Page 26 of A Runaway Bride For Christmas
She gives me a sad smile. “Sure. We’ll find a way.”
There’s a hard knock at the door, and Mom’s vulnerability disappears behind her hard mask.
“I guess I’ll tell the Carmichaels that it’s off.”
I hate seeing her like this. I can’t condemn my mother to destitution and jail. I don’t even know if what me and Hans shared was real. He never said it was.
“No,” I say. “Hans doesn’t even want me. I’ll marry Ryan. I’m sure you’re right. We can learn to love each other.” I put on a smile, trying to cover the lie. As long as I live, I’ll never feel the same way about anyone as I do about Hans.
The knocking comes again, and a moment later I hear Hans’s familiar voice calling my name. My heart leaps into my throat, and my legs feel giddy.
Mum gives me a slight smile. “I’ll let him in on my way out. You two need to talk.”
I follow her out of the bedroom and into the living room. She opens the door, and Hans rushes through.
“Don’t marry him, Allie.” He strides up to me, his gaze burrowing into mine. “Marry me instead.”
I glance at Mom, but she’s already slipping out the door.
Hans clasps my hands in his.
“I love you, Allie. I didn’t tell you, but I’ve loved you since we kissed the first time two years ago. Whatever reason you think you have to marry this guy, you don’t. You should be free to choose, and I hope you choose me.”
His gaze is earnest and full of hope. I cup his cheeks in mine and trail my fingertips over his stubble.
“I love you too, Hans.” He smiles in relief, but I have to tell him the truth. “But it’s complicated.”
“Whatever it is, we’ll work it out together.”
I lead him to the couch, and he listens as I tell him about my mom. How she became depressed after the breakdown of her second marriage. How her second husband wiped out her accounts, but she was too embarrassed to tell anyone.
She started investing in risky startups and treating investing like gambling. I tell him about how she borrowed more and more money, how she falsified her business pay slips to make it look like she earned a bigger salary to borrow more and more money. How I only found out by accident when a debt collector came to the door while she was out. How marrying rich was a way to help her out. To get her out of debt and keep her fraud from being discovered and get her the help she needs.
Hans listens to it all quietly, asking questions and nodding thoughtfully. When I’m finished, he takes my hands and presses his lips to them.
“You’re an amazing person, Allie, but your mother’s debts aren’t yours.”
I know he’s right. She got herself into that mess, but she’s my mom. I can’t just sit by and watch her downfall. Not when she’s been so strong my entire life.
“I know. But I can’t bear to see her go down, Hans.”
“Is that the only fraud she committed?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“I don’t think that’s enough to send anyone to jail. She might have to go bankrupt, and she might get a fine and a slap on the wrist.”
“Really?”
“I’ll check with my lawyer,” He reaches for his phone and pulls up a number. “But if she comes clean, then I don’t think she’ll do time.”
I sit up, looking at him in a new light. “You have a lawyer on speed dial?”
“There’s a lot you still don’t know about me, Allie.”
He sends a quick text, and while we wait for a reply, he asks me more questions about the debt.
“How much does she need to start paying the debtors back?”
