Chapter Eleven The Decision
Haven
T he morning light filters through the curtains, casting a soft glow across my bedroom. I’ve been awake for hours, staring at the ceiling, replaying last night’s conversation with Christian over and over in my mind. His words keep echoing in my head, making it impossible to focus on anything else.
“Marry me, Haven.”
Even now, the thought sends a jolt through me. I’ve never been the kind of woman who dreamed about weddings, white dresses, or happily ever after. Marriage was something that always seemed unnecessary and unimportant compared to taking care of my family. Last night, Christian changed everything. He made the option a real possibility, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.
Even if it isn’t a real marriage… it will make Mom happy.
I sit up in bed, running a hand through my hair as I try to make sense of my jumbled thoughts. The proposal wasn’t romantic, and it wasn’t driven by love. It was practical. A solution to both of our problems. For Christian, it would strengthen his case for custody of Oliver. For me, it would fulfill my mother’s dying wish to see me settled.
But a marriage of convenience? That’s not something I ever pictured for myself. It feels wrong, like I’d be betraying some part of myself if I agreed to it. But then, the look on Christian’s face last night, the way he spoke about his son, about wanting to protect him—it’s hard to ignore that. And if I can make my mother happy in the process… shouldn’t I at least consider it?
I’m insane for even considering this.
People don’t get married for convenience anymore. It’s not the 1800s, and my father isn’t looking to trade me for some land and a flock of sheep. Still, I can’t help but feel tempted.
Shaking my head, I release a long groan. I can’t stay in bed any longer. At this point, I’m just thinking in circles. If I’m going to make a real, thoughtful decision, I think I need an outside perspective. Some advice and something to help me make sense of this would be super helpful as well.
Marie.
I grab my phone from the nightstand and text Marie, asking if she’s free for coffee. Telling her about all of this is going to push her over the edge, but if anyone is going to know, it’s going to be her. She’s either going to check me into an asylum or rush me to go find a wedding dress. She responds almost immediately, and within the hour, I’m out the door, heading to our favorite café.
When I arrive, Marie is already there, sitting at a small table near the window, sipping her coffee with mine waiting across from her. She looks up and smiles when she sees me, but her expression turns concerned as I sit down.
“What’s going on?” she asks, setting her cup down. “You look like shit. Were you up all night or something?”
“Geez, thanks for the confidence boost this morning.”
She snickers, rolling her eyes as a smile crosses my lips. There’s no point in sugarcoating anything, so I jump right into it. “Okay, I need to talk to you about something, but you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone and you won’t freak out. I mean like… this is… it’s huge. Like, potentially life-changing huge.”
Marie raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, but nods. “You’re worrying me, but you should already know that I can keep a secret. So spill it?”
I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Christian proposed to me last night.”
Marie’s eyes widen in shock. “Wait, Christian ? As in Christian Tallow? The single dad from the daycare? The billionaire?” Her voice drops to a whisper on the last word, like it’s something she can’t quite believe. “Word has spread through town like wildfire since those paparazzi showed up at the daycare. Everyone is talking about him now.”
“Yeah, I figured as much,” I say, fidgeting with the edge of my napkin.
“Have you guys been secretly dating or something?” Marie asks, catching me by surprise.
“What? No! It’s not like that. It’s not a romantic proposal. It’s… more like a business arrangement. You would know if I was secretly dating someone. When was the last time I didn’t tell you something important like this?”
“True,” she says slowly, her brows furrowing in confusion. “But a business arrangement? Haven, what are you talking about?”
I take another deep breath and explain everything—the conversation with my mom, her dying wish, Christian’s custody battle, and how getting married would benefit both of us. I watch as Marie processes the information, her expression shifting from shock to something more thoughtful.
When I’m done, she leans back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “Wow. That’s… a lot to take in.”
“Tell me about it,” I mutter, taking a sip of my coffee. “I don’t know what to do, Marie. I never cared about getting married before, but now… I don’t know. It feels wrong, like I’m using marriage as a means to an end, but at the same time, it would make my mom happy, and it would help Christian with Oliver. How do I say no to that?”
Marie is silent, her gaze fixed on the table as she thinks. Finally, she looks up at me, her eyes serious. “Haven, I know you want to do right by your mom—we’d all walk to hell and back to make that woman happy—and I know you care about Christian and his son, but you have to ask yourself: is this what you really want? Could you live with yourself if you went through with it? And what happens if things don’t work out the way you both hope?”
I bite my lip, her words hitting home. I guess I really never thought about what would happen if all of this got out about our arrangement and blew up in our faces.
“That’s the thing—I just don’t know. I feel like I’m being pulled in two different directions. Part of me thinks it’s the right thing to do, but another part of me is screaming that it’s a mistake.”
Marie reaches across the table and takes my hand. “Listen, whatever you decide, you have to do it for you. Not for your mom, not for Christian, but for yourself. If you can look in the mirror and feel good about your decision, then that’s all that matters.”
