Read Online The Convenient Wife (A BWWM Steamy Marriage of Convenience Romance) by Imani King - Free Book Online Page A

a drunk tank in the back of the local precinct, so yeah, I
guess those standards are pretty low.”

 
    “We can’t put him in some home, Jon.
It’s not right. The way they treat people there is terrible.”

 
    “I don’t know what else to tell you,
Gigi. He can’t stay here, and I can’t foot the bill for whatever upscale home
you want him in. Just pick something that his insurance can cover and let it
go.”

 
    What
a piece of shit , I
thought, looking at my brother in disbelief. How could he be so casual about
the way our own father was going to live out the rest of his life?

 
    “You’re a piece of work.”

 
    “Listen, it’s not just me, Mary
doesn’t want anything to do with Dad, either. She’s heard enough of me
complaining that she doesn’t even want a man like him in our girls’ lives.”

 
    “She’s never even met the man, Jon!
And what did you tell him? That he hit you? That’s a load of shit. Dad’s just
had a hard time with everything after Mom died—”

 
    “You can’t keep making excuses for
him, Gigi!” he roared, cutting me off. “Mom can’t be Dad’s crutch forever. It’s
not her fault that he became a drunken piece of shit. His failings shouldn’t be
her legacy!”

 
    “I can’t keep listening to you, Jon.
I just can’t,” I said, rubbing my temples to ease the stress that was building.
“Dad needs our help, and all you’ve ever done was leave. You left him and me.
So you got what you wanted, I’ll figure something else out. And besides, I have
a hell of a lot better things to do today.”

 
    “Don’t take this so personally,
Georgia,” he said as I picked up my purse. “Dad’s the problem here, not me. I’m
not the one who threw his life away.”

 
    I shook my head at him and
shouldered my bag. “No, Tyrell you just threw your family away.”

 
    He gave me a hard look then, and I
thought I saw a flash of pain behind his eyes. But he covered it quickly with a
sneer. “I have a family, and I
thought you were a part of it,” he said, taking the last swig of his whiskey.
“But I guess I was wrong.”

 
    “Don’t you dare pull that horseshit
with me. You’ve always been the one who leaves, Tyrell. And God help Mary if
she and the girls ever get you in a leaving mood.”

 
    Tyrell set his glass down, his eyes
on the still un-stoppered bottle of whiskey nearby. “Maybe you should go.”

 
    I nodded stiffly. “Yeah, maybe I
should. I have something important I need to take care of and I wouldn’t want
to interrupt your afternoon booze session, Dad. ”

 
    Jon shot me a glare that could have
curdled milk as he poured himself another glass of the golden liquor.

 
    “And where the hell do you have to
be that’s so important?” he snarled.

 
    I turned toward him, hiking my purse
up over my shoulder before giving him a derisive little laugh. “Didn’t I tell you?” I said as I
turned toward the door, “I’m getting married today.”

 

 
 
 
 
 
    The district courthouse wasn’t my
first choice for a wedding venue, but then again, I’d never actually imagined
I’d be tying the knot. I stood idly in the lobby, wearing a custom-tailored
sports jacket my father had tailored for me.

 
    I looked down at the cuffs of the
jacket, marveling at the embroidered initials sewn into the fabric just below
the cufflinks. This was the last thing my father had gotten me before he died.
In some ways, it was like having him here.

 
    I watched as other people passed me
by, all going about their business within the courthouse. Legal aids, lawyers,
judges, and average people—some of whom were probably about to take the same
leap as me. If only my bride would get here, then maybe this marriage could get
on the road.

 
    It had been almost an hour ago that
Gigi had called to tell me she was getting herself ready to go. But getting
ready and being ready were two
completely different things to women. Could it