Page 57 of A Montana Fake Marriage

Mack held up his hands, one holding a brush. “I didn’t say anything.”

“I mean it, Mack. I’m not in the mood.”

His brother shrugged. “You mean you’re not in the mood to deal with the consequences of marrying your best friend without realizing you’d ultimately fall for her?”

Caleb cut him a dark look. “I told you I’m not in the mood.”

“Or are you not in the mood to accept that eventually you’re going to have to let her go?—”

Caleb marched over to his brother and gave him a shove. “I don’t know if she said anything to you or if you’re just trying to push me over the edge, but you say one more thing, and I swear, you’re not walking out of here without a broken nose.”

Mack’s smirk never faltered, though he did follow Caleb’s request and kept his mouth shut. He’d been the only one who knew that Caleb originally had no intention of falling for Sammie. He still didn’t know that Caleb wanted to remain married to Sammie, but he wasn’t going to get that information.

Mostly because Caleb didn’t know if they would end up working through this.

He could feel his connection to Sammie crumbling, and the worst part was that he didn’t know how to keep it together. It should have been simple. He should have been able to tell her he’d give her access to everything. He loved her, after all.

But those doubts held him back. Her questions, her mood, everything that seemed to put added distance between them made him second guess if they would remain married after all was said and done.

Caleb brushed down his horse, refusing to even look at his brother. Then he headed home. He wasn’t surprised to find out that Sammie had gone to bed early, telling his folks she hada headache. He was, however, surprised when he entered their room to find the room dark and she’d done exactly as she’d said.

He stood in the doorway, watching her sleeping form for a few minutes, before he slipped out of the room and headed down for supper. When they were done with all the interviews and she had her inheritance transferred over, then all these issues would right themselves. He had to believe it. She was just on edge. They were in the home stretch, and he just had to have faith they would make it through.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Sammie was soupset with herself about how she was treating Caleb.

He’d done so much for her already, she knew she should have just been happy with his answers. If he was promising to take care of her, then that should have been enough.

Except it wasn’t.

Caleb wasn’t telling her what she needed to hear. He wasn’t taking away her fears that her father was right. He wasn’t validating in a big way that she was lovable.

There’s only one thing a guy like him wants from a girl like you. She could practically hear those words. He might not have said it exactly like that, but it was close enough.

According to her father, it didn’t matter how good of a man Caleb was, he was still a man. And he was still a man who had to deal with financial struggles. People these days were always willing to do whatever it took to ensure they had money. She’d only recently realized what it would mean to have to get a joband make a career for herself. She knew she wouldn’t mind that at all.

She could admit to herself that having her inheritance would make life easier. But as she laid curled up pretending to be asleep when Caleb entered the room, she’d also been honest when she said she could walk away from it.

The question was, would Caleb walk away from her without it?

Her stomach turned as she thought of the state of her marriage and her life right now. She remained frozen until Caleb left the room. The second the door clicked shut, she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling with tears in her eyes.

If her father had been part of the conversation she’d had with Caleb, he would have told her he was right. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind. The way Caleb had stared at her like he was terrified of saying the wrong thing had said it all. He hadn’t had to speak for her to know that he wasn’t comfortable with discussing money. And for some reason, it was enough to break her.

As much as Sammie wanted to believe that Caleb loved her for her, she couldn’t deny that part of the draw had to be her inheritance. Their main focus for the last several months had been to prepare for her to get the money. After they did, what would be next? He could file for divorce and take it.

Sammie shut her eyes tight and let the tears slide out of the corners of her eyes into her hairline. She didn’t think she could go through with it. She couldn’t sign the paperwork if that was going to be the outcome. She couldn’t divorce him before she got the money. And she couldn’t get the money without the risk he’d take it.

All this worry made her question if she was truly in love with him at all.

Wouldn’t someone in love trust him more? Wouldn’t someone who loved him want him to be happy even if that meant taking the risk?

She brushed at the tears with rough hands then pressed her palms into her eyes. Happiness wasn’t built on wealth. It was nice to have, but she’d learned to live without it. She’d learned how to find purpose without all the high-end things she could buy from a store.

And maybe she didn’t want to be the spoiled rich girl anymore.

“What areyou going to do when you have your inheritance?”

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