Greylin huffs out a breath and slumps back in her chair as if it’s simply too difficult to hold herself up completely, in light of my confession. She blinks at me a few times before opening and closing her mouth. She does it again and again, but then she presses her lips together which causes them to press into a thin line.
“Yeah,” I admit, “there’s more to the story.”
I take a deep breath and look around the office, meeting the expectant gazes of the women who have had my back for almost my entire life. We’re the type of friends where none of us remembers when it happened or how. It simply did; we managed to hold onto each other even though life gave us highs and lows that could have seen us drifting apart.
But not us.
We always stuck together. I know the same will be true now, even though what I plan to do is out there, far more out there than anything I’ve ever done before.
I square my shoulders and figure it’s better to just lay it all out there. “Rook’s inheritance, apparently, when it came to his grandfather’s private finances was very straightforward. He gets it all. I don’t have the details on that and, frankly, I don’t need them.”
Gemma snorts, “You might need them considering you’re marrying the man.”
“No,” my voice is firm, “I’m going to marry him to help him out, not because I went over there yesterday and he swept me off my feet.”
Mayer makes a noise filled with relief and relaxes a fraction. Her voice clings to the words, “I knew there was some sort of explanation.”
Greylin’s face morphs into one filled with horror as she looks at Mayer. “You think marrying a man to help him out with something, which we haven’t gotten the details on yet, is an acceptable explanation?”
“At least it’s an explanation,” Mayer mutters.
I can’t help the small smile that lifts my lips. “Here’s the deal,” I start and lean forward in my chair slightly, my leg no longer bouncing now that I’ve gotten the worst of it out in the open, “the private finances were one thing, but then there’s the farm.”
My three best friends look at me with concern written all over their faces. Yeah, they’re starting to get it.
“For some reason, his grandfather added a clause that the farm would be handed down to the youngest living blood relative, but they have to be married.” I pause and take a deep breath as their eyebrows shoot up to their respective hairlines. Yeah, it’s a reaction I completely understand. “The thing is, nothing will be transferred for a year, and during the year the farm will function as it has been. Nothing will change and the lawyer will be overseeing things, from what I understand. Well, I guess I assumed that last part since Rook didn’t say it specifically, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Meadow,” Mayer’s voice is sharp and I slam my mouth shut. When I look in her direction, her eyes soften. “You were starting to ramble.”
“I think she’s earned the right to ramble considering she agreed to marry a man in some sort of contractual marriage situation,” Gemma grumbles with an epic frown on her face. “Let’s not even mention that this is the same man she’s had a crush on since the first time she met him.”
“It’s going to be fine,” I try to reassure her, but she just throws her hands up in frustration.
Greylin’s voice is gentle, like she’s talking to a wild animal who has gone feral, “Gemma brings up a really crucial point. What is going to happen at the end of this thing? Is there a stipulation about how long you have to stay married? Just until the ink is dry on the deed and whatever else is required to transfer ownership? Longer? Years? The rest of your life?” Her voice was rising with each question and, by the last one, it borders on hysterical.
“I’ll sign whatever I need to sign because whenever this ends,” I try to keep the sadness out of my voice, “I don’t want anything I didn’t step into the marriage with. I don’t want his farm, and I don’t want him to be able to touch Green Mountain High. I’ll make sure everything stays clean and I’ll help him get what should have been his without any hoops to jump through.”
I swallow hard, unwilling to meet the penetrating gazes of my best friends. “I know it’s a little reckless and I probably should have given it more thought, but I’ve committed now and I’m going to help Rook get the farm. I’ll deal with what comes after,” I pause and shift in my seat, “well, I’ll deal with it when I need to deal with it.”
Mayer is shaking her head, and Gemma is looking at me like I’ve sprouted at least four additional arms than the two I had moments ago. Greylin’s eyes are keen as she studies me. I have no idea what she sees there but she gives one nod.
“I think it’s kind of romantic,” Greylin offers.
“That’s because you’re all loved up and happy,” Mayer’s voice is cutting, but not cruel.
Before I can find another angle to smooth over the ruffled feathers of my best friends, my phone rings. I almost fumble it when I see Rook is calling me.
Greylin, who is closes to me, strains her neck to see who it is. “You better answer that.”
When I do, I put it on speaker because I’ll just tell them about it later, they might as well hear everything from the horse’s mouth.
“Good morning,” my voice is bright, overly bright, super fucking fake bright. It’s a fight to keep the grimace off my face.
“Good morning, Meadow,” his voice is smooth and with a hint of something I’ve never heard there before, something I might mistake as affection in a different setting.
But it couldn’t be affection.
Not from him.
