by Zoe York
His grandpa chuckled.
While Ethan appreciated all his father had done for him over the years, he didn’t want him heavily invested in what amounted to a lie. He didn’t particularly want to lie to his grandfather, either, but he did want to help Lily.
Ethan turned up his phone’s microphone volume and stood, stretching out the stiffness in his back. He’d been hunched over his computer since his mom left hours ago, furiously trying to get caught up, and had worked through the supper break he’d promised himself. His stomach rumbled and he huffed out a sigh as he started to pace. The last thing he wanted was to make another sandwich, even for himself.
Walking through the small, empty house, phone in hand, he searched for an easy snack. His brother had hired Katie Leham a few years back to do some decorating at his place, which had earned Devon a good teasing. But today Ethan understood the need to paint over the starkness, to fill the barren space with some color and life. It was like living in a hotel room, except without the mass-produced art or throw cushions.
“Tell me three things you love about Lily,” his grandfather suggested.
“What?” Ethan opened his fridge, confused by Gramps’s request.
“Three things and I’ll stay off your back.”
Three things about Lily. That should be easy.
He rifled around in his refrigerator while he thought. Everything in there seemed to have expired. How could that be? And where had all of July gone? He opened a container of yogurt—his usual go-to snack, since it was easy and relatively filling. Plus he figured the calcium was good for his patched up bones. He gave the container a sniff, then stirred it and took a bite.
Still okay.
“Three things,” Gramps prodded.
“She’s got great legs.”
His grandfather let out a satisfied grunt. “I do love a set of good legs.” Ethan smiled. “But I didn’t ask what gets your Johnson up,” Gramps scolded. “And don’t lie—I know it’s waving because I’ve already heard about you punching out the lights on her ex-boyfriend like a possessive fool.”
“I didn’t KO him, Gramps.”
“The ladies go for that, by the way. Smart move. I hope you hit him in a soft spot so you didn’t hurt your hand.”
“The hand is fine,” Ethan said, testing it and feeling slightly dazzled by his prowess. Man, had he lucked out. It felt good. It was like he’d temporarily put his life back in the ring again, enjoying a flash of his former self.
“Anyway,” his grandfather said, his thrill over Ethan’s pummeling seemingly passed, “I asked for three things you love about her.”
Ethan sighed and rubbed his face, knowing he’d be unable to put off his grandfather.
“If you can’t rattle that off in your sleep you’re not ready for marriage.”
“Fine.” Ethan ran through his thoughts, picking up things he admired about the woman he’d known most of his life. “She’s sweet and kind.”
“That counts as one.”
Ethan grumbled silently. Then he thought about her determination to get what she wanted. That was pretty cool. Respectable. Plus she hadn’t backed down or acted wounded when he been grouchy, either. Another thing to admire. But he wasn’t going to admit that out loud.
“She’s willing to pursue her dreams with determination. She has a new toughness to her.”
He got an approving sound. “You need someone strong. One more, Son.”
Ethan stumbled. He couldn’t think of anything. He didn’t want to. Already, visions of her smile, the one that lit up everything around her, was filling his mind, drawing his attention away from his secret fears that he might end up back in a wheelchair one day. He knew it would sound cheesy, but she made him want to claim life, to not give up.
“One more,” his grandpa prompted.
“I don’t know,” Ethan exclaimed, suddenly realizing just how deep their deception was going to have to go. And how easily he could begin to think it was real, when he knew it never would be because he couldn’t be the old Ethan she’d once admired.
He sagged into a kitchen chair. He needed this. He needed Lily to take over his two businesses so he could focus on the third, and lower his stress levels a notch like Katie’s husband, his doctor, Nash Leham, had been advising. For the past year his aches and pains had been growing worse, and Nash believed Ethan might be heading into some early onset debilitating arthritis. Something that could make him a burden on his family once again. He needed to earn enough money that he could hire someone to take care of him if something bad happened with his health. He couldn’t ask his family to drop everything for him. Not again.
“Gramps, it doesn’t matter. We’re getting married.”
“Don’t take the tone with me. Answer the question.”
“She’s…smart. And she doesn’t take my moods personally. She trusts me more than I deserve to be trusted. She sees me as…” His voice grew weak. “She sees me as a real man, Gramps.”
He’d seen the way she’d looked at him when he’d punched Tanner today. She’d looked at him with admiration, as if she knew he would always keep her safe. He wanted to be that man. Desperately.
Before his grandfather could speak, Ethan added, “She’s a perfect ray of sunshine and I’d be lucky to have her in my life.”
“Then you have my blessing.”
Ethan just about hit the end-call button in panic. He was going to deceive some of the most important people in his life in hopes of being able to give Lily what she wanted, the life and stability she deserved. What if he failed? What he hurt her in some way?
“I can’t do this,” he said.
“Which is exactly why you must,” Gramps said cheerfully. “There’s a sale on rings downtown. I recommend something classic.” He ended the call.
Ethan stared at his silent phone before pressing it against his forehead.
He was going to buy another ring. Only this time it would be for a woman who wasn’t going to reject him for his physical weaknesses before they tied the knot. This time it would be for a woman he already knew wasn’t in it for the long haul.
