“Wilby.” I shoot him a warning glare.
“I’m just covering all of our bases here. It’s my job,” Wilby emphasizes the last part.
“I don’t need or want your money.” Cal sets down his fork. “Listen, I’m not married. Never been married. I’m single. If I could help you, why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, for one,” I say. “My family is crazy.”
Wilby nods, and his eyes widen. “Can confirm.”
Cal smirks. “Okay...”
“You would have to sign an NDAanda prenup?” Wilby challenges, as if he’s trying to scare him away.
I kick Wilby under the table and glare at him. He ignores me and continues in his professional voice he uses when he can talk anyone into doing just about anything.
“Of course.” Cal shrugs and takes another bite. “Wouldn’t want you taking all of my money.”
If Cal’s uneasy about the idea, his poker face is on point. I stare at him for a little longer than necessary, wondering if he’s hiding his true feelings about it.
Wilby laughs. “I love you, Cal.”
“Thanks?” Cal smirks and takes another bite.
“I’m sorry. This is really weird. Like a really weird conversation. How did we go from surfing to discussing a potential marriage?” I ask, pinching the bridge of my nose as a stress headache forms.
“Eat,” Wilby orders. “You get a headache if you don’t eat.”
I sigh, pull my plate closer, and drizzle syrup on the pancakes, which look perfect. Fluffy and buttery. I close my eyes. A weird day this has turned out to be. But at least there’re pancakes and sausage.
Wilby looks at Cal. “I didn’t mean to imply you didn’t havemoney. But I’m just covering bases. Because if this goes any further and makes it to the lawyers, that’s what they will be asking.”
“Good,” Cal says. “I wasn’t worried about it.”
Wilby taps his chin. “This could work.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “You have no idea what you’re volunteering yourself for. Some of my family is terrible. Horrible. Likestealing your sister’s husbandhorrible.”
Cal’s gaze stays on mine. “I’m not worried about your family. But I do think it’s ridiculous to lose everything to two people hell-bent on trying to destroy you. That concerns me. And it concerns me that your family is okay with them doing that.”
My heart rate quickens in my chest. Cal is my friend, but when he says things like that—so protective and from the heart, it blurs the lines between friendship and something more.
And a fake marriage won’t?
“Oh, her dad isnotokay with that. Trust me.” Wilby shakes his head. “He is livid. But he’s also getting desperate. He stands to lose it all.”
Guilt consumes me as I think about how much I’ve left on my dad’s shoulders. I ran with my tail on fire from the wedding and he’s been cleaning up fires without me since.
We’ve always been a team.
I definitely need to call him.
“This is such an inconvenience for you, Cal,” I say with a frown.
He doesn’t answer right away. His eyebrows furl together as if he’s thinking long and hard about something. He looks at the table and adds more coffee to my cup, then Wilby’s, and tops his own. Then, his shoulders relax as if he’s made peace with his worries. “You’re my friend, Silvie. And I don’t like seeing good people get taken advantage of. It makes me mad.”
And there it is. The crack to my armor that I’ve so carefully constructed for most of my life.
I swallow down the emotions clawing at my throat. “You need to know what you’d be signing up for. Your entire life would change.”
