Page 22 of The Marriage Narrative
“Are you in a rush to be somewhere else?”
“I don’t want to waste his time.”
Jordan smirked. “He’d stand here all night if you asked him to.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I agree with you. I don’t want him to waste his time either.”
Brett returned a few minutes later and took their orders before dashing off again. Zinnia held up her gift and asked, “Can I open this now?”
He nodded and placed his elbow on the back of the booth, propping his head up with his fist.
The card inside the envelope was thick and had writing on one side.
“ ‘Dearest Zinnia,’ ” she read aloud, “ ‘Save the Redwoods League thanks you for your generous donation. Two dozen redwood trees will be planted in your name through our reforestation program…’ ” She stared at him, wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open in shock.
“Keep going.”
There was more: twenty-four treesandan entire restoration grove. She was nearly speechless.
“I thought you might prefer redwoods over roses on the occasion of our potential marriage-merger.”
“I do. I mean, thank you.” She read the card again.“Oh my god.”
He chuckled, rightfully pleased with himself. “Open the box.”
Her second gift was a rose gold tennis bracelet. She watched his face as he focused on securing it around her bare wrist, fingers brushing against her skin.
“I loved the story behind your heirloom lucky bracelets.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “I know it’s not the same, but I thought this could be the start of our first tradition. Something old made new.”
Her soul was full-on about to abandon her body. Poof. Gone. Never to be seen again.
“I don’t know what to say.” She looked away from him, only to become transfixed by the delicate bracelet sparkling in the low light. “I love it. Both gifts. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I feel terrible for not getting you anything.”
“That’s not how gifts work. I bought them because I wanted to.”
The specter of their unfinished business loomed over their entire meal. Lulls in their conversation led to exchanging knowing looks before one of them rushed to fill the space with anything else. But they were running out of time.
While Fiona had come around somewhat, Grace had refused to budge. That didn’t stop her from emailing a list of negotiation points for theZaffre Hourscontract, including paid security during and after Zinnia’s time on the show and strict usage limits on the Find Your Zin brand.Zaffre Hoursand all associated entities would hold no rights whatsoever. They also couldn’t force Zinnia to include it on air.
Sadie had personally emailed a revised contract accepting all of Grace’s terms withinan hour. Zinnia’s lawyer had also advised the prenuptial agreement was ready to go because Jordan had paid expedited fees to both law offices. California law required they wait seven days before signing—which fit Jordan’s timeline so perfectly, it actually made her a little suspicious.
Not to mention that a contract and prenup couldn’t cover the inner workings of the marriage itself. There wasn’t a line item that could legally ensure she’d have her own room.
Zinnia’s nerves were eating her alive. Just gnawing her down to the white meat. She expected to have open communication in their marriage, so she might as well start now.
“I have an idea,” she said, pushing her half-eaten dessert to the side. “What if we came up with some more clauses together?”
“Together,” Jordan echoed. He basically hadn’t stopped smiling since the appetizers arrived and every time he aimed it at her, warm reassurance temporarily soothed her ravenous nerves.
“Marriage-mergerpromises,” she explained with a nod. “We already have the Open Door clause, the Parent Trailer clause, and you know this isn’t about fallinginlove, but it’s important to me that we’re close. I want us to have a supportive and caring marriage, in case that wasn’t clear.”
“I understand. I want that too,” he said, earnestly. “We also have your Separate Bedroom clause—”
