Marriage For One

After spending days trying to ignore what I had done, I was finally back in New York and still nowhere near ready to face the clusterfuck I had created. Exiting the car the moment Raymond pulled up in front of my building, I walked past the doorman and stepped into the elevator. As I was checking my voicemails, I tried not to think about who and exactly what kind of situation would be waiting for me in my apartment.

Would I have to carry on a conversation with her? Answer more questions?

I certainly hoped not because talking to her was the last thing I wanted to do. Not if I was planning on sticking with my plan of keeping her at arm’s length.

The moment I stepped through the threshold, I knew she wasn’t there. Feeling both relieved and annoyed at the same time—relieved because I was alone just as I liked, annoyed because she wasn’t where she was supposed to be—I dumped my luggage in my bedroom and slowly walked through the apartment, just to make sure. Turning lights on and off, I checked every room, inspecting everything, looking for anything that was out of place, looking to see if someone had even been there after I left. When I reached the last room—the room she was supposed to be staying in—and found it just as it had been when I’d left for London, I rubbed my neck, hoping it would help with the headache I could feel coming on. Walking through the room, I stepped out onto the terrace to stare down at the busy city, wondering what I was supposed to do next.

What have I done?

A few weeks earlier…

As soon as I got the call from the lobby, I walked out of my office to wait for her in front of the elevators. My main goal was to intercept her before she could get to the meeting room where her remaining family members would join her in another thirty minutes. A few minutes later, the elevator doors slid open with a ping and Rose Coleson stepped out. Her brown hair was down in waves, her bangs long enough to almost cover her eyes. She had minimal makeup on, and she was wearing simple black jeans and an even a simpler white blouse. I waited as she walked over to the reception desk.

“Hello. How can I help you?” Deb, our receptionist, asked with a practiced smile on her face.

I heard Rose clear her throat and saw her fingers grip the edge of the front desk. “Hi. I’m here for the Coleson mee—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Deb noticed me waiting and, ignoring Rose completely, turned her gaze to me. “Mr. Hawthorne? Is there anything I can do for you? Your two-thirty appoint—”

“No, there isn’t.” Ignoring Deb’s surprised look, I focused on Rose Coleson. “Miss Coleson.” When she heard her name, she glanced at me over her shoulder and let go of the desk to face me. “Your meeting is with me,” I continued. “If you could follow me.”

Deb cut in as Rose took a step to follow me. “Mr. Hawthorne, I think you are mistaken. The Colesons’ meeti—”

“Thank you, Deb,” I interjected, not caring whether she took offense at my tone or not. “Miss Coleson,” I repeated, maybe a bit harsher than I’d intended. I needed to get this meeting done and move on with my day. “This way, please.”

After a quick glance at Deb, Rose moved closer. “Mr. Hawthorne? I think there might be a mistake here. I’m supposed to meet with Mr. Reeves—”

“I can assure you there are no mistakes. If you wouldn’t mind stepping into my office for some privacy, there are some things I’d like to go over with you.” I watched, impatiently, as she thought it over.

“I was told I was needed to sign something and then I could leave. I have another appointment in Brooklyn, so I can’t stay for too long.”

I gave her a curt nod.

After a brief hesitation and another look at our receptionist, she followed me toward my office in silence.

After a long walk, I opened the glass door for her to step in. I reminded Cynthia, my assistant, not to forward any calls, and then I waited until Rose was settled in her seat. Holding her bulky brown handbag on her lap, she gave me an expectant look as I took my own seat behind my desk.

“I thought the Colesons’ lawyer was Tim Reeves, at least the estate lawyer. Has there been a change?” she asked before I could utter a word.

“No, Miss Coleson. Tim is the one who drafted the will, and he is the one handling everything at the moment.”

“Then I’m still not sure—”

“I’m not an estate lawyer, but I did help the team who was handling your late father’s corporate cases on a few occasions last year. Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee, maybe? Or tea?”

“No, thank you. Like I said, I have another app—”

“Appointment you need to get to,” I finished for her. “I understand. That’s—”

“He was my uncle, by the way.”

“Excuse me?”

“You said father. Gary Coleson was my uncle, not father.”

I raised an eyebrow. This was something I already knew about, but apparently I was too distracted to remember every detail. “That’s right. I apologize.”

