Page 5 of Conveniently Theirs

He lunges for me and wraps me in a tight embrace. “Thank you, Keni. Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me. To us.”

His words whisper past my ear and send shivers down my spine. And they have no idea what my acquiescence means to me. I can’t imagine myunrequited love ending while we’re married. I don’t know how difficult it’s going to be keeping those intense emotions hidden. Or my physical longing when he’s such a physically demonstrative person.

I peek at Devin over Josh’s shoulder. His relieved grin widens and he nods, mouthing, “Thank you.”

There’s my feelings for Devin I need to sort through as well.

What the hell have my fantasies and run away emotions gotten me into?

When I start squirming, Josh releases me and immediately takes my hand. “Kendall…”

I give him a fierce look. “Enough with the thank yous. You are most welcome. Both of you. So, what do we do now? When do we need to…” I make air quotes. “…get married?”

Josh dips his head and mumbles.

“What?” I lean closer.

His dark eyes are wide and apologetic when he looks at me. “Uh, tomorrow?”

“Tomor—”

“It’s fast, yes. But I thought, we thought, it would be best to get it over with as quickly as possible.”

“As quickly as possible?” I wait for some sort of disappointment to set in. Shouldn’t I want more outof my wedding? Months of planning and shopping? That could be fun with a rich fiancé footing the bill. I hold back a shudder. I hate shopping for clothes. Searching for a wedding dress that fits would be a challenge. One I’ll happily avoid. “An unexpected proposal and immediate wedding. I don’t think I packed for this.”

Devin moves to sit on the coffee table and takes my other hand. “Not a problem, sweets.”

With both of them touching me an odd contentment settles the surging doubt twisting my insides. I don’t normally mention things like wealth and social standings but this might be important. “With your money, your place in your family business, and in the world of the rich, don’t you think everyone would expect a grand, lavish wedding? Even when marrying a commoner like me?”

“There’s nothing common about you, darlin’,” Josh says then kisses the back of my hand. “If you want that kind of wedding, then that’s what we’ll have. It might be more difficult to arrange the fake part…” He glances at Devin.

Devin shrugs. “Perhaps. Still, it can be done.”

I pull my hands from both of them and clasp them in my lap. “I don’twanta fancy wedding. There’s no part of me that wants to be that much thecenter of attention or wants to do all that planning. No, as soon as possible is fine. At the clerks office? I think I have clothes that would be appropriate for that.”

“Devin has everything planned and under control for tomorrow.”

I chuckle and poke Josh in the chest. “You must have been sure I’d say yes.”

He grabs my finger, gives a squeeze then releases me. “I hoped you would. This changes a lot for you, Keni. Besides tying yourself to me, are you willing to quit your job and move to South Carolina? That’s a huge life change.”

“You know I haven’t been happy at my job. Leaving them, even without notice, isn’t going to be difficult. Moving? I haven’t settled in one place for more than a few years. I still have unpacked boxes from the last move. Those things don’t concern me. I can find a job anywhere.”

“You really won’t have to work… if you want to take a break.” Josh reclaims my hand. “You could be a socialite.”

Laughter bursts past my lips. “Oh, I am so not a real housewives of anywhere candidate. Fitting in with that crowd is thankfully way down on my life list. Oh wait. It isn’t even on the list. Come on, Josh.You know that’s not me.” I sober. “I know that being a billionaire’s wife has certain requirements.”

He shakes his head so hard it makes me laugh again. “Keni, there’s no requirements. You can do whatever you want. Make your life, our life together, into what you need it to be.”

“As long as we keep up the husband and wife vibe.”

“There is that.”

“Of course, I’ve read that many rich couples lead totally separate lives. So that works in your favor. Yours and Devin’s.”

Devin rises and moves to stare out the window. He speaks to the artificially bright darkness beyond the glass. “There will have to be adjustments each of us has to make. A learning curve of how our lives fit together. How we deal with problems and conflict. That’s to be expected.”

Josh shifts. “Devin and I have discussed these concerns, probably way too many times. I know you should have been included in the process, you’ll have topics we haven’t thought of. Issues and concerns. I promise we’ll take time for that. As much time as we need. Unfortunately, I need to be married soon.”

---