Page 49 of Resist

I look across the table to Corabelle who seems to be taking in the scene with mild amusement etched on her face. “I’ll marry you, but I’m not letting anyone near my dick with a needle.”

Thor groans. “And they say romance is dead.”

“They met last week, Thor. How much romance could they possibly have enjoyed?” Addison has a point.

Corabelle points at her chest. “Do I get a say in whether or not I endure Sterling farts forever? I haven’t even agreed to this. Consent has not been obtained.”

I spear my fingers into my hair. “Yet. Actually it was obtained. You said yes before we crossed Thor’s threshold. Andyoufuckers were supposed to help me convince her marrying me is a good idea. Not deter her with my farts and smelly fucking feet.”

Adi leans across the table before flicking my forehead. “And what could have possibly convinced you that we’d just go along with this bizarre plan of yours to convince her to marry you?” She sits back, a cat-got-the-cream smirk spreading across her face. “Have you mentioned this to Phoenix yet?”

Jagger snorts. “Probably not, since he still has his balls attached.” He looks at me. “Right? You have all your body parts?”

I nod.

“Then Phoenix definitely has no idea what he’sthinking.”

“He’s right,” agrees Thor. “He’s still breathing.”

“For now,” Paige chimes in as she drops onto her chair. “You’re a fucking dumbass, and Phoenix is going to flay you. In fact,” she downs her drink and holds the glass out to Thor for a refill. “I’ll live stream it.”

Talia shifts in her seat and opens her mouth but Paige holds up her hand. “Please don’t.”

Talia seems dissuaded from speaking, but Adi kicks her friend under the table. “Is he joining us?”

Paige glares at her. “Can we go back to Sterling getting skinned alive by Phoenix, please?” She downs her refilled glass and offers it to Thor again who instantly tops it up.

Doing my part to take the heat off Paige and Slade and whatever their drama is, I groan, dropping my face into my palms. “It’s not that bad. It’s for Corabelle’s own good. You heard me tell youwhyI suggested we get married, right?”

They all stare at me like I’ve lost my mind. I can’t even argue with them. It’s possible I have, in fact, lost my fucking mind.

“She needs to marry someone or she loses her company.”

“Sure. I do. That’s true. That’s my motivation, but what’s yours? You get to marry the boss for a while, and then what? An annulment and you go on your way? You didn’t even ask for money. Most people in a marriage of convenience would at least want money, right?” She waves her hand to the group like she’s opening the floor to opinions. “Tell me how that isn’t suss.”

“She’s not wrong,” Talia hedges. “I haven’t known you for all that long but I know you’re a good person. Is altruism a good enough reason to marry someone you don’t love just to help them?”

Fuck. I’d banked on Talia being a romantic, or at least thinking the gesture was sweet and kind and agreeing that “from the good of my heart” is enough of a reason to say “I do.”

“I think it’s sweet.” Adi pushes back from the table when a timer in the kitchen goes off. “Lacking all higher brain function, but sweet. And what does he have to lose? It’s what? A year or two of your life, after you’ve taken over the company, changed the policy from the inside as the big boss bitch, and proven you can run it without a penis by your side you can both go your separate ways.” She shrugs. “I get it, it’s smart.”

Thor gets up too, but lingers at the table. “Do I even know who you are at all, Kitten? I thought you were a romantic, not a pragmatist.”

Adi snorts, her face contorting. “I can be both. Cora wants to keep her family’s legacy, her father’s company, and the job she’s wanted since she was a little girl. If that means marrying Sterling...” She shrugs. “At least he’s pretty.”

I kick Corabelle under the table. “She says I’m pretty.” I flutter my lashes at her.

“You are. But it’s not enough to put a ring on it.”

“Ouch.” I clutch my chest like I’m wounded. “I’m good with my tongue like Thor, too.” I waggle my brows.

Corabelle groans. “That’s why I should marry you? You’re pretty and good with your tongue?”

Adi hollers from the kitchen. “People have married for worse reasons.”

Thor looks like he has something to add, but he simply shakes his head. “She’s right. Plus, you’ve known and worked together for a week and there’s been no bloodshed. That has to be a good sign, right?”

Slade joins the group, his face serious, his eyes fixed on Paige who is actively avoiding making eye contact with him. “A marriage of convenience? I’m with Adi, as reasons go, that’s not the worst. I mean...” He scrapes the flooras he pulls his chair in to sit at the table. “Some people go to Vegas and wake up hungover and married.”

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