Read Online A Suitable Wife: A Sweetwater Springs Novel by Carol Burnside, Emily Sewell, Kim Killion - Free Book Online Page A
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Rosie forced her lips into what she hoped resembled a smile and wished her alter ego would hush.
“Do you have any questions about . . .anything? We should, ah, probably make plans.”
Wedding plans? Jeezus Pete. The decision had barely been made. She wasn’t ready.
“Is there a rush?”
“I suppose we could take a few days to consider our options.”
“Can’t we have a quick and simple civil ceremony, sign some papers quietly and be done with it?”
“Yes. Absolutely. I’d prefer that. Only . . .”
“Only what?”
Sam shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll have Bill send the prenuptial agreement, including the loan terms. That way, when this is all over, we’ll both be protected.”
Protected from what? Each other?
Rosie nodded as if his statement made perfect sense, although nothing sounded the least bit sensible all of a sudden. Who in their right mind agreed to marry and made plans for an easy divorce all in the same breath? She stood, the urge to flee surging through her system. “Fine. I’ll have my lawyer look them over as soon as they’re ready.”
“Very sensible,” Sam said, relief evident in his tone. “Next hurdle. How should we go about informing your family? Do you want to tell them, or would you rather handle it together?”
Her family ?
Right. It wasn’t like they could go off and marry in secret. This needed to look legitimate to a judge. Of course they’d have to know. Soon everyone would know.
She groaned and plopped back onto the chaise with a lead-filled stomach. “I . . . oh, Lord. They’ll have a million questions. Maybe we better do that together.”
Wuss.
Shut. Up.
She wasn’t the only one who’d gone quiet. “Sam?”
“They’ll hate me for this, won’t they?”
“They won’t be happy about it. Don’t misunderstand. They like you and all, it’s just that this whole thing is a little . . . out there.”
“You do realize we can’t tell them the truth? The fewer people who know, the better off we are in court.”
“But—”
“I know. I know. Believe me. I don’t like lying to people I care about and respect either, but we don’t have a choice.”
She had to digest that for a minute. “I don’t like it, but you’re right. The more people who know, the more likely something will leak and expose our plan.”
“They won’t like being duped. None of them.”
She suspected he was thinking about her brothers and whether their friendship would withstand the deception. “I’ll make them understand, when it becomes necessary. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re overjoyed at the announcement now. But later . . .”
“Even so, to everyone—except our lawyers—this has to look real.”
“Real? As in, love, marriage and a baby carriage real? Um, hel-lo. You’ve barely moved back. We haven’t seen each other in years, but now we’re suddenly in love? You think we can get folks to swallow that hook, line and sinker?”
“Like a big mouth bass gobbling a worm. I’m a writer, remember? People like nothing better than a romance. So we’ll give them one.”
“Okay, Mr. Big-Shot Writer, spin me a tale of romance.” Rosie leaned back and crossed her arms under her breasts. After his earlier remarks about not believing in love, this she had to hear.
“All right. Give me a minute.” He got to his feet and paced, his brow furrowed with concentration. Then he slowly clapped his hands together. “I’ve got it. The best thing to do is stick as close to actual facts and events as possible. That way, there’s less chance of us getting tripped up.”
Rosie faked an exaggerated yawn to show him what she thought of that idea.
“Don’t go all skeptical on me yet. We talked by phone and exchanged e-mails over the last four months, right? So we build on that. A few e-mails turned into dozens flying back and forth. At first we reminisced, then we caught up on each other’s lives and started talking almost every evening. This time it was different.
“Do you have any questions about . . .anything? We should, ah, probably make plans.”
Wedding plans? Jeezus Pete. The decision had barely been made. She wasn’t ready.
“Is there a rush?”
“I suppose we could take a few days to consider our options.”
“Can’t we have a quick and simple civil ceremony, sign some papers quietly and be done with it?”
“Yes. Absolutely. I’d prefer that. Only . . .”
“Only what?”
Sam shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll have Bill send the prenuptial agreement, including the loan terms. That way, when this is all over, we’ll both be protected.”
Protected from what? Each other?
Rosie nodded as if his statement made perfect sense, although nothing sounded the least bit sensible all of a sudden. Who in their right mind agreed to marry and made plans for an easy divorce all in the same breath? She stood, the urge to flee surging through her system. “Fine. I’ll have my lawyer look them over as soon as they’re ready.”
“Very sensible,” Sam said, relief evident in his tone. “Next hurdle. How should we go about informing your family? Do you want to tell them, or would you rather handle it together?”
Her family ?
Right. It wasn’t like they could go off and marry in secret. This needed to look legitimate to a judge. Of course they’d have to know. Soon everyone would know.
She groaned and plopped back onto the chaise with a lead-filled stomach. “I . . . oh, Lord. They’ll have a million questions. Maybe we better do that together.”
Wuss.
Shut. Up.
She wasn’t the only one who’d gone quiet. “Sam?”
“They’ll hate me for this, won’t they?”
“They won’t be happy about it. Don’t misunderstand. They like you and all, it’s just that this whole thing is a little . . . out there.”
“You do realize we can’t tell them the truth? The fewer people who know, the better off we are in court.”
“But—”
“I know. I know. Believe me. I don’t like lying to people I care about and respect either, but we don’t have a choice.”
She had to digest that for a minute. “I don’t like it, but you’re right. The more people who know, the more likely something will leak and expose our plan.”
“They won’t like being duped. None of them.”
She suspected he was thinking about her brothers and whether their friendship would withstand the deception. “I’ll make them understand, when it becomes necessary. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re overjoyed at the announcement now. But later . . .”
“Even so, to everyone—except our lawyers—this has to look real.”
“Real? As in, love, marriage and a baby carriage real? Um, hel-lo. You’ve barely moved back. We haven’t seen each other in years, but now we’re suddenly in love? You think we can get folks to swallow that hook, line and sinker?”
“Like a big mouth bass gobbling a worm. I’m a writer, remember? People like nothing better than a romance. So we’ll give them one.”
“Okay, Mr. Big-Shot Writer, spin me a tale of romance.” Rosie leaned back and crossed her arms under her breasts. After his earlier remarks about not believing in love, this she had to hear.
“All right. Give me a minute.” He got to his feet and paced, his brow furrowed with concentration. Then he slowly clapped his hands together. “I’ve got it. The best thing to do is stick as close to actual facts and events as possible. That way, there’s less chance of us getting tripped up.”
Rosie faked an exaggerated yawn to show him what she thought of that idea.
“Don’t go all skeptical on me yet. We talked by phone and exchanged e-mails over the last four months, right? So we build on that. A few e-mails turned into dozens flying back and forth. At first we reminisced, then we caught up on each other’s lives and started talking almost every evening. This time it was different.
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