by Amy Starling
“I hadn't planned on it, but I'm getting kind of sick of the hump-em-and-dump-em game.”
“Charming. Never thought those words would come out of your mouth.”
He hugged me from behind, and his lips found my neck. Just one kiss – he knew where, on the curve just above my shoulder – and my insides felt like jello again.
“What's that? I heard 'come' and 'mouth.' Your wish is my command.”
Some of the tenants, a prudish, religious old couple, passed by with their shopping and gave us a look of disapproval. I laughed and pushed Jayce away.
“Save it for the bedroom, okay?”
“Oh, all right. I can't wait to consummate our marriage. You've kept me waiting far too long.”
I boldly grabbed for his crotch as I went back inside. As expected, he was completely hard for me. I couldn't lie; it was a serious ego boost to know he wanted me that much.
The look on his face when I ran my hand over his cock was priceless.
“Must have been pretty good if you've hung on this long.”
“Only the best I've ever had.” He swatted me on the butt. “I got a couple things to take care of here. Meet me at the town hall in twenty, and we'll do this thing.”
I smiled as we went our separate ways. Maybe there was hope for the guy yet. Still, what about us? Was there an “us” at all?
Sure, he was starting to grow up. Becoming more responsible. Doing what had to be done.
Didn't mean that he was ready to commit. Once he realized how much effort even a “fake” marriage needed, he'd likely run for the hills soon as he could.
I took the back way around to the parking lot. Didn't feel like facing Heather or telling her what Jayce and I were doing. Later, after the deed was done, we'd come clean.
With twenty minutes to spare, there was one thing I had to do first. I pulled into the first grocery store I found, then tossed a pregnancy test in my basket. I had to know the truth. Couldn't keep hiding from it forever.
I also grabbed a few bags of chips and some chocolate bars, because if I was pregnant, a serious dose of comfort food would help me cope. I'd love a stiff drink, too, but that would sadly be out of the question for the next eight months.
On the way to the register, I passed a shelf of Spanish olives and paused. My mouth watered. Those sounded so good.
I normally hated olives. Threw a jar in the cart anyway.
I laughed at the odd craving and rubbed my tummy. “Maybe I don't need to bother with the test after all.”
After paying, I hurried to the restroom with the test. The privacy of my own home would have been far better, but I couldn't stand to wait another minute.
I peed on the stick, like the instructions said. They also said I should wait five minutes for results, yet the little blue plus sign appeared in less than thirty seconds.
I waited and waited, thinking maybe it was some kind of error. But it didn't change. It confirmed what I already knew.
I was pregnant with Jayce's baby.
“I should tell him. It's his kid. It's the right thing to do.”
Except I'd never been so scared in my life.
Scared that he'd freak out and tell me to get rid of it. Scared that he'd call off the marriage and I'd lose Shady Acres.
Scared that he'd leave me to handle this alone.
I always thought I'd be joyful and smiling on my wedding day. Instead, I was crying over a pregnancy test in a dirty public restroom.
I threw out the test and ran for my car. Ten minutes to go. Luckily, the Waco courthouse wasn't very far from the store, because I was so queasy with worry and morning sickness that I could barely drive.
“I'll tell him. I really will.”
I would tell him, all right – but it wasn't going to be today.
For now, this pregnancy would have to be my secret.
Chapter 18 - Elle
Was this it? Was this the day my life would change forever?
It already had, of course – knowing I'd be having a baby seriously knocked me for a loop. Getting married on the same day? What a double whammy.
This was supposed to be a fake marriage, but it sure didn't feel that way to me. I played with the ring on my finger and hoped Jayce felt the same.
Hoped, beyond all logic, that he had somehow changed for me.
“We wouldn't be breaking up if not for you. Don't give me that attitude!”
“If not for me? You expect me to just sit back and smile while you screwed around with that whore?”
A furious couple argued on the courthouse steps. The man held what I only imagined was a stack of divorce papers.
Did pretty much all marriages end like that? I found it hard to believe two people could stay with each other for the rest of their lives. After all, I had never seen anyone in my own family accomplish that feat.
Of course, it mattered little now. Right now, Jayce wasn't marrying me for love. We were getting hitched because we had to. All business. Wasn't it?
I passed by the screaming couple and made my way inside. The place was bigger than I last remembered it. To my left was the room where they picked people for jury duty. To the right, a couple of men in suits – probably lawyers – talked quietly about one of their cases.
“Pink!”
I looked up. Jayce waved to me from the balcony on the second floor. Seriously, did he have to call me that in the courthouse, of all places?
“Got bad news. We can't get married today.”
My heart sank. It was that disappointment that made me realize the truth.
This wasn't just business. I really wanted this.
“Why not?”
“We gotta apply for a marriage license, then there's a 72-hour waiting period.”
Oh. I hadn't even thought of that.
“Come on up. I'm getting started on the paperwork now.”
I jogged up the stairs to join him. Found him in the clerk's office, brow furrowed as he carefully filled out the application.
“What's your social security number?”
I took the pen and filled it out myself. Then I perused the rest of the questions with a sigh.
