Page 42 of From Grumpy to Forever

“Why is your cousin here?”

“He’s mad.” I glanced at the door and back at my husband. “I told you he was going to contest the will.”

Reid nodded.

I had told him some of the details, leaving out a few—like my cousin’s actual name—and the fact that ever since the news of our wedding had reached him, he’d been blowing up my phone, threatening to prove that I was a liar. “He’s still challenging our grandfather’s will,” I told Reid in a whisper. “He doesn’t believe that our marriage is real.”

“What? Why didn’t you?—”

“I don’t really think this is the time, do you?”

He closed his mouth and pressed his lips together before giving me a curt nod. “Want me to get rid of him?”

It was tempting. Very tempting. But it wasn’t going to solve the problem.

“No. Let me see what he wants.” He didn’t look convinced as I moved past him to the door, opening it to reveal my cousin on the porch.

I don’t know why I expected it to be any different, but Jacob looked just the same as last time I’d seen him, at the funeral. Smug and self-satisfied. He’d always considered himself to be better than me, and judging by the smirk on his face, that hadn’t changed in our years apart.

“It’s about?—”

“Can I help you with something, Jacob?” I stopped him before he could berate me for not answering the door quickly enough for him.

“Are you going to let me in?”

It was the last thing I wanted to do. “It’s late. You should probably?—”

“We need to talk.” His eyes darted to Reid as he joined me in the doorway. I watched his eyes widen for a moment before he focused on me once more. “About our grandparents’ will.” He softened his voice a little, but I saw right through it. I knew he was trying to come off as caring and concerned, or even that he gave a shit that both of our grandparents were gone now.

It was bullshit. All of it.

“We can talk in the morning, Jacob. Like I said, it’s late and I?—”

“I’ve been waiting,” he interrupted. “I got here hours ago but no one was here. That’s not the way to run an inn.”

Was he serious right now? He had to know we weren’t actually open for business. If the No Vacancy sign hanging off the porch wasn’t convincing enough, the piles of construction materials behind me and the ever-present smells of sawdust and paint should have been enough. “We’re not open yet, Jacob. You know that.” I didn’t even try to keep the exasperation from my voice. “We were out at a?—”

“It really doesn’t matter where we were,” Reid interrupted. He moved closer to me until we stood side by side, blocking the door completely. “Avery’s right,” he continued. “It’s late. Why don’t you come back in the morning, and we can talk properly.”

“We?” Jacob raised his eyebrows and gave Reid a sidelong glance. “This is between my cousin and me.”

“Avery is my wife.” Reid emphasized the word, and it sent a tingle down my spine. “In case you didn’t get the wedding announcement.”

I almost laughed. Almost.

Jacob made a snorting noise, shifted his body a little and stared directly at me. “I have nowhere to stay,” he said. “And this is still a family house until this is settled.”

That wasn’t entirely true, but he did have a point. No matter what I thought about Jacob, he was my cousin, and my grandparents would be horrified if I turned him away.

Reid moved to step forward, but I put my arm out to stop him. “It’s okay,” I said to my husband. “Jacob is family.” To my cousin, I said, “You can stay.”

Reid looked like he was going to argue, but I gave him a look that I hoped he understood. It wasn’t worth fighting about tonight. Jacob was infuriating, to be sure. But I had a lifetime of dealing with my cousin, and aggravating him further wasn’t going to help this situation. Besides, I knew exactly why he was here.

No doubt, he was coming to check on my marriage to Reid for himself. We’d already had some practice perfecting our act as a married couple at the wedding all day. It looked like that was just the dress rehearsal.

It was time for the main event.

I took Reid’s hand and squeezed as we took a step back and let Jacob in.

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