Narrowing my eyes at him, I take a step closer to him and poke a finger at his chest. It’s a very hard chest. “If I want to pay you rent, I will. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I don’t think so.” He laughs, then taps my nose. Freaking taps my nose with his index finger.
I hate when people touch my nose.
I reach for my phone in my back pocket with my free hand. I pull it out and open the app with my thumb.
“Fine. I’ll drop a lump sum to you.” I give him a smug smile and turn back to focus on my task. “I just got paid yesterday, so I’ll just pay ahead on my rent.”
I don’t get very far. Miles releases my wrist and wraps an arm around my waist, lifting me off the ground and holding me against his side. With his other hand, he grabs my phone and slides it into the back ofhisjeans pocket. I kick my feet and smack at him, but he doesn’t put me down.
“Good grief, Miles. It’s just rent.”
“And you’re struggling.” His voice is annoyingly patronizing, and his muscles are far too hard.
“Of course I’m struggling. You’re holding me!”
He smirks down at me. “I meant financially.”
“Yes, and you’re supposed to be polite and ignore that.”
“You agreed to marry me when I said you could have seventy percent.”
“It’s a sound business decision. We live together already, and that chunk of money will help me out of that stupid high-interest student loan.” I sigh. “Are you getting tired yet? You’re still holding me.”
“I’ll hold you however long it takes to get my way.”
“Miles Granger, you’re a bully.”
“Nah, I’m the oldest in my family and used to getting my way.”
“Through physical force,” I grind out as I grasp his arm and try to slither out of his hold. No such luck. He’s got arms of steel. “I need to go to the gym more,” I wheeze as I try—and fail—to get him to release me.
“Lucy, you’re doing me a huge favor. My grandma and my mom will stop pestering me. Ainsley and I will finally beat Preston at something. As of now, you’re done paying rent.”
I’m still awkwardly draped over his arm, my feet dangling just a little too high above the floor for me to stand up.
I crane my neck, trying to look him in the face. I’m very aware of the fact that my future husband is holding me like he has a sleeping bag tucked under his arm.
“I hope you realize I’m thinking about biting you.”
He grins down at me like he’s willing to take the risk.
But the longer we stare at each other, the more serious he becomes. I don’t know if it’s mere seconds or minutes that pass before he clears his throat and releases me to stand on my own again.
I wobble just a bit, and he catches my elbow before I bump into something.
“Lucy…” His voice is low as he looks down at me. Something flits across his eyes that I can’t quite interpret. “We’re going to have to figure this out one step at a time. I know this is all pretend, but we’re going to have to work together to pull this off.”
“And how does my not paying rent help?”
“It eases my conscience,” Miles says.
I wait for him to laugh, but he continues staring at me like he’s dead serious.
The paperwork is finished, and the wedding date is scheduled with a local justice of the peace. I’m not sure who, but the court clerk assured us that someone with the proper marrying capabilities would be there to make it all legal.
The next morning, I call Miles as I walk into the coffee shop. I left early enough to grab a mocha before work. “We forgot something important.”
