Page 21 of The Fiancée Farce
All at once the fight inside her that had reared its head when Gemma had pointed out that Tansy needed her as much asGemma needed Tansy fled. Her shoulders slumped and her arms fell, dangling at her sides. “You’re really not going to make me beg for it or something?”
Gemma’s smile dropped. “Why would I do that?”
Tansy shrugged. It’s what Tucker would’ve done. He’d have delighted in having something to lord over her. Somethingelseto lord over her.
Gemma’s nose wrinkled. “Do youwantme to make you beg for it?”
Absolutely not. Tansy shook her head.
“Then no.” Gemma sank back into her pillows. “Begging’s only fun if everyone’s on board.”
She couldn’t imagine ever being on board with begging of any—
Oh.
Tansy’s face flamed, and Gemma’s smile broadened.
She cleared her throat, shoving downthosethoughts. Thoughts that would get her nowhere. “We get married. Then what?”
“Then I inherit the majority shares of VDP, assume the role of president, and try not to fuck the company up too badly. You’ll buy your bookstore. Bada bing, bada boom. We’re both happy.”
“And after?”
Gemma shrugged. “Then we stay married for two years, after which time we part amicably.”
“And logistically? Are we supposed to live together?”
“I suppose it would look strange if we didn’t,” Gemma mused.
As if this entire charade didn’t already havestrangewritten all over it.
“My apartment is a two bedroom. And I don’t have any roommates.” Let alone five. Plus, Tansy couldn’t beat the convenience of living right above where she worked.
“That’s a good point,” Gemma said. “Most newlyweds would probably want privacy.” Gemma nodded. “All right. I’ll start packing.”
Tansy choked on her tongue. “Now?”
Didn’t they have three months before they had to get married?
“Not right this very second, no.” Gemma looked at her funny. “But soon. The last thing I want is to cut it close and have some sort of clerical error with a wedding license screw me over.”
Wedding license.A reedy laugh slipped out before Tansy could clap a hand over her mouth.
The corners of Gemma’s mouth tipped up in small smile. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” Tansy ducked her chin, hiding from Gemma’s scrutinizing stare. “It’s just... a wedding license, you know? It makes it all so... soreal.”
“I’d certainly hope so,” Gemma said. “Seeing as it needs to be real.”
Well, duh. “I know that.” She shook her head, looking up at Gemma from beneath her lashes. “I just mean...” God, whatdidshe mean? She couldn’t even put a name to what she was feeling—a nonsensical melee of... nonsense. “This is all just happening really fast.”
“Too fast?”
Unequivocally. Tansy swallowed down another frazzled laugh before it could burst free. “Should we discuss dates? Venues?” Whatever else people who weren’t in love and barely even knew each other talked about when planning a wedding.
“Venues?” Gemma started to laugh, the kind that built on itself until she wiped away tears. “Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. No venue. No ceremony. No reception.Definitelyno shoving cake in eachother’s faces. I figure, we wait a couple weeks for news of our engagement to simmer down and then we go to the courthouse—or Vegas, if you’re so inclined. Anyone asks for details, we tell them we had a small, intimate wedding with only our nearest and dearest. Does that work for you?”
Tansy hadn’t been under the delusion that she’d be getting her dream wedding out of this deal, but the idea of eloping to the courthouse left her disappointed in a way she had no business feeling. No business at all.
