“I need to know something. It’s really important that you tell me.” Calvin didn’t know why he added theimportantpart. It’s not like she cared about him.
“What is it?”
“About twenty years ago, my father and Max Kennedy signed a contract that their firstborn children would have to marry in order to get an inheritance.” He took a steady breath. “You were still married to Dad during this time, and I was hoping you’d remember why he would do something like that to his own child.”
If it had been his mother who’d signed the contract, Calvin wouldn’t have batted an eye. His mother had always been selfish. But not his father. Jack Gates loved his children.
“Ohhh...” she chuckled, “the marriage contract. Yes, I remember when those two idiots signed that.”
Calvin clutched the phone tightly against his ear. “Why? Why would they play with my life – and Max’s daughter’s life – that way?”
“Both Jack and Max were in the early stages of their money-making careers. They loved competing against each other. They’d made a bet on a company and they’d both lost a lot of money. I was upset and had accused your father of taking away your inheritance, and I’m sure Max’s wife chewed him out just as badly. The two men started arguing about anything and everything. Soon, the argument turned toward their children. Your father thought he had the best child in the world, and Max thought the sun rose and set onhisprecious daughter.” She huffed. “It was pathetic the way both of them gushed over their children.”
Calvin rolled his eyes. Once again, his mother proved that she should have never been a parent.
“Anyway,” she said, “one thing led to another, and soon they were betting against which of their children would be the most obedient. And well, that’s how the contract was made. Max bet that his daughter would follow through with the marriage, and Jack bet that his son would be the one who followed through.”
As Calvin let the information sink in his mind, his stomach churned. “This... was all done because they wanted to see which one of us would follow that stupid contract?”
“Yes, it was. Ridiculous, right?”
Unshed tears burned his eyes, and he tried blinking them away. Growing up, he’d known how competitive his father was, but this... Why hadn’t his father realized how it could ruin people’s lives?
“So, tell me,” Karen said in a cheerful voice, “are you planning on getting married soon?”
“Yeah, it looks that way, doesn’t it?”
“Have you met Max’s daughter yet?”
“Yes.”
“Is she someone you could spend the next twelve months with?”
Rayne’s face popped into his head. In just a short time, he’d seen her angry, serious, stern, laughing, and mostly... passionate. Could he spend the next year with someone like her? Was the money worth it at all?
“That’s something I’ll have to think about.” He swallowed the emotional lump forming in his throat, realizing that from this day forth his life would never be the same. “Thanks for answering my question. I’m glad you returned my call.”
“That’s all right, dear. It’s been a while since we talked, hasn’t it? What has it been... two years?”
Sighing, he sank on the cushioned recliner with a built-in heater and even speakers near the headrest. “No. It’s actually been five years.”
“Oh, wow. Time sure flies.”
“Yeah, it does.” He held his breath, wondering if she would ask about how his life was going, or even inquire to what was going on with his brothers and sisters.
“Well, keep in touch. I’m dying to know what you decide to do about that contract.”
He should have known. Actually, he did know but, as always, had hoped she would change. “I will. Talk to you later. Bye.”
He clicked off his phone and slid it in his pants pocket. Something else in that pocket poked at his fingers. He withdrew the card and stared at it. Rayne Kennedy, owner of Rayne Drop Creations.
A strange pain tightened his chest. There was no use putting off the inevitable any longer. The quicker they could get married, the quicker they could get a divorce. Of course, somewhere during that time, he’d have to consummate the marriage...
Closing his eyes, he rested his head back on the chair. He wouldn’t think about that now. They had a whole year to worry aboutthatproblem.
