“Does this mean we’re going down to New Orleans again? Because I love my brother, but I don’t usually visit this often.” The smirk on her face tells me she doesn’t mind.
“I bet Paige would be willing to drive Pig up.”
Luna groans. “Hell. Dash and Paige. What are we going to tell them? And your parents? I normally don’t consider other people when I plan things.”
That sounds lonely, but I guess that’s the way Luna prefers her life. Or maybe it’s all that’s been available to her before now. Maybe I can show her that making plans with another person doesn’t have to be painful.
“For the next year and however many months, we’re partners.” I hold her gaze and make sure she hears how serious I am about the commitment. “That means I’m on your team. Tell me how you want to play this.”
I’d hate lying to my parents, but I could probably have them believing Luna and I are in a roommate situation. Not entirely off base, other than the legal nature of our relationship.
“Truth,” Luna declares. “We’ll tell Dash and Paige the truth. He already knows about the inheritance. Hopefully, Paige doesn’t hate me for taking advantage of you.”
“She could never hate you.” Paige isn’t the type.
Luna shrugs, as if that doesn’t mean much to her. I get the sense that it does.
“I don’t talk to anyone else in my family. If anyone at work asks, I’ll tell them we got married. And if they ask after the fact, I’ll just say we got divorced. They’re all celebrities, so they’re familiar with brief marriages.”
Damn, that dismissive note in her voice has my stomach queasy. When I envisioned getting married, I always pictured it as permanent.
“What about your parents?” she asks.
“My parents?” I try to refocus on the discussion.
“How do you want to play it with them? You know their reactions best.”
My parents are understanding. And supportive. But my mom is also just slightly desperate for me to fall in love. I’m not sure what their reaction will be, but I know for sure I don’t want to lie to them for an entire year.
“I’ll tell them the truth. And they’ll probably want to have you over when the weirdness gets easier to deal with.”
Luna nods absently, her eyes staring at the ceiling again. I glance up as well to see if our future together is projected there. If there’s a way we can study the events for any possible missteps.
“Okay,” she says quietly, then again with more conviction. “Okay.”
She strolls out of the kitchen and disappears down the hall into a room, reappearing with a notepad and pen and paper.
“We’ve covered your demands. Or demand, more like. And we know what we’ll say to people. Now for the final discussion.”
“What’s that?”
The determined way Luna holds the pen both unnerves me and turns me on.
“The marriage rules.”
CHAPTER 20
LUNA
My entire childhood was a mess of ever-changing rules and no real structure. There was no way to know if I was doing or saying the right thing because my father would change his mind about what he wanted day to day, hour to hour, sometimes minute to minute.
So, yes, I want rules. I want them written down and referable; that way, we never question where we stand or how to approach this entire situation.
With these in place, I figure our chances of making it through a year can only increase.
“These are the parameters of our agreement,” I explain. “Both of our expectations.”
I settle at the table and poise the pen over the paper. “First rule, obviously, we must follow all the requirements set forth by my grandmother.”
