Page 14 of The Fiancée Farce
But...
Crazy was better than destitute, with her family’s bookstore falling into the hands of a soulless retail giant.
Marry me and I can promisepatheticwill be the last thing anyone calls you.
Tansy lifted a hand to her mouth, chewing on her already shredded thumbnail. She couldn’t believe she was sitting here contemplating this. Considering marrying a stranger. Marrying aVan Dalen.
But the Van Dalens were old-money rich. So wealthy that, oh, say, buying a small bookstore would be a drop in the bucket for someone like Gemma van Dalen.
It wouldn’t be the marriage she’d dreamed about as a little girl, but saving the store and securing her future sure beat some pipe dream ofmaybeone day falling in love. Tansy could give up two years in exchange for saving the store, owning it outright. Especially when Gemma had made a decent point—whatelsewas Tansy doing with her life?
“How soon is Scylla expecting an answer?”
Katherine seesawed her head from side to side. “They didn’t give me a firm deadline, but they’d like an answer by the first of the year.”
The first of the year. Almost three months away. Tansy could work with that.
She lifted her mug, replacing the bitter taste in her mouthwith the creamy sweetness of her latte. “What if you had another offer?”
“If it were competitive, sure,” Katherine said, breezy. “Not that it matters. Idon’thave another offer.”
Tansy teetered on the edge of committing to a life-altering decision.
“Tansy?” Katherine prodded, frowning softly.
Here went nothing. “What if I bought the store?” She held Katherine’s gaze across the desk, refusing to flinch even when Katherine’s eyes widened. “Gemma and I, I mean. Obviously.”
As if she could afford it on her own.
She held her breath, waiting as Katherine drummed her fingers against the edge of the desk, gray eyes narrowed, contemplating.
“This is something you’ve discussed?”
Seeing as Katherine had just sprung this on her, no. “Not exactly,” she couched. “But Gemma knows how much the store means to me.”
Or she would once Tansy had pled her case. Money to buy the store in exchange for her hand in marriage.
Katherine’s face softened. “It really means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”
A lotdidn’t do her feelings for the store justice, but she nodded anyway.
“Well, far be it for me to stand in the way of your dreams.” Katherine slipped the handle of her handbag over her arm and stood. “Talk it over with your fiancée and let me know if and when you decide to make an offer. Preferably sooner than later. I can only keep Scylla on the hook for so long. And don’t forget to call that wedding planner.”
Tansy reached for her phone, nodding absently as she entered her passcode, getting it wrong on the first try, her hands sweaty and her grip shaky. “Sure.”
Katherine paused in the doorway. “And do try to get outside today, Tansy. All this time spent buried under these books has you looking a little pale.”
With that parting shot, Katherine breezed out of the office, shutting the door behind her.
Tansy couldn’t muster up an ounce of indignation. She was too busy pulling up Gemma’s Instagram profile to give a damn about her complexion.
Her fingers trembled as she typed a message, sending up a silent prayer after she pressedsendthat Gemma had push notifications turned on.
Hi, this is Tansy. I thought about it. Can we talk?
Five minutes later, her phone buzzed with an Instagram notification. Gemma had responded.
Heart racing, Tansy opened the message.