“This isn't how I thought it'd be.”
“Huh?”
Maybe it was the pregnancy making me weepy and melodramatic. Suddenly, for reasons unknown, I felt sad.
“This.” I held up the paper. “Just seems so cold and clinical to me.”
He chuckled. “What did you expect? It's the courthouse. They're not gonna deck out their office with flowers for you and walk you down the aisle to say 'I do.'”
Yeah, he was right. Besides, this wasn't a real wedding, anyway, so none of that mattered. I could save the fluffy romantic stuff for my true wedding day.
We filled out the paperwork together in silence. Something serious was on Jayce's mind; I knew that look. Hadn't seen it very often before. Usually, it meant something was bothering him.
“Hey, are you sure you want to do this?”
He gaped at me. “Of course. I got you that ring, didn't I? Don't tell me you're having second thoughts. That thing cost nearly half my weekly paycheck.”
I rolled my eyes. There was the good old Jayce we all knew and loved.
“You just seem distant.”
“I guess I am. It's one thing to talk about getting married. But here we are, actually about to sign on the dotted line. Kind of sobering.”
“You can always back out.”
He scribbled his name on the signature line. “No. This is what I want.”
When he handed me the pen, I wasted no time signing my own name below his. He put his arm around me and pulled me close to him.
“When we do this, you gonna change your last name?”
“Isn't that what most women do? It'll seem fishy to people if we don't.” I smiled. “Elizabeth Reinhard. I like it. Sounds refined.”
“I like it too. But what happens when we end the marriage? You'll be stuck with my name unless you change it back.”<
br />
“I wouldn't mind keeping it.”
And giving it to the child, too. I wished I had the guts to tell him that.
“There will be no name changes, because there's not going to be any wedding.”
There in the doorway stood mom – with David on her arm!
Jayce growled. “What the hell do you think you're doing? You following us around town? Must have nothing better to do.”
Mom left David's side and ran to me with open arms. Tears rolled down her chubby cheeks as she wrapped me in a killer bear hug. I was too stunned to push her away.
“Oh, Elle! You can't go through with this,” she wailed. “When I heard you were planning to marry this... this boy, I didn't believe it. But now I see it's true; oh, Lord have mercy on us.”
“Mom, please. You're making a scene.”
David stepped forward, glaring at both me and his son. “I told you not to test me, Jayce. Angie and I will be married, and you two will be step-siblings. I refuse to allow you to marry your own sister.”
Jayce curled his hands into fists. I managed to calm him with a touch of his shoulder, but he still turned red and breathed heavily, like a bull about to charge.
“Are you stupid or just a total prick? There's nothing wrong with it. It's totally legal.”
He sighed deeply. “Can you imagine how the family would react? How my name would be tarnished? I could lose business over this, you realize.”
“This isn't about your damn family reputation, and you know it. It's about Shady Acres. You'd do anything to keep us from having it.”
David was silent. Mom kept on blubbering about how I was going to ruin her life. Yeah, I bet I was. If I married Jayce, her shot at David's money from the property sale would probably be gone.
I couldn't believe it. My mother cared more about money than her daughter's happiness. I'd suspected it all these years, given her constant selfishness and greed, but thought maybe I was judging her too harshly.
Now I knew, to my dismay, that I had been right.
“Dear, you're making a terrible mistake.” She waved her hand at Jayce. “That boy is no good for you. He's a lazy, disrespectful womanizer! The moment you turn your back on him, he'll be out screwing around on you.”
“Gee, thanks, Mrs. Gardener.” He grunted. “Nice to know you've got so much faith in me.”
“Listen, mom. Jayce isn't like that anymore. He's changed.”
She huffed. “He only wants you for your body.”
The clerk at the desk finally got annoyed with our brawl. She stood and pointed to the door.
“If you all can't keep it down, I must ask you to leave.”
David pulled Jayce aside while mom kept on crying about how she'd failed as a parent. I ignored her and tried instead to listen to their conversation.
“You must think I'm a fool who has no clue what you're doing.” David jabbed his finger at Jayce's chest. “You couldn't get a real woman to love you, so you and Elle decided to pull this half-assed scam.”
“Elle is a real woman, you son of a bitch.”
A couple of cops standing across the hall finally noticed the squabble. They kept their eyes on us while one said something into his radio.
Oh, crap. Jayce, please don't do something you're going to regret.
“The fact is, you're only marrying her to satisfy Debbie's will. This is all just a sham. Isn't it?”
Jayce's eyes met mine.
“No. I love that woman and she's going to be my wife whether you like it or not.”
I shivered at the conviction in his words. He sounded strong. Sure. Did he mean what he said?
Mom gasped and fanned herself as she flopped into a chair. David just smiled and pulled a paper out of his coat.
“You can lie to yourself if you wish, but you're fooling nobody. Just a few months ago you were slumming around the city sleeping with any female you could get your paws on. And now, you're telling me you've given it all up for Elle – a girl you've never shown any interest in before.”
He gazed at me. “She's the only one I want these days.”
“I find that hard to believe, but thankfully, the law is on my side.” He unfolded the paper. “Perhaps you should have read the fine print before coming up with your scheme.”
