Her shoes hit the floor with a thud, then she sits with her feet beneath her as she turns to face me, one of her arms resting in her lap, the other braced along the top of the couch.
I turn my body slightly so she can’t accuse me of not paying attention, and then I wait. She stares at her legs, then the back of the sofa, and then a spot on the wall behind me, and finally, I say, “Just spit it out, Cassidy.”
She is so lost in her own thoughts that she jumps and then laughs nervously as her eyes connect with mine. I raise mybrows at her, waving a hand in a motion indicating that she should get on with it.
“I’m gonna need you to marry me,” she rushes out, and I can only assume the look on my face is a mix of shock and horror because when I open my mouth to respond, she holds a hand up. “Let me finish.”
I snap my mouth shut, forcing myself to relax, even though every part of my body is on edge because there is no reasonable explanation for what she’s asking.
She stares at me, the look in her eyes rather haunted. “Just to be clear, I don’t like you at all. I’ve seen how you operate. I’ve witnessed firsthand how careless you are, and I believe you’re an irresponsible, borderline irredeemable asshole who treats women like cattle.”
I frown, sliding to the edge of my seat. “Well, this conversation is over.”
“Calm down, Ren. I’m doing a shit job explaining, but give me a minute, and I’ll get to it.”
“There can’t be one decent reason you would want to marry someone you have such a high opinion of.”
She sighs, her hands fisting in frustration as she mutters, “Okay, maybe the cattle comment was a bit too far. But you have to remember I’m used to going out of my way to antagonize you. It’s not something that just goes away overnight.”
“Well, for the record, I gave up any kind of playboy ways a long goddamn time ago. And also, any woman you feel I may have treated like ‘cattle’ was perfectly happy with the arrangement at the time.”
She rolls her eyes, her lips twisting, but then she nods. “Yeah, I know. If nothing else, it seems none of them have ever had a bad thing to say about you.”
“What exactly is it about me that offends you so much?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe just because you’re breathing.”
I laugh hollowly, once again sliding to the edge of the seat, but this time, I do stand and turn toward her. “Well, unless you plan on marrying me just so you can become a widow, this entire conversation seems pointless.”
Cassidy looks around the room, suddenly appearing like a caged animal, and then she jumps to her feet, closing the short distance between us so she’s standing directly in front of me. “Regardless of your reputation or how I feel about you, I know if you make a deal, you’ll stick to it. I won’t have to worry about you trying to cheat me.”
“Surely, you can find a whole line of willing and highly acceptable men for the job.”
Her lip curls, her arms cross over her chest, almost defensively. “Believe me. None of those men give a shit about me. The last thing I want is to end up stuck with some smarmy douchebag Daddy would approve of.”
“Is that what this is about? Daddy’s approval?”
She frowns and then laughs bitterly. “If this was about Daddy’s approval, I wouldn’t be standing here in front ofyou, would I?”
I squint down at her and then nod because that is absolutely true. I take a couple of steps away from her, needing to put a bit of distance between us, and then I turn back to face her. “Okay, give me the important details of why you thought it would be a good idea to show up here and proposition me with this insanity.”
“Well, my dad’s lawyer approached me the other day to remind me of some fine print in my trust fund.”
My snort interrupts her explanation, and she gives me a dirty look. I incline my head in the way of a shitty apology, and then, after a moment, she goes on, “I have to secure a husband before my twenty-fifth birthday. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about it, but I genuinely believed all the previous mentions werea bad joke. His lawyer has now assured me it’s not a joke, and I’m running out of time.”
“What kind of archaic bullshit is that?”
She shrugs with her entire body, irritation lacing her tone as she sputters, “I don’t know. I tried to talk to my dad about it, but he wouldn’t budge. Instead, he provided me with a whole list of eligible suitors who would happily take me off his hands.”
“Take you off his hands? What the hell does that mean?”
She rolls her eyes, taking a few steps toward me, only to immediately pivot and walk in the other direction. She paces back and forth, her movements jerky as she explains, “Apparently, my father’s insistence that I get a college degree and prove myself was a complete waste of time. Now that I’ve had ‘my fun,’ I’m supposed to settle down and let the men handle things.”
“I can see how that might be irritating.”
“You have no idea. And let me tell you, this list of eligible suitors is damn laughable. It’s mostly a bunch of spineless patsies, and the handful of men I know are complete douchebags.”
“Bigger douchebags than even me?” I reply teasingly.
