Page 61 of Wild Then Wed
I rub the heel of my hand over my forehead, trying to think.
“I’ve never lived with someone before,” I say, mostly to myself. “Not…likethat.”
Sawyer doesn’t say anything, just watches me with that same steady expression. I glance around his house—the wide, clean spaces, the floors that look like they’ve barely been walked on—and my stomach knots up tight.
“Where would we even live?” I ask, looking back at him. “I mean, I have to be here working with Zeus. But I’ve got my own training program running back at the Wilding ranch most days.”
He leans a hip against the counter, arms still crossed.
“You could move in here,” he says, feeling the words out as he says them. He doesn’t sound thrilled about it. But he doesn’t sound like he’s joking, either.
I stare at him, horrified.Move in here?Into this big, quiet, surgically clean house with a man I barely know? I think I might actually throw up now.
“I can’t just…invade your space like that,” I say, shaking my head. “That’s—no. No way.”
He shrugs. “Probably won’t even see each other that much.” He pushes off the counter and gestures to a hallway off the kitchen. “There’s a big, nice guest room down that way.”
Then he points in the opposite direction. “My room’s over there.”
His voice stays calm, as if he’s explaining the floor plan to a potential buyer and not suggesting we fake an entire marriage.
“I get one, maybe two days off a week if I’m lucky,” he says. “You’ll be at your family’s place most of the time. It won’t hurt my feelings if you’re gone most of the day, even though you’re totally welcome here.”
I blink at him, trying to keep up.
He shrugs again. “We’ll be like ships in the night.”
Right. Ships in the night. Completely normal.
I let out a breath, a laugh slipping out that sounds way more panicked than I want it to.
“Oh, fuck,” I whisper, dragging my hand down my face. “This is a terrible idea. Isn’t it?”
Sawyer just lifts a brow, waiting for me to answer my own question.
“Normal people don’t do this,” I add, because apparently my mouth has decided to keep going without consulting my brain. “They don’t just…marry each other to save a ranch. Or to get water. Or whatever the hell we’re trying to do.”
“Oh my God,” I breathe, looking around. Maybe, if I have any luck, I’ll find a trap door to fall through. My eyes land right back on Sawyer’s.
“We’re going to have to have arealwedding, aren’t we?” I say, dread curling low in my stomach. “A real, legit wedding. With guests and shit?”
Sawyer nods once, slow. “With guests and shit.”
I let out a sound that’s somewhere between a groan and a whimper and start pacing because sitting still feels impossible. Because if I don’t move, I might actually spontaneously combust.
“And our families?” I say, spinning back toward him. “What are we supposed to tell our families?”
“We tell them.”
I chew the inside of my cheek, thinking fast.
“Okay, okay,” I mumble to myself. “Pros of telling them—one, fewer chances of someone slipping and making it obvious we’re faking it. Two, they can help sell it if anyone asks weird questions. Three—” I cut myself off, because the third thought comes in like a gut punch. “Oh, shit. Your family’s going to hate me, aren’t they?”
Sawyer’s mouth twitches like he’s trying to hold it in, but then he lets out a low laugh, quick and rough.
“What?” I demand, planting my hands on my hips. “It’s true! They’re going to think I’m some kind of water rights gold-digger.”
He shakes his head, still grinning. “They won’t hate you. We’ll come up with something.”