Jayce read aloud. “The marriage must be deemed legitimate and true by at least seven witnesses. If more than 20 percent of witnesses deny the marriage's legitimacy, it does not meet the requirements set forth in this document.”
Damn it. I knew faking it couldn't be that easy. No way could we get seven people to lie for us, even if it meant saving the apartment they lived in.
“What the hell's this? You didn't tell me this before.”
“Like I said, you would have known all this if you bothered to read for yourself.” David laughed. “So you see, you can play house all you like – but you can't hide the truth from everyone else. They know who you really are.”
Jayce's face was so red, I thought steam would shoot out of his ears. Even I was too afraid to approach and get in the middle of the melee.
“You wanna take jabs at me? You want to play like that? Fine,” he snarled. “You're a hypocrite. You're the one about to marry Angie just a handful of months after Debbie died. What do you think people are going to say about that, huh? You don't need me to ruin your reputation. You can do that all by yourself.”
“Sirs, please keep it down.” The employee folded her arms. “This is a court of law, not a circus.”
“You know what I think?” Jayce shot a furious look at mom. “I think she's marrying you for your money – and you're allowing it because you believe it'll keep me and Elle apart. Well, you're wrong.”
David bristled. Mom launched herself out of the chair and stormed up to Jayce.
“How dare you! You should be ashamed of yourself, making baseless accusations like that! I love your father very much.” She turned on the tears, as usual. “I do not want you marrying my daughter. I will have no part in it.”
The employee picked up the phone and started to dial someone – probably calling for help to drag everyone out of here. I had to distract her, and there was just one way how.
“Here you go.” I smiled politely and handed her the application. “Can you send us the license in the mail?”
“Yes, ma'am.” She took the paper, but didn't avert her eyes from the disaster unfolding in front of her. “Please tell your companions to lower their voices. They're disturbing the peace.”
“I'm so sorry. I'll –”
“You little shit.” David cursed loudly at Jayce. “I care deeply for Angie – something you would have no idea about, since you've never cared for anybody but yourself.”
“I care about Elle.”
“Stop the lies, boy. You don't love anyone. You don't know how. All you do is disappoint everyone who's ever counted on you.”
Jayce couldn't control his temper anymore. I was impressed he'd made it this far without exploding, but his patience had run out.
With a growl of pure fury, he leaped at David and swung a punch at his jaw. His fist connected hard. David cried out; blood dripped from the corner of his mouth onto the tiled floor.
“Stop it!” The employee screamed and hid behind the desk. “Security to room 202. We have a violent situation.”
Mom howled as Jayce knocked his father to the floor. David tried to throw him off, but he had no chance. Jayce was almost 200 pounds of pure muscle. His fighting technique was honed to perfection. He knew exactly where to strike to take a man down.
“Jayce!” I screamed, but he paid me no attention. “Please, stop. You're going to get in serious trouble.”
He grunted and gave David one more punch to the nose for good measure. I actually felt kind of sorry for the guy. He writhed around, moaning for help, with blood spattered all over his fancy suit.
“I'm tired of you talking about me like I'm nothing. And then you insulted Elle? Hell no. I'm not putting up with it anymore.”
Mom rushed to David's side and blotted his nose with a tissue. Jayce turned to me as his heavy breathing began to slow.
Before he could say a word, three cops rushed through the door with guns drawn.
“It was him,” shrieked the clerk. “Get him out of here.”
“Down on the ground. Now!”
Holy crap. This wasn't happening.
Jayce was obedient. He lay down and put his hands behind his back while the officer frisked him for weapons. I said a silent thank you that he hadn't been dumb enough to carry a knife into the courthouse.
Another cop whipped out his handcuffs and shackled Jayce's wrists. Wait, were they going to arrest him?
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you...”
I grabbed a cop's arm. “What are you doing with him? His father's the one who started it.”
“Sorry, miss. Can't take somebody in for a couple nasty verbal insults. Unfortunately, he's the one who swung a punch.”
Jayce wouldn't even look at me as they led him away. David forced himself to sit up despite the bloody nose, split lip, and black eye.
“If you marry Elle, I'm taking you off my will, do you hear me? That nice, big inheritance you were expecting? Forget about it.”
Mom dabbed the tears from her eyes. “You can't do it, dear. Look what that boy did to my sweetheart. He's a violent, dangerous monster. Imagine if this happened to you.”
Jayce would never raise a hand to me. Would he?
I left them there and ran after the police, hoping to talk to him before it was too late. But by the time I reached the outside steps, they had him in the back of a cruiser. It pulled away, lights flashing.
I couldn't believe they were arresting him. The guy I was going to marry, the father of my child, was going to jail.
Home was sounding wonderful right now. I slipped into the car. Although the blessed quiet helped calm my frayed nerves, I cried the whole way back to Shady Acres.
Chapter 18 - Elle
The phone rang around eight that evening. The caller ID said “Waco Police Department.”
“Pink, it's me.”
I sighed, relieved to hear his voice and yet still annoyed for the trouble he'd gotten into once again.