I nod, appreciating her honesty, but it doesn’t make the decision any easier. “I just… I don’t want to regret this either way. If I say no, I’ll feel like I’m letting Mom down, but if I say yes… I’m scared I’ll be trapped in something that doesn’t make me happy.”
“You’re stronger than you think, Haven. Whatever choice you make, you’ll figure it out. Just promise me you won’t rush into anything, okay? Take some time to really think about it.”
“I will,” I assure her softly.
She tilts her head and studies me for a moment before asking, “Does Garrett know about any of this?”
My stomach drops at the mention of my brother. Oh, shit. I haven’t even thought about my brother! He’ll be furious if he finds out about this. It hadn’t really clicked before, but Christian is Garrett’s best friend. His best friend! My brother’s been out in the oil fields since before Christian moved to town, so I haven’t really thought about the two men in the same capacity before.
“No,” I say, shaking my head before dropping it into my hands. “Crap, I haven’t even thought about Garrett in all of this! What am I going to do?”
“When does he come home?”
Lifting my head back up, I try to remember his exact schedule. “A couple weeks yet, unless something happens with Mom. If she takes a turn, he’s cutting his time out there short and coming right home.”
“Okay, well,” Marie begins in a calm tone, though it breaks a bit at her next words, “your mom is fairly stable right now, yes? So Garrett likely won’t come back before he’s scheduled to, which means you have some time to figure out how to address this with him.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right,” I say, somewhat breathless. “One crisis at a time. First, I need to figure out what my answer to Christian is, and then I can figure out what to do about telling my brother.”
“You know, it wouldn’t really matter if you turned down the proposal,” Marie points out with a shrug. “Garrett would never need to know Christian even asked you to marry him.”
That’s true. If I just turned down Christian’s proposal, my brother wouldn’t have to find out about it at all. It would be much easier to say no in that regard. I wouldn’t risk my brother getting upset with me or putting a wedge between him and Christian. Still, I can’t stop thinking about my mom, lying in her hospital bed, wishing her only daughter would find someone to settle down with who would take care of and love her.
So, I guess the real question is, whose happiness is more of a priority to me right now? Mom’s or my brothers?
It’s not even a debate. Mom’s happiness beats out his. Not that I don’t want my brother to be happy, or that I want to upset him in any way, but he’d eventually deal with it one way or another. He might even understand if I explain everything and tell him the truth about my arrangement with Christian.
Mom doesn’t have time to get over anything. If I’m going to fulfill her final wish, this is my best and possibly only chance. Christian has given me an opportunity that I would be foolish to pass up.
Just like that, I realize I’ve already made my decision. There’s very little I wouldn’t do for my family, especially my mom.
“I’m going to say yes,” I blurt, the words past my lips before I fully comprehend that I’m speaking them.
Marie’s eyes shoot up in clear surprise. “Oh… oh! Yeah? Are you sure?”
I nod. “Yeah, I am. It’s a no-brainer when I consider everything objectively. Christian is a good man, and I trust that he’ll hold up his end of this deal. Plus, I can’t just ignore the fact that he’s a billionaire, and I’ll be able to take care of Mom and all her medical bills, so she and Peter don’t have to worry about any of that stuff.”
“Right.” Marie nods. “That all makes sense, but do you really want to marry a man you don’t love? Do you really think that’s what your mom wants?”
I shrug. “I never imagined I’d get married anyway, so it’s not like I’m holding out for ‘the one.’ The proposal shocked me and, admittedly, I didn’t know how to react to it, but now that I’ve thought it over and have had some time to process it, saying yes makes the most sense.”
Marie nods and gives me an exasperated half-smile. “You know, you’re the only person I know who would approach a marriage proposal like this. Still, if you're sure it’s what you want, I support it.”
She lifts her coffee and salutes me with it before taking a sip.
“Thanks,” I murmur, smiling softly.
“Still, that means you will have to deal with Garrett,” she points out.
“Yeah, I know.” I groan, trying not to think about him. “Still, I have a little time before he comes home. I’ll come up with some plan to break it to him so he doesn’t completely freak out.”
Marie chuckles. “Good luck with that.”
My brother is an issue I’ll have to address, but I’ll talk to Christian and maybe we’ll be able to come up with something together. In the meantime, I need to tell my husband-to-be that I’ve made my decision.
Swallowing, I feel a bundle of nerves twist within my stomach. The idea of facing Christian again to accept his proposal makes me more anxious than the thought of telling my brother about my marriage to his best friend. Still, the sooner I tell Christian yes, the sooner I can tell my mom, and the sooner we can get the technical stuff over with… like the wedding.
It shouldn’t be difficult. This is the answer to pretty much all of my problems.
And yet, why do I feel this strange sense of foreboding weighing down my shoulders?
As if I’m going to regret this.