“What do you need the money for? Drugs? Gambling debt? A hundred grand is a lot of money.”
“Erm, I need it to cover some student loans, basically. I got a bad interest rate.”
“Right. Okay. Clearing up your student loans would make anyone’s life easier. And my… aunt was big on education. I can see why she’d want to help you with that. Okay. Do I need the money?” she said to herself as her eyes darted to the floor. “Do I want the money? You’re hurt and you’re angry, but you’d be a fool to turn down that type of cash. Okay.” Her eyes settled back on him. They really were gorgeous brown eyes. Mason had tried not to notice, but he couldn’t help himself. Xeni Everly-Wilkins was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen.
Under normal circumstances he’d be too nervous to ask her out. Probably tell her a few jokes, show her a terrible magic trick or his skills on the fife, and ultimately friendzone himself in under five minutes flat. Not that there was anything wrong being friends with someone you find attractive, but one day—
Mason shook his head a bit and forced himself to focus on the issue at hand. This was not about the persistent pathetic state of his love life. His dear friend was gone and she had left him in quite a jam. He needed that hundred thousand dollars. He wasn’t exactly sure walking down the aisle with a woman he’d just met was the best way to get it.
“Can you even do this? I mean you’re a White male. You can do whatever you want. But this will take months to sort out, right? You’re Scottish, right? You’re not a citizen.”
“I am.”
“You are?” He’d gotten the same shocked response before.
“Dual citizenship. My mother was born in Cleveland.”
“Oh, okay. So we have to do this, right? I have to do this.”
“I’m not going to make that call,” Mason replied. “Our stakes are not the same.”
“Did she sayanythingto you about this?”
“She told me she was going to find me a wife, but I thought she was taking the piss. I didn’t think she was serious. I take it from your reaction she didn’t mention anything about this either?”
“No. No, she didn’t.” Mason watched Xeni as she sighed and leaned against the wall. “So what’s your deal? You work at the cafe?”
“Yes. My cousin Silas owns the farm and I run the food services there.”
“Mmm, and you play the bagpipes.”
“Yes, I guess I fancy myself a bit of a musician. What about you? Your aunt did mention to me that you’re a teacher.”
“I teach kindergarten, yeah. So you at least knew I existed.”
“Your au—Ms. Sable talked about you a lot. She seemed very proud of you.”
Xeni’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling. Mason couldn’t miss the few fat tears that ran down her cheeks. His gaze darted to the box of tissues at the center of the table. He reached for them, then shuffled around the edge of the table. She took a few, then wiped her cheeks.
“Thank you.” She let out another deep breath and seemed to gather her focus. A clarity came to her eyes, like she’d made a decision. “Mr. Barber didn’t say how long we had to stay married, did he? No, he did. Thirty days, but he didn’t say we had to live together. We can get married. You can pay off your debt. If Ms. Jordan is as smart as I think she is, she can help me. I don’t know. How the fuck do rich people move money around? She can help me figure something out so I can keep this money and then we get a divorce. Right?”
Mason immediately thought of his parents and what they would think of this scheme. Different types of disappointment was all that came to mind. His mother being let down once again that he was no closer to the real thing and his father… The decision was simple. He wouldn’t tell them. He’d swear Silas and Liz to secrecy, even though he’d been the one to blab to his aunt about Silas’s sudden love match. He could count on them to keep this new development on this side of the pond if they decided to go through with it.
“People get divorced all the time. Shall we invite them back in, just to make sure? The way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t the first of ten elaborate tasks we have to complete. First we marry, then we visit the village witch who’s the third born of the first born. Then—” Mason said.
A little laugh sputtered out of Xeni. The sound of it made Mason smile. “What?”
“Nothing. I said basically the same thing to my mom on the phone. Yeah, okay. Let’s get all the information and then we’ll figure out what to do next.”
Mason nodded, then poked his head back into the claustrophobic hallway. Mr. Barber was talking to Bess in the reception area. “We’re ready,” he told them.
A few moments later, everyone had reassembled in the conference room. Mason stayed by the door. He was on his feet from dawn to dusk most days, so a little while longer wouldn’t hurt. Ms. Jordan picked up where she’d left off, and she and Mr. Barber went on for nearly another hour, breaking down the rest of Ms. Sable’s estate, pausing every so often to answer Xeni’s questions. Not that he had any doubt, but Xeni sure was bright. She was two steps ahead of his every thought, asking follow-up after follow-up question. And she wasn’t afraid to tell Ms. Jordan when she had no idea what she was talking about.
Mason learned a lot in that hour. He was also reminded of just how much money he didn’t have and how long it was going to take to finish paying off his father if he and Xeni decided they couldn’t go through with Ms. Sable’s absurd scheme. It also didn’t take long for Mason to remember that there would be no twenty-four hour quickie divorce. If she decided to claim this inheritance and they filed for divorce after thirty days, it seemed like it would be months before she would have everything sorted out. This was a bad idea. Still, Mason’s mind was made up. This was too much money for Xeni to walk away from. If she needed him to marry her so she could claim what was rightfully hers, he would.
“How long do we have to decide?” Mason asked.
“Um, I wouldn’t wait very long. I wouldn’t advise you leave either property unattended and—”