“That’s okay… I just wanted to mention it in case you weren’t already aware. I’m afraid it’s also the reason why I wasn’t mentioned in the will, which brings us back full circle, Mr. Hawthorne. I’m not sure what you could possibly want to talk to me about.”

This wasn’t going like I had planned. Granted, I hadn’t given how I wanted to do this much thought, but it was still not going smoothly enough.

“I read the will,” I admitted after taking in the stiff way she was holding herself: sitting on the very edge of her seat, impatient and ready to bolt. Maybe she’d appreciate a more straightforward approach, which was something I excelled at.

“Okay,” she prompted, raising an eyebrow.

“I’d like to talk to you about the property on Madison Avenue that was owned by your uncle.”

Her shoulders stiffened. “What about it?”

“I’d like to know what your plan is going forward regarding the property. I believe you and Gary had signed a contract a little while before his death indicating that you would have use of the property for a short time period, something like two years, and would only pay him a small amount of rent instead of the actual worth of the place. At the end of the two years, you would relocate. Correct?”

She frowned at me but nodded.

Satisfied that she was following me, I continued, “The contract was entered into the will, but Gary chose to add a stipulation I believe you only recently learned about. In the case of something happening to him during those two years, he wanted ownership of the property to transfer to your husband—”

“If I were married,” Rose finished, her chin held high.

“Yes.” I pointedly looked at her left hand and she followed my gaze. “If you were married, that is.”

Her eyes lifted back to mine in the next second and I watched a frown form between her brows.

“I already know about all of this,” she explained slowly. “Gary was excited about me marrying Joshua, my fiancé. They got along well, and he liked him—we both had a business degree, but evidently it looked like he trusted Joshua more—”

“Your ex-fiancé, you mean,” I reminded her.

She paused at my words, but her fingers finally let go of the death grip she had on her handbag as she tried to follow my meaning. “Yes. Right. Of course, ex-fiancé. It’s still a habit. We only broke up a few weeks ago. I’m sorry, but how do you know he’s my ex-fiancé?”

I paused, trying to be careful with my words. “I do my due diligence, Miss Coleson. Please continue.”

She studied me for a long moment as I waited patiently. “I wasn’t even aware that he would enter our contract into his will. I was also never supposed to have ownership of the property, that wasn’t in the contract. He was letting me have use of the property for two years only, after the time limit, I was to leave. Then my uncle and his wife, Angela, died in the car crash and I learned that in the will he was planning on leaving the property to my husband.”

“Maybe that was his way of giving you something. A surprise maybe. A wedding gift of some kind.”

“Yes. Maybe. Maybe that was his way of leaving us the place, but I’m not married to Joshua at the moment, am I? So I get nothing.” She shrugged. “I only knew that Gary thought Joshua’s presence would be necessary if I was serious about opening my own coffee shop. I disagreed with him. It didn’t matter that we’d started discussing the possibility of me using the space a year prior to Joshua even coming into my life. He didn’t think I could handle the work on my own, and Joshua was in between jobs so he thought it made sense. I didn’t. I believe he trusted Joshua more than he trusted me because he went to a better school. Also, can’t forget about the fact that I’m a woman and Joshua is a man. He was old-fashioned and didn’t believe women could handle themselves in the business world. However, when we talked about it again and I told him about my plans for the place, he agreed to let me use his property. Joshua wasn’t a part of the conversation then—or the contract, for that matter. He never made stipulations other than the fact that I’d only be able to use the space for two years and then I’d have to find myself a different location. That was all the help he was willing to give me. Nothing more, nothing less. I was thankful either way. I have no idea why he felt it was necessary to add Joshua in his will regarding something concerning me. And why am I telling you all this?”

I leaned back in my seat, getting comfortable. Now we were getting somewhere. “He still isn’t part of the conversation.”

“I… Excuse me?”

“Gary never used your ex-fiancé’s name. He never specified who would be the owner of the property in case he passed away. There is only the mention of a ‘husband.’”

