”
“Sounds likeinsanityto me.”
“I prefer to call it resourcefulness. You need help. I have a Ring Pop and no commitments.” He leaned forward, his brow quirked. “Unless you’d rather go about it another way…”
“You mean, not at all?”
He grinned, wide and teasing and completely unrepentant. “I mean, getting married isn’t the only way to make you a family.I could also do what your latest book boyfriend excelled at and breed you…”
My mouth dropped open on an incredulous breath. “You did not just say that to me.”
“Oh, I absolutely did. And I’m ready to put my mouth—and my swimmers—where my money is.”
“You’re an idiotanda jackass.”
