Chapter Twenty
Marcus
M y work day went by painlessly. I volunteered to run down to the Providence office to review some contracts and do a few new hire follow-ups. While I don’t care for the drive, it’s nice to be out of my box for half the day.
I pull into the garage at the house and turn off the truck. I sit for a moment, collecting my thoughts before I head inside. We’re going to talk about our plan to fool my father (and hopefully everyone else). I still have my doubts about it, but Gigi seems like she’s all in. Linc’s words repeat in my mind from yesterday. No feelings. Keep my dick in my pants. I know he’s protective of Gigi with her being his partner’s best friend, but I would hope he had more faith in me than that. I take a deep breath, jump out of the truck, and walk inside.
I place my keys on the hook of the wall of the mudroom and throw my bag down in a chair at the table. I stop in the kitchen to pour a healthy dose of whiskey and walk into the living room. Gigi is curled up on her side of the couch with a book in her hands.
“Hey, prince! How was your day?”
“Hey, princess. It was good. Yours?”
She sets her book down on the end table. “It was good. Relaxing.”
I nod, sitting down. I unbutton my top button and the cuffs of my shirtsleeve and roll them up. It sends vibrant memories through my mind, but I push them aside. I only need to get comfortable.
I turn to Gigi. “Want to order dinner?”
“Sure, you pick.”
I bring up the delivery app on my phone and order from our favorite sushi place.
“Food ordered. Let me grab my laptop.”
“Laptop?”
“We’re going to hash out our plan, and I want everything documented.”
“So official.”
I ignore her comment and trek upstairs. I decide to change out of my work clothes, swapping for joggers and a t-shirt. I pick up my laptop from my desk in the corner of my room and return to the couch. Gigi perks up, crossing her legs and eyes sparkling.
“Okay, Operation Ball and Chain.”
“Uh, what?”
“We need a name for this mission.”
“I swear, you and Linc share a brain cell.”
“What do we need to figure out?”
I rub the five o’clock shadow on my jaw. “A lot of things. We need a backstory, a timeline, legal, finances, and what our exit plan will be. We need to be on the same page about everything so our stories are cohesive.”
She settles in, a determined look in her green eyes. “Backstory is easy. We’ve known each other for two years.” She brings a hand to her chest dramatically. “You pined after me the entire time, watching me date a complete douchebag, just praying for us to break up so you could finally swoop in and make your move.”
“I don’t pine after women.” I lift my whiskey to my mouth.
“You did when it came to me. That’s why you know I’m the one. You’ve never felt something so strong for someone.” She smiles smugly. “I’m going to get a drink.”
“You’re only allowed one.”
“Don’t worry about that; I’m just getting water. I have to work tomorrow morning. There will be no replay of yesterday.”
She returns to the couch and continues, “Timeline. We date for a couple months, do some dinners with your parents, I can show up to your office and be the doting girlfriend a couple times, then we do an over-the-top proposal. Something to really drive it home, ya know?” She drives her fist into the air in front of her.
“Sounds solid. Will you tell your parents?”
She goes quiet, and her eyes change, their usual sparkle becoming dull. Gigi has never really talked about her family, and I have a feeling I’m about to find out why.
“I guess with the situation we’re in, you should know about my childhood.” She takes a drink of water, swallowing hard. “I don’t know my parents.”
I turn to her in my seat. “What do you mean?”
She looks down at the water bottle in her hands. “When I was four, one of our neighbors had CPS do a well check on my family. When the cops and the social worker showed up, my parents were high as a kite in their bedroom and I was out in the yard by myself. It was forty-one degrees outside, and I was in nothing but a nightgown. No shoes or anything. My parents didn’t even know I wasn’t in the house.”
“Fucking hell.” I run my hand down my face.
“I stayed in the foster care system until I aged out. I was in a different home every one or two years.”
I process the information. How could families pass up her spirit, her humor? And I bet she was cute as hell as a child. “That couldn’t have been easy, G. Thank you for sharing that with me.”
I see tears forming in her eyes, but she looks away. “It is what it is. Made me who I am now, made me work hard to make sure I’m secure, even if it’s just me.”
“Look at me, princess.” My voice is low and quiet. She turns her head even further from me and wipes her cheeks with her free hand.
“Look at me,” I repeat, slower this time.
She reluctantly brings her eyes to mine. “I never saw them after that day. They never came for me. And no family wanted me to stay. I was either too old or too hard to handle. No one ever wanted me to stay. I was never good enough to keep around.”
Fuck. Her eyes are ripping me apart. She never should have felt that way.
“Can I hug you?”
She nods.
I move closer to her and wrap her in my arms. She shakes against me. “Sorry I’m crying. I hate when people see me cry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Let it out, princess.”
She buries her face in my shirt, and I bring her closer. I bring my hand to her neck, rubbing the warm skin under her hair. I hate that she went through that. I wonder if our situation could leave her feeling the same way all over again. It won’t be permanent.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this whole plan?”
She nods against my chest. “I want to help you, prince.” She moves out of my arms. “I want to get your father off your back and get you what is rightfully yours. You deserve to lead that company, Marcus.”
“We can wait to go over all this stuff if you want.”
She shakes her head, sniffling. “No, let’s get this done. We need to get this show on the road.”
I look down at her, wiping a tear from her face.
“You’re touching me a lot today.” She laughs.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, prince.”
I give her a tight smile and move back toward my laptop.
“Alright.” I blow out a rough breath. “Backstory is believable. I’ll work on getting a ring. Then—”
“You’re going to get me a ring?” She looks surprised.
“I have to propose, and you need a ring. Right?”
“You might want to work with Jax and Linc on the proposal.”
“You don’t think I can come up with a good proposal?”
She shrugs one shoulder. “Guess we’ll just have to see what you come up with.”
“It isn’t very promising that you doubt your future husband like this.” My lips pull up in a grin.
Her eyes go wide. “Fuck, you’re going to be my husband.”
I bark out a laugh. “Yes, I am.”