“I don’t see how that matters. I was supposed to get married to Joshua sometime this year and he knew that, but in the end, I didn’t. Joshua broke up with me two days after their death. So, because I’m not married, Mr. Hawthorne, and I’m not planning on marrying anyone any time soon, I don’t get to use the space let alone own it. I talked to my cousins, Bryan and Jodi, but they aren’t interested in honoring the contract I’d signed with their dad, which means I’m not going to be able to open my coffee shop. At this point, I’m just trying to accept the fact that I threw away fifty thousand dollars—fifty thousand dollars that I managed to save by working for I don’t even know how many years at this point—on a space that was never going to be mine anyway. All that aside, I lost two people who were important to me in the same car crash that day. Even though I was Gary’s niece, they never saw me as their own flesh and blood, but they were all I had after my dad passed away when I was nine. Whatever the case may be, instead of letting me get lost in the system Gary agreed to take me in and that’s all that matters. So, to answer your previous question, I have no plans regarding the property because I’m not allowed to use it anymore.”

A little out of breath and, from what I could tell, a lot pissed off, she stood up and hooked her bag over her shoulder.

“Okay, I really don’t want to be rude, but I believe this was a waste of both our time. I was a little curious when I was following you here, I’ll admit that much, but I don’t have time to go over things I already know for no reason at all. I have a job interview I need to get to, and I can’t afford to be late. I think we’re done here, right? It was nice meeting you, Mr. Hawthorne.”

Thinking our conversation was done, she extended her hand over my desk, and I stared at it for a second. Before she could decide to walk away, I let out a breath, rose from my seat, and looked into her eyes as I took her hand.

This was it. This was the part where I should’ve said It was nice meeting you and gone on with my day. I didn’t.

In a calm and collected voice, I said what I’d been waiting to say. “You’re not being rude, Miss Coleson, but before you go, I’d like you to marry me.” Breaking our connection, I pushed my hands into my pockets, watching for her reaction.

After a short moment of hesitation, she replied, “Sure, how about we do that after my job interview, but before dinner. Because, you know, I already made plans with Tom Hardy and I don’t think I can postpone—”

“Are you mocking me?” I stood absolutely still.

Her narrowed eyes moved across my face, searching for an answer, I presumed. When she couldn’t find what she was looking for, the fight went out of her, and right in front of my eyes, her entire demeanor—which had hardened the second I’d started asking questions about her ex-fiancé—softened and she puffed out a breath.

“You weren’t making a bad joke?”

“Do I look like someone who jokes?”

Making a noncommittal sound, she shifted in place. “At first glance…I can’t say that you do, but I don’t know you enough to be sure.”

“I’ll save you the trouble—I don’t make jokes.”

She gave me a baffled look like I had said something astonishing. “O-kay. I think I’m still going to leave now.”

Just like that, she surprised me and turned away to leave. Before she could open the door, I spoke up.

“You’re not interested in hearing more about my offer then?”

Her hand was already on the glass knob when she stopped. With stiff shoulders, she let go of the door and turned to face me.

After opening and closing her mouth, she looked straight into my eyes from across the room. “Your offer? Just so we’re on the same page and I can make sure I didn’t hear you wrong, could you repeat said offer?”

“I’m offering to marry you.”

Hiking her bag higher on her shoulder, she cleared her throat. “Mr. Hawthorne, I think…I think I’m flattered that you’d—”

“Miss Coleson,” I cut her off bluntly before she could finish her sentence. “I assure you, my marriage offer is strictly a business deal. I’m sure you’re not thinking I’m expressing an interest in you. I was under the impression that you could use my help—was I wrong?”

“Your help? I don’t even know you, and I definitely don’t remember asking for any—”

“If you accept my offer, you’ll have enough time to get to know me.”

“If I accept your offer…which is a business deal disguised as a marriage. I don’t think I’m following you here.”

“Maybe if you explained what you’re having trouble understanding, I could help you.”

“How about everything? From where I’m standing, that sounds like a good place to start.”

“Right, of course. If you’ll take your seat, I’d be thrilled to go into more details. For example, I can make sure your life savings, which you already spent on a coffee shop that’s not happening, won’t go to waste.” I was guessing she could see from my expression that I wasn’t thrilled about any part of our conversation.

“How do you know that was my life s—”

“Like I said before, I do my—”

“Due diligence, right. I heard you the first time.” She looked out, her eyes scanning the busy hallway outside my office. It took her a few seconds to make a choice between walking out and staying. Then, reluctantly, she moved back toward my desk and me, and equally as reluctantly sat down on the edge of the seat again. Her untrusting eyes had all my attention.

“Good.” When I was sure she wasn’t going to jump up and run away, I took my seat as well. “Now that you’re staying, I’d like you to consider my offer.”

