Page 51 of Single Dad's Fake Bride
"It means you're talking about this woman like she's a problem to be solved instead of a person making a life-changingdecision." Juan's tone stayed level, but I caught the edge beneath it. "You've been circling around your feelings for her for weeks. Now you're offering her a contract marriage and calling it practical."
"My feelings don't factor into this."
"Bullshit."
Juan rarely swore, and when he did, it meant I'd pushed him past his patience.
"This isn't about the school," he continued. "This is about your wanting to take care of her and not knowing how to admit it." He scowled and continued, "You're doing that thing—where you collect lost, broken things and try to fix them. Except she's not going to like being handled, H."
I gripped the racquet tighter, ignoring his comment. "The will requires?—"
"The will requires a wife. Any wife. There are probably a dozen women in this city who would marry you tomorrow for the right price." Juan stepped closer. "But you didn't ask any of them. You asked Sadie."
"Because she's already part of Eloise's life. Because she's trustworthy?—"
"Because you're in love with her."
The words hit me squarely in the chest. I opened my mouth to deny it, then closed it again. Juan waited, watching my face with the patience of someone who'd known me for fifteen years.
"It doesn't matter," I said finally.
"It's the only thing that does matter." Juan picked up his water bottle, taking a slow sip before continuing. "Hope isn't a strategy, Harrison. And this isn't the kind of situation you can bluff your way through."
"I'm not bluffing."
"Then what are you doing?"
I looked down at the racquet in my hands, noting a small fray in the strings I hadn't noticed before. "I'm trying to keep my daughter in the school she loves. I'm trying to prevent the board from turning Hawthorne into something my father never intended it to be. I'm trying to help someone who needs help."
"And?"
"And I'm scared as hell that she's going to say no." The admission felt like a confession. Juan nodded slowly, as if he'd been waiting for exactly those words.
"There it is," he said. "Now we're getting somewhere."
I set the racquet down and leaned against the wall. "I haven't felt this conflicted about anything in years. Every logical part of my brain knows this is the right solution. But every other part…"
"Every other part is terrified you're going to mess up the best thing that's happened to you since Eloise was born?" It was like he could read my mind. And he was right. This was moving so fast, I knew it would end in disaster, and it made me angry and terrified. I wanted to take things slow and do it right, but I didn't have time for that.
I closed my eyes. "She deserves better than a marriage of convenience."
"Maybe she does. Maybe she doesn't. That's her choice to make." Juan moved to stand beside me, shoulder to shoulder against the wall. "But you need to be all in or back off entirely. You don't have time to mess around."
"The will specifies?—"
"Forget the will for a second. Forget the board. Forget everything except this. Do you want to marry Sadie Quinn?"
I thought about her laugh when Eloise showed her something funny. The way she'd handled the crisis at the hospital without falling apart. The quiet strength she carried, the way she made everyone around her feel safer. I didn't knowher well enough to make this judgment call but for some insane reason my answer was, "Yes, I want to marry her."
"Then get it done before someone else takes the choice out of your hands."
I checked my watch. Seven forty-five. The board meeting was scheduled for nine, giving me just enough time to shower and change into the suit that would make me look like the responsible headmaster they expected.
Juan clapped me on the shoulder as we gathered our gear. "For what it's worth, I think she'll say yes."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because she looks at you the same way you look at her." Juan grinned. "Like you're both trying not to hope too hard."
