Chuckling dryly, I shake my head. “You should’ve seen how hard I had to work just to get her to let me feed her. The thing is, she took a little time to think about my suggestion?—”
“Suggestion,” he breaks in with a snort.
I ignore him. “I know this means she doesn’t have any other options. She mentioned talking to her parents, and while I don’t know for sure, I assume she did, and either it wasn’t enough, or they wouldn’t help at all. If she’s coming here, it’s because she doesn’t see any other choice.”
“So you’re trying to take advantage of a desperate woman?”
“What? Fuck you. How is me offering to marry her taking advantage of her? She’s the one gaining everything here.”
He chuckles. “Okay. Well, I’m glad we’ve got that sorted. Therearemen who like to use their money and influence to lure desperate young women into terrible situations.”
“Oh, and you think I’m one of those?”
Another low chuckle. “No. But it’s funny to listen to you get your panties in a twist.”
“My panties aren’t twisted, thank you very much.”
That provokes a raucous laugh.
“And I don’t wear panties!”
“Uh-huh. Sure, you don’t. God, I wish this was on speaker so Maggie could hear it. She’d love this.”
“Don’t you fucking dare.”
“Calm down, Chalmers. I won’t. I’ll be telling her about it later, though. You know that, right?”
Grinding my molars, I blow out a breath. “Yeah. I guess. But don’t go blabbing it around to anyone else, okay?”
“This is a blab-free zone. Promise. And you know Maggie’s good at keeping secrets. But having her know ahead of time won’t hurt you. She’ll be able to get in front of any rumors on social media so the spin is all in your favor. That’s her job, after all.”
“I guess you’re right,” I grumble. I’ll probably need to let Molly know as well, especially if we do get married. She’s in charge of the team’s PR, after all.
“While I appreciate the confidence, can I ask why you called me?”
“I just needed to talk about it. Am I crazy?”
“Oh, yeah. One hundred percent.”
That makes me laugh a little. “Fine. I guess I deserve that. Is it the bad kind of crazy, though?”
“Well,” he says thoughtfully, “let’s see—you feel guilty for not keeping closer tabs on your dead best friend’s little sister after you promised him you’d look out for her. So now you’re moving her in with you, paying all her bills, and offering to marry her. That about right?”
“What would you do if you were me, man?” I sound defensive. I know it. But he makes it sound so out there when he just lays it out like that. “Or what would you want if it were your little sister left to fend for herself after you died? Wouldn’t you want someone to look out for her like this?”
He sighs. “When you put it that way, it doesn’t sound quite so crazy. It almost sounds … noble.”
“Thank you. Wouldn’t you feel like absolute dog shit if your best friend’s little sister literally had nowhere else to turn and you didn’t help her? And it’s not like I can’t spare the money. I’ve been socking most of it away for years, only splurging on a few luxuries here and there.”
“Tell me about it, man. You’re practically a monk.”
I grunt. “That seems extreme, but okay. Fine. But wouldn’tyoudo everything you could to help? If Maggie’s car died and she couldn’t afford another one or to get it fixed, wouldn’t you get her a new car? And you got her a job in the front office.”
“Hey, now. She got herself that job by being awesome. I just passed along her resume.”
“Right. And this is my way of giving Hailey the space to be able to get her awesome job. She just doesn’t work in a field where I can give her resume to Molly and get her a job with the team.”
“Too bad,” he says, and I sigh.