Briefly closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and let it all out. “See, that’s not really explaining anything to me. You keep asking the same thing, and I keep experiencing the same urge to get up and leave.”

“I’d like us to get married for a number of reasons, but the one that would interest you most is the fact that you’d get to open your coffee shop on Madison Avenue.”

When she didn’t make any comments, we remained silent.

“Is that it?” she finally asked, her tone impatient. “You want to marry me—sorry, make a business deal with me by marrying me so I can open my coffee shop?”

“Sounds like you understood me well enough.”

After another baffled look, she leaned back in her seat then got up, dumped her handbag on the chair, and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows to gaze at the skyline. A whole minute passed in silence, and my patience started to wear thin.

“You’re insane then,” she said. “Are you insane, Mr. Hawthorne?”

“I’m not going to answer that question,” I replied tersely.

“That’s nothing new. You’re not answering my questions, you’re not explaining things.”

“I want to help you. It’s that simple.”

She glanced at me with her big brown eyes, staring as if I had lost my mind, and when I didn’t go on, she raised her arms and dropped them. “That simple? Could you be helpful right now and explain further, please? You want to help me, for some insane reason—me, someone who incidentally doesn’t even know your first name.”

“My first name is Jack.”

She studied me for a long moment, our gazes holding.

“You’re serious, aren’t you? Is this a service you offer to all your clients, Jack Hawthorne? Offering to help them by marrying them?”

“You’re the first, Miss Coleson.”

“So, I’m the special snowflake.”

“In a way, yes.”

Turning back to the view, she dropped her head and rubbed her temples. “Why?”

“Are you asking me why you’re a special snowflake?”

Snorting, she glanced at me over her shoulder. “No, I’m not asking you… Can you give me more information, please? Like actual sentences that explain things and actually makes sense? I’m pretty sure you’re not asking me to marry you just to help me out. What’s in it for you? What are all those reasons you mentioned?” She looked around my office, taking everything in, me included—all the expensive furniture, my clothes, the view, the clients and lawyers walking by. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it isn’t about money, because I don’t think I have anything to offer you on that front.”

“You’re right, I don’t need money. Like I said before, this is strictly a business deal. It means nothing else to me. When we go ahead with the marriage—”

“You’re awfully sure of yourself while I’m still trying to figure out if you’re the one who is mocking me.”

I ignored her assessment and continued. “It’ll be nothing more than a business transaction between two people.” I got up and walked toward her. “I made partner this year, Miss Coleson. I’m thirty-one years old, the youngest partner in the firm, and to properly deal with some of my current and future clients, I need to make a good impression. There are formal and informal dinners, events I need to attend. Although it’s not a requirement to be in a serious relationship or to be a ‘family man’, as they put it, I believe I can use the illusion a marriage will provide to my advantage. I don’t want to lose any of my clients or any potential clients to other partners.”

Crossing her arms against her chest, she faced me, and we looked at each other. I couldn’t even begin to guess what was going through her mind. My own damn mind, however, was at war with my conscience.

“Why not marry someone you love? Someone you’re dating? Someone you actually know? Why would you even consider asking me? You know nothing about me. We’re nothing but two strangers.” Seemingly trying to hold back her emotions, she took a deep breath. “Call me old-fashioned, Mr. Hawthorne, but I’m a romantic. I believe in marrying someone for love and only for love. Marriage is… Marriage means something completely different to me than what I think it means to you. I don’t want to be insulting, I don’t know you, but you don’t strike me as someone who necessarily puts much meaning…”

“You can finish your sentence, Miss Coleson.” I jammed my hands back into the pockets of my pants.

“I think you get where I’m coming from.”

I nodded because I did get it. “I don’t have time for personal relationships at the moment, and I’m not going to marry someone who’ll end up expecting more than what I’m offering. I’m not offering you something I’m not ready to give, and you can’t be that naïve, can you? You can’t think I only want to marry you to have someone hang on my arm on appropriate occasions and pay me a small amount of rent.”

Her spine straightened, her eyes shooting daggers at me. “Naïve? Trust me, Mr. Hawthorne, I’m not that naïve. If I was married my husband would own the property, that’s what the will says. So if you’re my husband…” She paused and then shrugged. “I get that you’re after the property as well, but I’m still waiting to hear about the part where you’d help me. So far all I’ve heard is you getting everything you want out of this. I’m failing to see how marrying you will help me save the—to you, very meager, I’m sure—life savings I’ve already spent to buy everything for the coffee shop. Where does me opening the coffee shop fit? In this scenario, you get the fake wife and the property, a property I’m assuming you can buy from my cousins if they’re considering selling it, if that’s what you want.”

