Page 29 of That Reilly Boy
“But if I continue living like this, my relationship with Gin is going to blow up eventually, anyway, but neither of us will have any way out when it does.” I exhale a shaky breath and then look him in the eye. “So let’s nail down some of the details.”
Hayden sits back in his chair and not looking smug is probably taking a huge effort on his part. “Well, we picked the date.”
“You picked the date,” I point out, and my pulse quickens again at the thought of marrying him in a week and a half.
“The less time our families have to really think about the situation and come up with hard questions, the better.” He pauses until I nod my agreement. “What’s next?”
With my mind racing the way it is, it’s hard to grasp a single thought to share. “You know how gossip gets around this town, and I don’t want this to be any harder for Gin than it’ll already be, so you can’t tell anybody until I’ve told her.”
“Do you want us to tell her together?”
My burst of shocked laughter startles Penny, and I rub her belly in apology. “Absolutely not. I’ll tell her first, and then let you know when it’s done so you can tell Colleen and your brother.”
“Okay. Speaking of gossip, even though the relationship won’t be real, it will be exclusive.” His voice is low, but there’s no give in his expression. He’s very serious about this. “As long as you’re my wife, no matter the reason, there can’t be anybody else in your life.”
I want to laugh at the idea of me dating anybody right now, but my mouth is too dry and I’m not sure I’m breathing correctly. It’s hard to tell with the way my heart is pounding, and Penny wiggles to remind me I should be petting her. I must have stopped when the heat rushed through my body, sapping all the strength from my muscles.
My wife.
Sure, it’s all fake. But the way those two little words, said in his deliciously deep voice, have been seared into my mind is very real.
“That applies to both of us, of course,” he says, and I hope he mistook my inability to form words for outrage at a perceived double standard.
I clear my throat as discreetly as I can, praying my voice will work. “Of course.”
“We’ll maintain separate finances,” he continues. “Anything that’s necessary to maintain the pretense, I’ll pay for. Dinners out and that sort of thing. And the wedding, of course.”
My cheeks feel hotter with every word he says, but I can’t exactly disagree on that point. I can’t afford to. “Okay.”
“I mentioned the prenup and NDA earlier. Taylor—my assistant—will send me all of the documents we need. We can go over them together and if you have concerns, I’ll pay for a lawyer of your choice to go over them with you. There’s a time crunch, but it’s doable.”
I don’t know the first thing about lawyers. There’s one in Sumac Falls, and he’s been doing the town’s divorces, wills, and property line disputes for as long as I can remember. Since I definitely wouldn’t use a local, I’ll keep my fingers crossed Hayden’s assistant sends those documents in plain language.
I’ve been so hung up on the outrageousness of the entire situation, I haven’t really thought about the logistics. But now questions start popping into my head.
“What happens if Gin decides—after the wedding—that she doesn’t want to sell us the house after all?” I ask. “There has to be some kind of expiration date if this doesn’t work out.”
His eyebrow arches. “Do you think that’s a possibility?”
“It’s Gin. She’s irrational when it comes to that house, so anything’s a possibility.” It’s hard to talk so frankly about my mom, but I gave her every chance to be reasonable about selling the house. I don’t have a choice anymore.
“Six months?”
I blink, the reality of being Mrs. Hayden Reilly for half a year beginning to settle in. This is a bit of a long game, and I’m not sure I have the nerves for it.
“If, after two months, we’re not making any progress on the Gin front, we can start showing some cracks in the marriage. I’ll start spending more time in Boston and, especially with the hasty wedding, nobody will be surprised when we split up after six months.”
“That’ll definitely give Sumac Falls something to talk about,” I mutter.
Hayden laughs softly, and Penny shifts her body so she can see him without taking away my belly rub access. “There’s no way through this without gossip, Cara. We both know that. All I can say is that I’m willing to be the bad guy if it goes sideways on us, and you’re the only one who can decide if it’s worth it to you.”
“It is,” I say quickly before the doubts can speak for me. I know it’s worth it, and that’s why I’m here. “So where are we going to live? Gin’s not going to give us the deed to the house as a wedding present, and don’t forget her dream of a mother-in-law suite.”
“That’s not going to happen,” he says in what’s probably his Boss of the Boardroom voice.
“So where exactly are we going to be doing the happily married couple thing for at least two months and possibly up to six?”
A single bark from Penny is the only warning we get before Colleen Reilly walks through the front door. She drops her keys on a side table and takes a few more steps before she looks up and her gaze lands directly on me.
