Chapter 6
CHAPTER
SIX
Rain
Walking away from the lawyer’s office, I cross the road to the park. I know Ridge is behind me. He would never let me walk away on my own, always keeping an eye on me like my father always wanted.
Maybe that’s where some of my resentment comes from toward him. Sure, he turned me down when I hit on him in my teens, but had he disappeared or I never had to see him, I could have gotten over that.
Instead, my father kept bringing him around.
He was always there with his arrogant attitude.
He always acted like he knew better than me because he is older.
I know my dad asked him to look out for me, which caused me a lot of headaches when I would sneak out to parties.
He would embarrass me by coming to find me and dragging me back home.
What turned into mild annoyance grew into hate.
Now I have to marry this man or lose everything.
Taking a deep breath, I settle on a bench. When Ridge doesn’t sit, I pat the seat.
“I won’t bite you,” I promise him.
He glares at me. “The scar on my forearm says differently.”
I snort. When I was seventeen, he grabbed me to pull me out of a party. I was angry and sank my teeth into him. What’s impressive is that I drew blood, and he didn’t once waver. He still managed to get me back to his borrowed car before strapping me in.
Still, he takes the seat next to me and sits patiently while I collect my thoughts.
After a minute, I turn to him. “You would really marry me?”
“I would,” he says without hesitation.
“Why? I need honesty here. No jokes. No jabs. I need to know why.” I can hear the desperation in my voice.
“I’ll never lie to you, Rain. Even if you hate it,” he mutters.
“Yet you did. Maybe not to my face, but by keeping things from me. That is a lie by omission.”
He nods. “Full transparency then. Mustang did ask me if I would marry you prior to his death. You might not want to hear it, but he wanted you to be cared for. He knew that you had no family left once he was gone. No one but the club. He also knew that you would leave the club because you do not like feeling like a charity case. So he asked me to marry you and care for you. Keep you here until you could see that these people care about you, not because you are a charity case, but because they are your family.”
My eyes grow hot with tears, but I blink rapidly until they fade. That does sound like something my dad would do. He knew me so well.
“That doesn’t explain why you agreed.”
He sighs. “Marrying you isn’t a hardship, Rain. You are beautiful, smart, kind. Sassy as fuck too, but I don’t mind that. Why wouldn’t I want to marry you?”
“Maybe because we don’t like each other. We can barely stand to be near one another without arguing. What kind of marriage would that be?” I ask.
“We don’t have to like each other to be married.
We aren’t doing this for the long-term connection we will make.
I know you don’t plan to grow old and sit on rocking chairs on the front porch with me.
It’s two years. Three with the one-year separation.
That is nothing in the grand scheme of things. ”
I hate that I am considering this. That my plans are slowly changing in my head.
Two years is nothing after all.
“You are thirty-three. You will be missing out on your prime years. That doesn’t bother you?” I ask.
“You are twenty-four. Does it bother you?”
I would never admit it to him, but it doesn’t bother me. I don’t date much as it is. Too many weirdos and serial killers out there. Sure, I have dated around before. I’m no virgin, but I never met anyone I wanted to actually date.
“If we do this, I wouldn’t expect you to remain faithful. We would be married on paper only,” I tell him.
“I will remain faithful to you because I take my vows seriously.” He sounds irritated that I would even make the offer.
Still, I try again.
“I won’t be sleeping with you, and I know a man has needs. All I am saying is that if you wanted to fulfill those needs, I would not hold it against you.”
He growls at me, “I am not an animal. I can control my urges. There are other ways to seek release that do not involve me cheating on my wife. I will remain faithful to you.”
My hackles raise. “Oh, so you expect me to remain faithful to you.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Go ahead, Rain. Marry me. Be my wife, then seek another. I won’t stop you, but don’t be surprised if he ends up missing.”
I shake my head at him. “You are barbaric. Why would you even care?”
He reaches out, grabbing my hand with his. I attempt to pull away, but he holds it tighter.
“If you agree to be mine, then you will be mine. I will be yours. Even in a farce of a marriage, we will belong to one another, and I don’t share, Rain. Ever. With anyone.”
His words send a shiver down my spine. Oh, to have that kind of devotion from a man and him actually mean it. Ridge isn’t saying those words because it is me. He is saying it because, as his wife, he wouldn’t want people knowing we were sleeping around with other people. It’s about honor for him.
It’s a moot point. Not one worth arguing. I’m not seeing anyone and don’t plan to. I can hold off for two years. Besides, the only orgasms I’ve ever had were by my own hand anyway.
“Understood. We should probably put some rules in place then,” I tell him.
He nods. “He said we have to live together. We have a couple of options. I have my room at the clubhouse. It would be neutral ground. I have my house, or we have yours. Or we could buy a place together.”
I think about it for a second. I hate the thought of living at his place, but the clubhouse isn’t an option. Neither is staying at my dad’s when I can hardly make myself go inside.
“If you don’t mind, I think we should stay at your place. At least until I start clearing out my dad’s things.”
“I can help with that. I’ll talk to the lawyer and see what provisions are in there about donating items. I don’t think you will be able to sell anything until the inheritance issue is resolved.”
I wince. “I hadn’t considered that. Thank you. I would appreciate you finding out for me.”
“Of course. So does that mean we are doing this? You will marry me?” he asks.
I nod. “Against my better judgment, I will marry you.”
Ridge
I hop into action the moment the words are out of her mouth.