“I don’t think they’re interested in selling. Even if they were, why would I spend so much money on something I can get for free? And to give you more context on the subject, I wasn’t actively searching for someone to marry, but when I was asked to read the will to advise on a few subjects, I found out about your situation and thought we could help each other out. To expand on another thing you mentioned, we’re not complete strangers. We did meet before—once, a year ago. It was just a brief encounter at one of your uncle’s parties, but it still helped me put a face to your name. As vague as it was, I had an idea of who you are, and as for the rest…I had enough time to learn what I needed to learn about you, and I’m sure you’ll have the same opportunity regarding me.”

“We met? Where? I don’t remember.”

Uncomfortable, I shifted in place and, not wanting to go into too much detail, waved her question off. “If you don’t remember, there is no point in repeating it. Like I said, it was nothing more than a brief introduction anyway. Anything else you’d like to know?”

“You’re genuinely being serious about this? Really?”

I glanced at the clock on the wall. Time was wasting. “I’m not going to keep repeating myself, Miss Coleson. If you accept, we’ll get married and the property will be transferred to me. After that, I’ll honor the initial contract terms and you can go ahead with your plans.”

She sighed and seemed to mull my words over. “That’s it? That’s all? The property, attending events, and acting like we’re married in front of other people? Nothing more?”

“That’s exactly it, and only for two years. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Glancing away from me, she worried her lips between her teeth. “Two years—right, because that’s nothing. Isn’t this illegal? Wouldn’t it be illegal?”

“Why would it be?”

She gave me an exasperated look. “Fine. What about Jodi and Bryan? There is no way they’ll believe it was a real marriage. Can’t he dispute, challenge, or whatever it is people would do in this situation to stop me from opening the coffee shop and you having ownership?” With a frown on her face, she shook her head. “I’m not saying I’d do this, but if for some insane reason I accepted your offer… I can’t even believe I’m thinking this, let alone saying it out loud.”

It wasn’t hard to see the hopeful look on her face. Knowing it was the right time, I gave her another small push.

“It’s not a hard decision, Miss Coleson. If I suspected there would be blowback, for me or for you, I wouldn’t make this offer. I’m the best at what I do, and no one will be disputing anything. If you accept, I’ll handle your cousins. They won’t be an issue, I can assure you of that.” I lifted my shoulder in a careless shrug. “It’s no one’s business but ours, and you don’t owe anyone any explanations.”

Her eyes focused on the ground, she kept shaking her head. I already knew what her answer would be—she was asking questions, which meant she was considering it. It was already a done deal. If I hadn’t already been sure of the outcome, I wouldn’t have come to her with the offer. She had spent all her savings on her dream, and I didn’t see her passing on my offer, which would benefit us both. I also knew it didn’t mean I’d get her answer with no resistance.

Startled, we both looked at my assistant, Cynthia, when she knocked on the glass door and stepped inside. “Your next appointment is here, Mr. Hawthorne, and you wanted me to inform you when the other meeting had started.”

“Thank you, Cynthia. I’m going to need a few more minutes here.”

As Cynthia nodded and closed the door, Rose Coleson headed back to her chair and picked up her bag. “I’m going to leave…and I’ll think about—”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to give me your answer now.” I didn’t move from my spot.

She stopped messing with her bag and met my gaze. “What? Why?”

“Because as Cynthia just let us know, your cousins are in the meeting room at the moment, discussing how to handle the properties. If you accept my offer, we’ll go join them and announce our situation. If you don’t, you’ll lose your last chance.”

“You can’t really expect me to decide right now. Do you think they’re just going to believe we fell in love at first sight? And then decided to get married in a week?”

“And how would they know that? How would they know when or how we met?” I took my hands out of my pockets and shrugged, moving back toward my desk. “It’s not our problem if they assume we met weeks or months ago.”

“My fiancé just left me a few weeks ago, Mr. Hawthorne. Out of the blue. For no reason whatsoever. They know me enough to know I wouldn’t marry someone else that quickly.”

“Your point being?”

“My point being?” Frustrated, she shook her head. “I can’t believe this is happening right now.”

