“Exactly.”
I shake my head. “I can’t marry you.”
“I’m not asking.”
“You know it’s illegal to force someone into marriage under duress.”
“I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Isn’t my word enough?”
“No. I tell you what. You give me ten years and at the end I’ll give you a million dollars.”
“For my silence?”
“Yes. There will be a contract. It will all be official. You’ll sign an NDA, of course.”
“You’re serious.”
“I don’t joke about money.”
“When would this marriage take place?”
He glances at a calendar hanging on the wall. “Valentine’s Day.”
“That’s tomorrow.”
My cell buzzes once more, and I realize he hasn’t given it back to me. “I need to tell my friends something before they think I’ve been kidnapped.”
“Fine. Introduce me.”
“And tell them what exactly?”
“That we’re madly in love.”
I balk at that. No one in their right mind is going to believe it.
“I’ll adopt that dog. Hell, I’ll adopt them all.”
“Deal.”
“I should have led with the animals, huh?”
I shrug. “Maybe.”
“You ready to do this?”
“Nope.”
“Oh my god. Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick.” Brookie shrieks. “I panicked and called Alex…”
“She’s been with me,” Theo says, curling an arm around my waist.
“And how do the two of you know each other?” her cheeks blush at the sight of him.
“I’m her fiancé.”
Brookie’s mouth hits the floor. “I’m being punked, right? You’re fucking with me.”
