12. Andy #2
He holds his hand up to me. “You’re going to say no, but here are the reasons that you shouldn’t.
” He grabs my hand and threads our fingers together before continuing.
My arm tingles and my gut swoops at the touch.
“Marrying me helps you keep Piper safe and happy. Could you win the custody case on your own? Probably. But I have my doubts there based on what Har said. Also, there’s no one better suited to being married to you than me. ”
He grins and squeezes my hand as he says it. The almost cocky curl to his lips make mine lift.
“Oh yeah?” I ask.
“Yeah. I already clean your hair out of the shower drain. I know exactly how long your everything showers take, so you’ll never hear me complain about them. When you find a spider, who relocates it for you?”
I grin back at him. This is one of the reasons I love Jedd. He can take the serious and make it fun. He makes me laugh even when I don’t want to. Everything is lighter with him.
My heart pangs in my chest as I answer. “You.”
He snaps the fingers on his free hand. The other one is tracing circles on the back of my hand that leaves tingles behind.
“Exactly. I know what side of the bed you sleep on, and that you’re a side sleeper with no less than three pillows.
One for your head, one for between your knees and one for you to hug.
I know how you take your coffee depending on how early your alarm is set for and not to talk to you until you’ve had at least half of the first cup under threat of death.
I know that you use a super plus tampon for the first three days of your cycle and then a regular for the last two.
Also, I’m well-versed in your many and varied quirks. ”
Oh god. With every word my resistance trembles. I shouldn’t be surprised that he knows all this—we’ve been friends a long time. But he obviously paid more attention to the details than I expected. And he’s using his familiarity as the foundation for his argument.
I could rattle off all of the things I “know” about him too. Jedd’s been the subject of my observation for as long as I can remember, but I hold off.
Deflecting the feelings rioting in me, I argue, “I don’t have any quirks.”
He takes my other hand in his and stares solemnly into my eyes. It’s like being pinned under a lighthouse spotlight. “You wear socks to bed. And tuck the blankets under your sock-covered feet. That’s a quirk.” He punctuates the statement with a wink.
I glare at him and yank my hands back. He would bring that up. When he found out the first time he was horrified, and he’s never let me live it down. I offer the only defense I can as I start to feel my objections crumble. “My feet get cold.”
He’s making good points. Damn him for that.
I can’t exactly argue with logic, and if there was anyone to pull a sham marriage off with, he’d be my first and only choice.
“Yeah, well, now I’ll be there to warm them for you.” His eyebrows climb in a how about that way.
Rolling my eyes, I counter, “You already do that, without us committing a felony.”
“Yeah, but how many other people will look the other way as you spread jelly on a chilled grilled cheese sandwich.”
“Jelly on grilled cheese is the perfect salty-sweet combination, and you won’t convince me otherwise,” I argue.
“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. Face it, Mischief, I know you better than you know yourself. I’m your best bet at making this work. Plus we’ve already been through a lot of the early milestones couples hit and our communication is better than veteran married couples. We can do this.”
I really don’t want to be the voice of reason. I rarely am. But seeing the excitement and resolve in Jedd hurts.
I love that he wants to help me—and Piper. And he does have valid points about how well suited we are to manage this farce, but I just can’t.
I can’t put myself through that knowing that it would end.
“Jedd. It’s perjury. And fraud,” I say on a sigh.
“Only if we get caught,” he rushes out, his tone excited. Like he can tell I want to give in. Like I want this more than I can express. “And how many times have we gotten caught when I come up with an awesome idea?”
“Oh, how about the time we tried breaking into the science lab during dissection week to replace all the frogs with stuffed animals in middle school?”
“That was a one off. What about the time we spray painted the football field for homecoming?”
“We got caught for that too.”
“No, they strongly suspected at best.”
“And the in-school suspension we were tortured with?”
“Semantics. This will work. I promise.”
“Jedd …”
I’m so scared. Scared to say yes. Scared to say no. Because regardless of which path I choose, our relationship is going to change. Either it’ll be me shattering my heart by agreeing to go along with this despite knowing that I’m going to lose him, or I’ll reject him. The man I care most about.
“I know that look on your face. That’s your ‘Jedd is crazy, and I don’t want to tell him no, but I’m going to anyway.’ Think about Piper. What if Alex gets her back? Are you really going to go through this multiple times over the next ten years until she goes to college?”
I nod in defiance. If I don’t get custody of Piper and have to just be the person that cleans up after Alex until Piper is grown, I’ll do it with a smile on my face.
“Why are you so sure that I can’t get custody of Piper by myself?” There must be flaws in this whole crazy idea. Jedd wouldn’t want to marry me unless he saw it as a way to ensure that I win the custody case against Alex. So why does he think I’m not going to?
Melinda and Mr. Rupert agree I have a strong case. Internally, I’m still unsure if this is the right thing to do, but I’m doing it for Piper, not for my peace of mind.
But Jedd’s whole argument for marriage hinges on the fact that I might not win the case, and I want to know why he thinks that.
He shakes his head. “I’m not sure that you can’t.
I’d rather hedge our bets now though if we can.
Also, what happens if you get custody of Piper and something happens to you?
Does she go to the state? Does she go back to Alex?
If we were married, I’d also have custody of her.
I’d be there to protect her if something unimaginable happened. ”
Fuck.
I didn’t even think of that. I’ve been so focused on the start of the custody case, I haven’t thought about what happens if I get Piper.
Suddenly, I feel ill-prepared. I don’t have a will. I don’t have any of the things that parents are supposed to put in place when they have kids that protect them.
I just jumped straight to getting custody of Piper without really thinking about what all of that means.
Responsibility weighs on me with the realization.
Sure, I don’t plan to die tomorrow, but Jedd has a point. What would happen to Piper if I became her guardian and then something happened to me?
“I’m not saying that this idea is foolproof, but I am saying that it’s your best bet to get custody of the little girl sleeping in her room right now, and also our best bet to make sure that she’s taken care of no matter what. ”
Jedd’s right. Fuck, he’s right. And a broken heart in comparison to making sure Piper has a safe and secure life is nothing.
“If—and that’s a big if— if we did this, I’d need to talk to Piper about it first. She’s already going through so much, and this is another change for her.” I won’t ask Piper to lie for us or keep secrets, so this has to look real.
Real to a little girl who’s never seen Jedd and I do more than hug.
He sighs and smiles. He knows I’m crumbling. That I’m an inch away from agreeing to this madness. “Of course. I want her to be comfortable too.”
“Okay. Another thing. I want to help you with the shop.” If he’s intent on saving my bacon, then I’m going to do the same with him.
Jedd’s head jerks back, and I hold a hand up.
“If you’re going to help me and Piper, I want to cosign on the loan for the garage with you.”
“Andy.” He sinks a world of exasperation into the word.
“Jedd. If we do this, if we get married for Piper, then I want you to apply for the loan—with me on the application. You solve my problems, and I solve yours. This way it’s equal and fair.”
His shoulders slump against the back of the couch as he blows out a breath. “You’re not going to budge on this are you?”
“No. Plus, it won’t look good to the courts if your shop is shut down. We have to prove that we’re a stable environment for Piper.” I use his own argument against him.
“Fine. We get married, you keep going with the case to get Piper, I get the loan I need to expand the garage.”
Oh god. Oh my ever-loving god. I just agreed to marry Jedd. A burst of something explodes in my stomach, but I tamp it down. I can dissect my feelings later.
I hold my hand out and he cocks an eyebrow at the traditional way to close a deal.
“I think we can do better than a handshake.”
He leans closer and puts his lips on mine.