Overwhelmed and looking confused, she dropped down on the chair. I felt like a bastard for forcing an answer from her, but I had a million things to do and not enough time to do them. If we were going to go forward with this, I needed to know immediately because I wouldn’t put myself in this situation again. “I’m going to need that answer from you, Miss Coleson.”

“And I need to know more details, Mr. Hawthorne. Also, could you please stop calling me Miss Coleson?”

“The details aren’t important at the moment. It’s either a yes or a no.”

“You’re pressuring me. I don’t like it. I don’t like this.”

“I’m doing nothing of the sort. You can walk out of my office at any time—after you give me a definitive answer, that is. You don’t have to say yes, but when you do answer, don’t forget that this is completely your own decision. I have nothing to lose in this. If I don’t end up with that property, I’ll find something else on Madison Avenue. Can you say the same?”

Her hands resting on her lap, palms down on her jeans, she lifted her head and looked up at me. “This is insane. If I do this, I’m insane. You’re insane.”

“I think I’m quite clear on what you think of me.” Half sitting on my desk, I crossed my arms. “This will benefit us both, Miss Coleson. If we sign that simple piece of paper that states we’re married, you’ll get to open up your coffee shop, and nothing else will change for two years. If we don’t, you’ll lose all your money on furniture and equipment you’ve bought that you can’t use at the moment. From where I’m standing, there is no decision to make. I’m offering you a lifeline. If you’re okay with losing all that, we have nothing more to discuss.”

“We’re not a good fit, Mr. Hawthorne. Surely you can see that.”

“No, I guess we’re not. I completely agree with you, but then again, I believe it’s good enough for what we have in mind. If your answer is no, please let me know so I can get on with my next meeting.”

Seconds ticked by as I waited for her answer, and I could see the exact moment her dream of opening her own coffee shop swayed her decision, just as I’d suspected it would. “I can’t believe I’m saying this. I can’t even believe this is happening right now, but if we’re going to make them believe we’re getting married, I think you should start calling me Rose.”

“Good. We’ll discuss the details at another date. In the meantime, I’ll draw up a marriage contract that covers everything.” Straightening from the desk, I crossed to the door and opened it for her.

“Six months,” she blurted out.

I arched an eyebrow as she got up and turned around to meet my gaze.

“Six months?”

“Yes. I want you to give me six months before I start paying you the amount of rent that was discussed in the original contract.” She nodded with a frown, as if she wasn’t so sure what she was asking. “I know that was not in the initial contract I made with my uncle, but since you’re going to end up with the property anyway, I want those first six months to be rent free so I can at least try to make some profit.” She paused, thinking. “I think you can afford it. And truth be told, I can’t. Sure, the rent I’ll be paying you is nothing for a place on Madison Avenue, but with everything going on, I won’t be able to afford it. But those rent-free six months will help me get a good start.”

I studied her more closely. “You’re right, I can afford not getting rent from you. Deal. Is that all?”

“I… Yes, that’s it.”

“You could ask me for the half of the property. If you had gotten married to Joshua, you’d get the half.”

“Would you give it to me?”

“I’m afraid the answer would be no.”

“I thought so. Not paying rent for six months will help me.”

“Good. Then we have no problem. Let’s join the meeting.”

“Just like that?”

“Do you have any more questions?”

“Only about a hundred.” She stopped next to me and met my eyes.

I arched an eyebrow. “I’m afraid we can’t go through them all at the moment. Maybe next time. You’ll have plenty of time to ask me anything you want after we’re married. Let me do the talking in the meeting and we’ll be fine.”

Paler than she’d been when she had first entered my office and maybe a little shell-shocked, she nodded and followed behind me as we headed toward the meeting room.

I cursed myself for the bastard I was with every step I took.

When we were only a few steps away from the meeting room and I could see Bryan and Jodi Coleson sitting next to each other, their backs to us, I glanced at Rose and saw her breathing was a little out of control, her eyes huge and unsure.

“Ready?” I asked, already guessing what her answer would be.

“Can’t really say that I am.”

I nodded. That was good enough.

“When was the last time you talked to your cousins?”

She rubbed her temples before looking up at me. “Last week, maybe? Maybe more? Why?”

“Leave it to me.”

We stepped in the room. Standing side by side. She had that particular death grip on her handbag that was hanging on her shoulder again.

“Tim,” I interrupted and everyone in the room, including Jodi Coleson and Bryan Coleson, turned to look at us. “I’m sorry for being late to the meeting.”

