Page 26 of Our Broken Pieces
Fuck, I never thought about it like that.
“While you make a valid point, I couldn’t ask that of you.”
“You’re not asking, I’m offering. Do you see the difference?” Little shit, throwing my words from last night back at me. I watch her lift her glass to her lips. She takes a long draw from the glass, setting it down softly on the coaster.
“You would have to live with me.”
“Already am.”
“You would have to deal with my father.”
“He doesn’t scare me.”
“You would be a divorcee after this.”
“I don’t care about labels.”
“There would be no sex, me or anyone else.”
She scrunches her nose. “One, Ew. Two, I have toys.”
“You’d have to change your last name.”
“Lucky for you, prince, Gigi Holt sounds alright.”
I run a hand through my hair. I can’t break her determination.
“While I trust you, there would be a prenup. I would want to protect your assets, too.”
“Just some paperwork. You know I don’t want your money, prince.”
She doesn’t look at me, just eats her salad as if this conversation is completely normal. I look down at my plate, shifting my food around with my fork. I turn my head back to look at her, trying to imagine attaching the word ‘wife’ to the woman beside me. I imagine her in a wedding dress, walking toward me. I look down at her hand and imagine a ring there. Shit, I look at my own hand and try to picture a band on my ring finger. I put my fork down and bring my elbows to the bar, dragging my hands down my face, so many thoughts going through my head.
How could I ask this of her? What would our friends think? How can I go without sex for such a long time?
“It’s too much to ask of you, Gigi. Why would you do it? What’s in it for you?”
She stills at the question. She looks across the bar with dim, unfocused eyes. “I won’t be alone.”
“You’re never alone.”
She looks at me, like she shook off the moment, eyes bright again. The change is abrupt and odd. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant to say.” She touches my arm. “You deserve to marry for love one day, Marcus. Don’t tie yourself into a situation where she might not be the one. If we do this, at the end, you can easily move on and find someone you really want to be with, without the guilt or feeling the need to make it work.”
“I don’t want to lose you as a friend. What if this fucks shit up between us?”
“I would never risk our friendship, prince. You’re too important to me.”
I focus on her hand on my arm. She taps my skin and goes back to eating. I take a bite of my food and stay in my thoughts for a few minutes. I make it halfway through my lunch, pick up my beer, finishing it off. I wave down the bartender because we’re going to need more drinks for what I’m about to say.
“You’re really serious about this?”
“As a heart attack.”
“Okay, then, let’s get married.”
Chapter Seventeen
Gigi
