When I hear the door open and close downstairs, I numbly walk to my bed, falling onto the edge, the envelope dangling from my fingers.
Me? Roman Knight’swife?
Well, that was a throwback. This is a little less Beauty and the Beast though and more delusional cowboy using money to fix all his problems.
If only moneydidn’tfix all our problems. That five hundred grand would fixeverything.
Chapter 6
Five hundred thousand paid in advance once the contract is signed, with a further five hundred thousand paid once the contract is complete twelve months after the marriage certificate is supplied. A million dollars and a way out of the crippling debt I am facing.
I won’t lose the bar.
I won’t lose the studio, the truck or the stupid glasses that have my logo on that I am weirdly attached to.
Why am I even considering this?
The whole marrying to divorce isn’t bothering me, but it’s not that clean cut either. There are so many variables, so many things that could go wrong. There’s nothing stopping him coming after the bar or me goingafter part of the ranch. These are things that need to be thought about and discussed at length. Marriages of convenience happen all the time, all over the world, but they take longer than a day or so to organize and plan.
This isn’t simple.
Would it fix this shit show right now? Yes. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have to deal with worse circumstances later down the line, and I don’t have the power or resources the Knight family has.
Positioning my bikini in place, I slip a baggy pair of trousers over the top and pair it with an oversized sweater and then grab my bag before heading downstairs. It was another busy night for the bar last night, and the mess remains, the floor sticky as I walk over it to head outside to my truck.
The chill in the air has goosebumps rising on my skin, and I know the water in the pool this morning is going to be even colder than usual.
I’ve been thinking about Roman’s proposition since he left here yesterday. It makes no sense for the man to come to me, of all people. Plenty of women would throw themselves at the opportunity to be married to someone like Roman. The status alone would be enough of an allure without the money. I should have thrown that contract in the trash immediately. Instead, it’s still on my counter, half-read and taunting me.
I drive across town and turn onto the dirt road that’ll lead me to Knight Falls Ranch, the hills and trees stretching out for miles on either side of the road while the tips of the mountains disappear into the dense cloud cover stifling the sun. I pass the entrance to the ranch and follow the road around until I can pull up in the layby just before the entrance to the other ranch along this stretch. It’s not nearly as big and looks farmore run down than the Knights. I’ve never met who owns it, they keep to themselves as far as I am aware.
Snatching my bag from the bed of the truck, I find the spot I climbed through yesterday, a gap where the fence meets a huge, towering rock face that leaves the ground uneven and sharp. I already slipped on it once, and I have a bruise on my ass to show for it, so I go even more carefully today, taking short steps as I navigate down the rocky slope until I’m finally on dirt. The air is wet here today, fresh and earthy, and branches snap under my weight as I make my way to the edge of the falls, placing my bag down so I can undress for my daily swim.
The cold bites at my bare skin now I’m fully exposed to it, a shiver running through me, but once I’m in the water and get moving, I’ll warm up. I swim most of the year — well, at least until the ice comes in — but the moment it’s thawed, I’m right here, cursing and hissing as the cold water nips at my skin.
“That water is freezing,” Roman’s voice startles the life out of me, and I jump about three feet into the air. The problem? My foot catches on a rock beneath the water, and I lose my balance, toppling over into the pool.
I make a splash when I hit the water, the shock enough to stall the air in my lungs.
“Fuck,” I hear him hiss, and then hands are on me, tugging me back out.
I didn’t even hear him come up behind me. Had he been waiting!?
I shake his hands off and glare at him. “What the hell, Roman!?”
He rubs the back of his neck, standing ankle-deep in the water, which leaves his boots and jeans soaked. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“Were you waiting for me!?”
He holds his hands up. “I just wanted to ask if you’d thought about it. Or read the contract?”
I wrap my arms around myself, the cold sinking down to my bones. “No.” I lie.
He steps out of the shallow water and reaches down for my towel, passing it to me while keeping his whiskey-colored eyes on mine. “Can we talk?”
“I’m a little occupied right now, and then I’m at the bar.” I wrap the towel around myself.
“You can’t take a day off?” He cocks his head.