“Good. Then I’ll go let the lawyer know right now. How about we go get something to eat and discuss the details? Would that be okay?”
She looks uneasy about her decision, but she nods.
“Hal’s. I’ll go get us a table and meet you there.”
I hold out my hand, helping her to stand. “I’ll be there.”
I walk her to her truck, making sure she is inside safely, before I head back into the office. The receptionist smiles at me.
“He had blocked off two hours for you, so he is free. Go on back.”
I head back into the office. Mr. Cohen turns to greet me.
“So did we make a decision? I can hold off for the full three weeks, but not a minute longer,” he tells me.
“We made a decision. We will be getting married. I will get you the details when we have them. Rain did want to know what the stipulations said about her going through Mustang’s things and donating what she has no use for. Would that be allowed?”
He nods. “Donations are allowed. She will be allowed to sell items as well, but if the profit is more than five hundred dollars, she will be required to put it in the trust. She will not be permitted to sell the house nor any of the stocks.”
“Understood. Thank you for all your help. I’ll be in touch.”
“I look forward to hearing from you. I’m glad she changed her mind. Mustang seemed to worry about her a lot.”
I nod. “He loved his daughter very much.”
I wave to the receptionist as I exit the building. Climbing on my bike, I imagine having Rain on the back of it again. I didn’t get to enjoy it the way I wanted to last time. The day was filled with grief and anxiety. Maybe one day I will convince her to take another ride with me.
Shaking the thoughts away, I make the quick drive to Hal’s Diner. She’s already inside waiting for me. When I slide in across from her, I’m surprised to find a drink waiting for me. When I take a sip, I’m surprised to find root beer. It’s my favorite.
“Thank you,” I tell Rain.
“Don’t read into it. Dad kept root beer in the house for you. It’s hard not to notice,” she says, looking out the window.
“Still, thank you.”
She looks over to me. “I don’t know how to move past all this anger in my heart. I’m angry with him. I’m angry with you. I’m angry at the world.”
“Grief affects people in different ways. You are allowed to be angry at everyone.”
“He’s dead, though, and I’m angry at him. Doesn’t that make me the asshole?” she murmurs.
“No. It makes you human. He put you in a difficult spot, and while it came from a good place, it doesn’t mean you have to be happy about it.”
She rubs her hand down her face. “I’m supposed to hate you, and yet I am going to marry you.”
“It won’t be all that bad. I promise. I’ll treat you right and make sure you are taken care of.”
She nods. “And the moment we are allowed, we file for divorce and start our separation.”
I hate how she is already so quick to be rid of me. I had hoped we might grow a friendship from this, but it seems she still plans to harbor her hate for me.
“Of course. Whatever will make you happy, Rain. That’s all I want. It’s all he wanted.”
She gives me a sad smile. “If that’s what he wanted, then he wouldn’t be making us do this. Forget about all of that. What is our next step?”
I pull out my phone and do some quick research.
“It looks like we can go down to the courthouse and get the marriage license and sign it ourselves. Colorado doesn’t seem to require any witnesses. We don’t even need a pastor. We can marry ourselves,” I tell her.
“Well, that’s convenient. So let’s do that then,” she tells me.
“You don’t want a ceremony?”
She shakes her head. “I wasn’t that girl who dreamed of her wedding day her entire life. A time or two I considered it, but nothing serious. Honestly, I want to get it over with as soon as possible.”
Before I can respond, a waitress comes up.
“Hello there. My name is Bonnie, and I will be your server today. Would you like to hear our specials?”
“No, thank you. I’ll have the cheeseburger fully loaded with fries and a side of ranch,” Rain starts.
“Awesome. What about for you?” She looks at me and freezes.
“Same thing. Thank you.”
The woman is motionless for a moment before she nods and walks away.
“She just realized how attractive you are. She’s tongue-tied,” Rain jokes.
“Too bad for her, I’m engaged to be married. Besides, she is a little timid for me.” I tell her.
She rolls her eyes. “Whatever you say. You could go have one last fling before we marry. I’m sure she would be willing.”
“I promised I would be faithful, and I will. From the moment you agreed to marry me. Now, changing the subject, we will have to tell the club we are married.”
She scrunches her nose. “I figured. I mean, I plan to tell Aspen and Maggie, which means Wolf and Panther will know. I don’t want all the fuss, though.”
“Of course not, but they will. I only want you to be prepared.”
She lets her head fall to the table. “Why is this my life?”
“It’s going to be okay. We are going to keep your dad’s things, and you will get your inheritance. Then we will go our separate ways.”
She pulls her head back up. “Should we get a prenup?”
I hate how badly it hurts that she thinks I would take a dime from her. “No, Rain. Not unless you want one. I wouldn’t take a single thing from you. I know you hate me, but I had hoped you would at least know that.”
I can’t help how bitter I sound.
She reaches across the table, grabbing my hand, which surprises me. I look back at her.
“I didn’t mean for me. I meant for you. I assume you have your own assets you would want to protect.”
I do have my own assets. Mustang taught me well. Like him, I have an investment account along with some real estate holdings. I even have a decent amount in my savings. Nothing like he had, but I haven’t had a lifetime to prepare like him.
Still, none of that matters. If she wanted it, I would give it to her. I will do everything I can to make sure she is taken care of. That is my oath.
“No. I don’t need a prenup.”
She sits back in her seat, looking back out the window.
After a minute, she asks, “Are we really going to do this?”
“We are, my dear fiancée.”