Because he’d learned long ago that men like him didn’t get to find true love.
Chapter 3
Lily was staying at Mandy and Frankie Smith’s until she figured out what she was doing, which sounded like marrying Ethan. That meant she was buying a restaurant and would finally have her own kitchen. She’d be the boss. She’d make or tweak the menu and decide on everything from schedules to flatware. Everything. All her. And she’d be surrounded by employees who loved their jobs and were like family, friends. Not like her old bosses, who were gruff and practically inhuman. She’d be friendly, approachable, and it was going to be fantastic.
Lily thought about calling her father to share the news, but decided it would be wiser to wait until she’d tied the knot with her protector, Ethan, in case things went awry with their tentative deal.
She found herself smiling as she pet Mandy’s fluffy gray cat, Portia. She was getting married! She knew it was temporary and completely platonic, but even so, a thrill kept zipping through her. Especially when she thought of the way Ethan had socked Tanner today. Wow. Out of nowhere, ready to protect her.
Lily sighed in contentment. She’d missed Ethan.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming text and she picked it up to read the screen, hoping someone was bored and looking for something to do.
It was Tanner. All apologies. She sighed and deleted the text while upping the volume on the TV. Mandy and Frankie were in their bedroom, apparently enjoying their last week of being childless, and Mandy’s giggles could be heard every once in a while, punctuating the lulls in Lily’s TV show.
Someone knocked at the front door and Portia took off, a flurry of sharp claws, while Frankie’s big black dog, Heart, burst off the floor, barking.
Lily waited for Mandy or Frankie to reappear and answer the door, but when the giggling continued, she got up with a sigh. Ethan was standing the
re, looking nervous. The setting sun lit him up, giving him a glow that highlighted the rugged slant of his jaw, the seriousness of his expression.
Her fiancé.
Mmm.
“I don’t know how to do this,” he announced.
“Do what? Visit someone?” She opened the wooden door wider to invite him in, but Ethan remained in place, looking as skittish as a teenager meeting his girlfriend’s father for the first time.
He was staring at something in his hands and her gaze followed his. He was holding a square ring box and her heart thudded harder.
“If I get down on one knee I might cause a scene.”
She couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. She’d imagined this. The way she’d jump into his arms, kiss him, make love after.
It was here—that day was here! It was coming—shut up, Lily. Just. Shut. Up.
This was a business deal. No emotions or dreams or any of that complicated stuff. She was getting a restaurant, not being swept off to bed.
Platonic.
Ethan handed her the box. “Please, Lily Harper, say you will take these dang businesses off my hands.”
She laughed at his earnestness and the lack of romance in his request. She took the ring box. “Sure. Let’s do this thing.”
His shoulders sagged in relief and she believed he’d never looked sexier.
“I have some ideas for the prenuptial agreements you mentioned,” he said. His voice was deep, slightly shy, and it commanded her awareness in a way that shouldn’t be legal. She wished she had the right to step up to him, touch him, make him smile with just her presence, but most of all, wished she had the power to make him hers.
That? That would be…heaven.
“Are Mandy and Frankie home?” he asked. Just then laughter burst through the house. Ethan quickly added, “How about we go to my place?”
“Yeah, good idea.” Lily grabbed her suit jacket off the coat rack by the door and followed him down the front steps. She was still in her business nonsense outfit with the tight skirt from earlier, and she felt slightly silly for being so dressed up.
Ethan walked slowly and she fell in with his easy pace, reminding herself she was in Blueberry Springs now, not the city. Everything was slower here. Relaxed. At ease.
A few blocks away, Ethan ushered her up the walk to a house slightly bigger than Mandy and Frankie’s, but not by much. He’d left the lights on, giving it a homey feel as the sun set behind the mountains surrounding them.
She was going to live there. A romantic vision of them happily married, living their dream careers, flashed before her and she smiled.
Mary Alice, the world’s biggest gossip, went by, walking her small dog. Ethan gently placed a hand on the small of Lily’s back, guiding her up the steps. She waved at Mary Alice, who was walking faster, trying to catch them to chat before they entered the house. Ethan hit a button on a remote, unlocking the front door before they reached it.
“Slick,” Lily whispered. Was there anything sexier than a gadget head? He probably could dim the lights and lower the music from his phone, too. She almost purred, thinking about it.
“Hurry,” he urged quietly, nodding at Mary Alice before following Lily into the house and quickly shutting the door. He let out a gusty breath that blew his nicely trimmed hair off his forehead. “Close call.” He kicked off his loafers and tossed his keys inside one.
She giggled, loving how he seemed less grumpy and more like the old Ethan she knew from high school. Deadly cute.
“So we’re getting married?” she asked, testing the idea out loud.
“If you’re still game.”
“How soon?”
“How about yesterday? I need to work on a project that’ll take me away from Benny’s and catering. I need you to take over ASAP.”
Oh. His intentions for an immediate workload shift were slightly disappointing. But no, that was what she was looking for—to dive right in.
“That’s music to my ears, honey bun.”
He lifted an eyebrow in disgust.
“No? How about baby cakes?” she teased. He needed to loosen up, smile more. She laughed at his expression. “We have to play the part, my sweetie pie.”
