“So where is this dress then?” she asks as she crosses the bathroom floor to stop in front of me.
“We have options on the way,” I tell her. “Come on. Let’s get you all dolled up.”
I lead her over to the chair. She sits down, and Ruth gets to work on her—her hair, her nails, her makeup. I don’t know half of what she’s doing; I’m just admiring the view. She sits more patiently than I expected from someone as sassy as her. Ruth’s doing something to her cheeks with a brush when I hear the doorbell ring.
“That’s him.” I smile.
I go down and greet the minister. When my father sprang this on me, I thought I’d wanna kill the man when he showed up. Now I’m thrilled to see him.
“She’s upstairs,” I tell him. “We all set?”
“Yes, sir,” he replies. “Just need her signature.”
I take a quick detour into my office where Shawn is waiting. I motion for him to follow, and the three of us make our way into the closet.
“Wait here,” I tell Shawn as I step into the bathroom.
My breath leaves my lungs when I see Daisy. Ruth has put her hair up, giving me an unobscured view of her gorgeous face. She looks back at me and knows damn well what I’m thinking.
“Do I have something on my face?” she snarks. Her legs, glistening and smooth, peek out from beneath her towel, sending my mind into fantasies I don’t have time to indulge. I grab another towel and quickly cover her legs, then motion for Shawn and the minister to enter.
“This is Shawn and the minister,” I tell her. “Give Shawn your debit card and we’ll initiate the first transfer.”
“It’s in my car.”
I nod to Shawn, and he quickly leaves the room. The minister pulls his tablet from his satchel and opens the document. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be itching to sign a marriage license.
“It’s all here,” I tell Daisy as he shows it to her. “Don’t bother reading it all.”
“No?” she asks. “What if it says you get to sell my kidneys on the black market?”
I can’t help but laugh. It’s been a long time since a girl genuinely made me laugh. “Just sign it and we’ll do the transfer.”
“How long until I can divorce you?” she asks. For some reason, her comment hits me like a knife to the chest.
“Six months,” I reply. Her face drops.
“And…I’m expected to live with you that whole time?”
Originally, I would have said no. Why would I want some random girl living with me when it was just an arrangement to fool my father? But now?
“Yes,” I reply firmly. “You’re my wife. Of course you have to live with me.”
Daisy grumbles something under her breath and takes the stylus from the minister. She starts to sign her name but looks up at me. “But no sex. Right? There better not be some kind of sex clause in here where I’m forced to—”
“There’s no sex clause,” I tell her. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
But she does.
It’s written all over her face. Why else would she be giving me so much sass? Why else would she be repeating so many times that she’s not going to sleep with me? She’s trying to convince someone, but it sure isn’t me.
My heart rate increases as she looks down at the contract. Shawn returns with Daisy’s card. “Is this it?”
“Yes,” she replies.
“Do the transfer,” I tell him. Quickly, he pulls out his own tablet and slides her card in the card reader. A few seconds later, the confirmation sounds and he turns the screen to her.
“Congratulations.”