Tim shuffled the pages he held in his hand, stood up and took off his glasses, his eyes on Rose. “Hello Jack. Miss Rose, I’m glad you could join us. I won’t hold you for too long, we just need you to—”

“Tim,” I said again and waited until his gaze met mine. “I thought you’d like to be informed so you can make the necessary changes. Rose Coleson is my fiancée and we’re getting married in a few days.”

“You’re…you’re getting married to Miss Rose? What?” While Tim stood there staring at me and Rose with a stupefied expression, Bryan slowly pushed himself up and faced Rose.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, his already hard gaze jumping from Rose to me. “Explain.”

“Bryan, Jack and I are getting married.” She forced out a laugh and shifted on her feet. “I know that sounds a little—”

“It sounds like you’re fucking with me, cuz.”

I took a step forward and left, putting myself in front of Bryan and forcing Rose to take a step back.

“I know this is a surprise to your family, Mr. Coleson, so I’ll let that one go, but I’d suggest you watch your words when you’re speaking to my fiancé.” I looked away from him and addressed the room. “I proposed to Rose last week, and we thought this would be a good time to share the news with you. We couldn’t do it before because we wanted some privacy to celebrate. Tim, I believe this will change the situation regarding the property on Madison Avenue.”

“This is complete bullshit,” Bryan burst out as his sister, Jodi, sat there and watched it all unfold with a bored expression. “This situation, whatever the hell this act is, changes nothing. She still isn’t getting the property. How stupid do you think I am?”

“Oh, I couldn’t say, Mr. Coleson. We’ll be family shortly and I wouldn’t want to insult you.” I watched as the color on his face darkened. “Also, in the will, Gary Coleson clearly states that, in the event that he passes away, the ownership of the property on Madison Avenue will transfer to Rose’s husband. The time limit was until 2020, I believe, but we can always check. I’m only explaining this for your sake, Mr. Coleson, because I’m not marrying your cousin for a property. My feelings for her has nothing to do with what’s going on here.”

“Jack, maybe we should—” Tim started.

“If it has nothing to do with what’s going on here, you’ll lay no claim on the property,” Bryan forced out through clenched teeth, his eyes sliding to Rose.

“The property, I believe is Gary Coleson’s last gift to his niece. I’m sure you’re not trying to ignore your father’s wishes.”

Bryan’s hands slowly balled into fists and he took one more step forward.

Tim cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. “Jack maybe this wasn’t the best time to…uh, share the good news. Maybe we can schedule another meeting for—”

“Yes, I think that would be better. Rose and I will expect to hear from you soon.”

“I will contest the will,” Bryan said, his eyes glittering with anger before I could get us out of there. He was talking to Rose, his eyes on her. “I won’t let you have this. You’re doing this because I wouldn’t let you use the place and told you I had other plans.”

“If you contest, you’ll have to wait a long time to get your own share. I fight back Mr. Coleson,” I warned.

“Bryan,” Rose said from behind me. “I’m not marrying Jack for the property. I know the timing is…awkward, but it isn’t what you think. We met when…” She stepped up next to me and pushed her arm through mine.

I forced myself to relax.

“You don’t have to explain anything to him,” I said, glancing at her.

Her mouth pressed into a thin line when her eyes met mine. “Yes, I do, Jack. Of course, I do.”

“I’m not listening to one more word from you,” Bryan cut in. “This is not happening. If you force my hand, I will fight this.”

With that, he strode out, making sure to bump his shoulder against mine.

Finally, Jodi got on her feet. “Well. Well. Our pretty little Rose finally does something interesting.” Her eyes took me in from head to toe as Rose let go of my arm. “Not bad, little cousin,” she said. “Not an upgrade from Joshua, but since you’ve lost him, I guess this one will do.”

When I arched my brow, she smiled as if she had a secret and shrugged. “Not my type. Too serious, too stiff, but oh, well who am I to talk about your fiancé?”

Stopping in front of Rose, she leaned in to kiss her cheek and I felt Rose stiffen next to me, pulling a little back.

“You know I don’t care about the property stuff, I got my millions and the home from the will, but you knew Bryan had his eyes set on this. I don’t think this little marriage scheme will change anything.” She lifted her hand and studied her pink fingernails. “May the best one win, I guess. It’ll be fun for me either way.”