Why does it seem like if I shake his hand, I might be making a deal I can’t maintain?
Then again, I can’t really afford to not shake hands.
It’s some walks and a trip to the sporting goods store. What harm could that really do? It’s not like he’s going to be able to charm me into marrying him over a few walks.
That’s crazy.
So, on a deep breath, I take his hand in mine and shake on it.
“Brilliant,” he says. “Let me have a shower and then we can head out to buy me some shoes.” He winks and then yells down to Rupert, “We’re headed into town. Come get dressed, we’re going shopping.”
“Ooh, a family occasion, brilliant,” Aunt Kitty says in a British accent.
Yeah…brilliant.
Chapter Thirteen
THEO
Holy fuck!
She took the money and agreed.
I honestly can’t believe it. I assumed she was more stubborn than that, that she’d fall into the hands of debt before she borrowed money from me.
The situation must be dire for her to agree to my terms, not that they were extravagant. All she has to do is go on walks with me. Seems simple, right?
Wrong.
She doesn’t understand how charming I can be.
This was the opening I needed.
“Did she take the money?” Rupert asks as he drags his lounge chair up onto the porch.
“She did.”
He pauses and takes off his sunglasses. “Fucking really?”
I nod. “Yup. Phase one has been activated.”
“I thought we were already in phase one.”
“Are we?”
“Phase one, plan B to be correct. Plan A was proposing to her fresh off the airplane. That failed miserably. Honestly, now that we can talk about it, it was hard to watch.” My expression turns to irritation. “But we’ve moved on to plan B, which is to get into her good graces. Phase one of plan B has already commenced—you have succeeded in gaining her attention. Now we’re moving on to phase two.”
I scratch my cheek. “If phase one was gaining her attention, don’t you think I did that earlier in the day yesterday, by constantly popping up? That would mean we’re in phase three.”
“But were we in plan B when you gained her attention? Because that would be a huge deciding factor as to where we are in our overall operation of Avoid Neil’s Daughter. Frankly, how are we supposed to function properly if we don’t know what plan or phase we’re in?”
I look Rupert in the eyes. “This is really fucking stupid.”
“Could not agree more, but policy is policy, and if we’re going to ride on the foundation of our friendship where policy rules, then we have to figure out where we are in phase and plan.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You know…can’t be sure. I think the sun and humidity have eaten away at my sanity.”
