Chapter Thirty-Eight
Alan
“Did she like the candles and flowers?” Lainey asked the following morning when she handed me a mug of coffee as I sat at her kitchen table between my parents. I’d recruited her and Jade to stage the house while I was out getting ice cream with Jess.
“I think so. I mean, she said yes.”
Adam set a plate of bacon in the middle of the table. “Did you pick a date?”
“August first—two weeks from tomorrow. Lain, you’re going to have to give her time off so she can do some planning.”
Lainey gasped. “August first?! Are you crazy?”
“What? She said that would be enough time to find a dress, and order flowers and a cake.”
“There’s more to a wedding than flowers and a cake, Alan.”
“I know, but the sooner we’re married, the better. I’d marry her today if my attorney could get the prenup drawn up.”
“Wait—what? You’re making her sign a prenup?”
“It was her idea, but I don’t disagree. With a prenup she’ll know she’s going to be protected financially no matter what. It’ll spell out her spousal and child support, so she’ll know she doesn’t have to worry if we divorce. And it’ll guarantee I’ll still get to see Ruthie grow up.”
My mom quietly said, “You told me when we were ring shopping you wanted this to be a real marriage. Are you planning on divorcing her?”
“No. But you have to admit, our situation is unusual. What if she doesn’t want a real marriage? I don’t want her to feel tied to me because she’s dependent on my money.”
Jess and I’d agreed last night that we’d stay together at least until she finished her degree, and that I’d pay her tuition.
She thought she could be done in three years if she went back in January.
I’d suggested she take this semester off so she could be with Ruthie; something she’d quickly agreed with.
I also encouraged her to transfer, but ultimately, it’d be her decision where she went to school.
Adam stood in front of the stove, shaking his head as he cracked eggs in a bowl. “So, make her want a real marriage, dumbass.”
“No shit, Sherlock. But I gotta marry her first.”
Dad bit off a piece of bacon and grumbled, “I don’t get any of this.”
With a smirk, Lainey answered, “To paraphrase Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal, she needs to marry him so he can date her.”
Dad chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed. “That doesn’t clear things up.”
My mom patted his hand with a patient smile. “It’s complicated, dear.”
That was the understatement of the century.