“That might be the best thing. I don’t want my mistake to get you into trouble with your boyfriend.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” She sighed and her shoulders drooped. “We have enough stress as it is. We were hoping to have a wedding sometime this summer, but because of my father’s will, the wedding will have to be postponed.”
Now he remembered why he’d brought her to the coffee shop. She was going to tell him something important about her father’s will. “That’s right. You were saying that there was a clause in the will that kept you from your inheritance?”
“Yes... the clause.” She took another sip of her drink and set it on the table. “Calvin, did your father talk about my dad and when they used to be friends?”
Silently, he sipped his drink as his mind tried to dig through his past memories of his father. “Dad only mentioned Max Kennedy a couple of times that I remember. I recall him saying something about them being close friends, but then something happened to make them hate each other.”
“At least you remember more than I do. I don’t think my father said anything about being friends with your father, but I know they were.” She reached into her beaded purse and pulled out a folded document. She placed it on the table between them and slowly opened it.
He leaned over to see what she was trying to show him.
“Apparently,” she continued, “twenty years ago your father and my father signed an agreement – alegalagreement in front of a lawyer and witnesses. I wish I knew what those two were thinking... or maybe they’d been drinking too much. Who knows, but the end result is that they have ruined people’s lives.”
Calvin lifted his gaze to hers. Worried lines creased her forehead and around her mouth, but he still found her very pretty. “They did? Whose lives did they ruin?”
“Mine and my fiancé’s and you and your fiancée’s.”
He shook his head. “I don’t have a fiancée.”
“You do now.” She pointed to the contract. “Because according to this document, I am your fiancée.” She inhaled deeply and released it fast. “Calvin Gates, whether you like it or not, we have to get married and stay that way for one whole year.” She offered him a razor-sharp smile. “So, tell me, when should we plan the big event?”
THREE
Rehearsing how Raynewas going to tell Calvin didn’t turn out the way she’d wanted. For one, he wasn’t supposed to be so good-looking. And secondly, his smoldering green eyes were not supposed to make her breathless. Oh, and she didn’t even want to think about that kiss...
“What?” His voice lifted and he snatched the papers away from her and skimmed over them.
As he read, color disappeared from his face. She understood that helpless feeling all too well since she’d been feeling like a sinking ship since she’d left Mr. Parry’s office.
“No, this can’t be right.” He shook his head and read over the papers again.
She waited in silence as she drank her caramel cappuccino. Because he was a lawyer, she prayed the Lord would help Calvin find a way out of this since the Almighty hadn’t given her any brilliant ideas. But as the seconds passed by and Calvin’s expression turned desperate, her gut twisted. There was no way out.
Sighing, he set the papers down and leaned back in his chair. He stared at his black coffee as his mouth tightened into a straight line.