“Whatever you say, Lilypad.”
That nickname never failed to make her feel like she was ten years old again.
Unsexy. That’s what that feeling was.
“I’ll start calling you Either.”
He shrugged at the despised nickname his brother had given him years ago, but she noticed the corners of his lips almost lifted in a reluctant smile. Almost.
Give her time; she’d get him there.
He was focused on her hands. “Does the ring fit? I picked it up on the way over—store’s open late.”
The ring. Right. She patted her jacket pockets, bringing out the box. She paused, then extended it to him. “Did you want to…”
He frowned, his scowl back. “It’s just a prop.”
He turned on his heel, heading farther into the house which was in dire need of some homey touches. From the outside it had looked welcoming, but inside it was stark and a bit cold.
She opened the box and held in a gasp. It was the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen. And it was for her. Her eyes dampened and she blinked the tears away so Ethan didn’t think she’d been affected, that she couldn’t handle this. She slipped the simple, classic and bold solitaire onto her finger, testing its size. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Lily swiveled her engagement ring around and around on her finger, nervously tapping her foot outside the Blueberry Springs law office run by John Abcott. It was nearly noon on a cloudy August day, but that had nothing to do with how her suit was sticking to her back as doubts swirled through her mind.
She was going to have to be uncharacteristically firm and jaded in the office in order to be sure she got what she wanted. She’d been too trusting in the past when it came to agreements, and this time she wasn’t getting short-changed. Ethan was trustworthy, but who knew how things might change once money and marriage were involved?
She straightened the long, fitted suit jacket she wore over a slightly longer skirt. Business sexy, as she called it. The second-to-last outfit outside her jeans and sweatshirt repertoire, and her personal favorite because it said in the same breath “look at my legs, but don’t mess with me.”
Ethan came around the corner, his brow furrowed in a way she realized was now typical for him. He gave her a nod, holding the door for her.
“Good afternoon,” she said, with a hinting tone.
“Good afternoon,” he grumbled in reply.
“You know, you might want to try acting as though you wouldn’t mind spending the rest of your life with me.”
He grunted, and she placed a smile on her face, hooking her hand into the crook of his elbow, trying not to act insulted when he jerked away in surprise. They were definitely going to have to work on this whole being-in-love thing.
“When’s the big day?” Liz Moss-Brady asked, smiling up from her desk as they entered the office. Lily remembered the gossipy Mrs. Moss-Brady from back when she lived in Blueberry Springs. Not exactly the person she wanted to see while arranging a prenup that might contain some questionable clauses. “I didn’t even get to place a bet with my sister on when the engagement might occur. Did a one-night stand go wrong?” The woman laughed at her own joke and Ethan’s scowl deepened, making the sexy scar near his mouth stand out.
“Is John available?” he asked.
“Will you be taking over the restaurant for Ethan?” Liz prodded. “I hear you went to baking school.”
“It was a culinary arts program,” she corrected automatically. “I thought you worked for the local paper.”
“In my spare time.” Liz smiled, folding her hands on her desk and giving the couple an expectant look.
The door behind Liz’s desk opened and a man a little older than Lily’s father smiled at them, ushering them in.
“Con
gratulations,” John said, shaking their hands before gesturing for them to take a seat. Lily made her handshake a quick hug.
“I haven’t seen you since I coached you in soccer as a teen,” he said, adjusting his reading glasses. “How have you been? Do you still play?”
“I haven’t in years. Are you still coaching?”
“Just the little kids now.”
Ethan offered Lily the closest chair, then awkwardly made his way around to sit beside her. “The draft looked good,” he said. “Do you have a final copy for us to sign?”
“Almost.” John leaned back in his chair, spinning to lift a box off a hidden coffeemaker. “Coffee? Water?” He poured himself a cup when both Ethan and Lily shook their heads, then covered the machine again.
“Why do you hide your coffeemaker?” Lily asked.
“Liz makes horrible stuff, but would be insulted if she knew I made my own.” John took a sip of his secret coffee. “I’ll admit I don’t do many prenuptial agreements. Did you want to add anything about possible children? Custody, et cetera?”
Lily’s heart dropped and Ethan shot her a quick look. “Whatever’s standard.”
What did that mean? He wanted kids? He thought this was real?
She gave herself a mental shake. No, he was just being careful not to lend suspicion to their situation. Still, she worried how much adding extra clauses would cost them in fees. She didn’t have a lot of cash on hand right now, even with Ethan planning to let her crash with him, rent free.
“And could I also give Lily power of attorney so she can act on my behalf if anything happens?” Ethan asked, leaning forward, his expression more serious than she’d ever recalled seeing.
“But we’re young,” Lily said. And healthy. As well as getting divorced in a year.
“That’s not a bad idea. Especially with several businesses involved.” John began scrawling on the draft in front of him. “If one partner becomes incapacitated, unable to make decisions or take care of things for any reason, you want the other to be able to step in and keep everything running.”
Lily felt a wave of fear. Suddenly everything felt too big, too real. They were adults. Adults responsible for real-world things, who might be faced with real-life problems. Big ones.
