Chapter Forty-One
TYLER
NINETEEN DAYS EARLIER
My phone rings, and I see it’s Gemma. Just seeing her name has my body buzzing. We had the most amazing night last night. I can’t wipe off the stupid grin on my face as I think about how it felt to be inside her and claim her as mine.
“Baby, I’ve been waiting for you. Didn’t you get my texts?” She dropped me off hours ago, and I’d been waiting to go hiking with her.
“Sorry. No, I haven’t had the chance to check them. But we need to talk.”
“Okay. What’s going on?”
She lets out a breath that has me concerned. “I’m so sorry, Tyler, but I’m marrying Robert.” Her voice trails off.
“What? What happened?” I ask, slipping on my shoes, ready to go to her and have this conversation face-to-face.
“Please listen,” she says in a strained tone. “Robert came to my cottage and—”
“I’m on my way,” I tell her, not waiting any longer.
“You can’t. I’m not home. I’m at Robert’s.”
I stop moving as my heart pounds hard in my chest. “Why?”
Gemma lets out a whimper, and I swallow hard. “He moved everything out of the cottage and into his house. He gave me an ultimatum to marry him or…” She chokes up, and I wait patiently for her to finish. “He’ll destroy my dad’s house and the cottage.”
“Baby, he can’t do that.” My anger level increases, and I become volatile, ready to beat the fuck out of him. The consequences be damned.
“He can, Tyler. He’s backed me into a corner.
” She continues explaining the deed and how Robert weaseled his way into owning her dad’s property.
With each sentence, she becomes more emotional, and I can’t handle it.
She’s never been this upset before, and it’s breaking us both in the process. Robert needs to pay for hurting her.
“You don’t have to do this,” I press.
“I don’t have a choice. I’m so sorry.” She sniffles, and her voice gets quieter. “I never wanted to marry him, but it’s the only way he’ll sign it over to me. Once we’re married, I’ll get the deed, and Dad’s property will be safe.”
I pace my bedroom and realize I’m chewing my bottom lip as I try to think of something to get her out of this. Never would I have imagined he’d stoop so low, but I should’ve. I didn’t trust the guy the first time I laid eyes on him.
“Did you ask your dad about any of this? Double-check that Robert wasn’t making shit up?” I run my fingers through my hair and sit on the edge of my bed, then suck in a deep breath.
“I did,” she nearly whispers, the defeat in her tone evident. “It’s true.”
Staring at the wall, I think about our future, and I refuse to let it slip through my fingers. Not this. Not ever.
Over the years, I’ve dated, but it was never anything serious. Nothing compared to what I have with Gemma. When I imagine getting married and having children, the only woman I dreamed of having that with is Gemma, and I refuse to allow Robert to take that away from me.
She’s supposed to marry me, not him. The idea hits me, and my heart races at the prospect.
“Gemma…” A smile fills my face, and I’m so damn anxious that I can barely contain myself. “I have an idea. It’s a crazy one, though.”
She’s still crying, and I hear her sniffles. I wish she was sitting in front of me so I could place my palms on either side of her cheeks and press my lips against hers.
“Considering I have no options, I’m all ears.”
I lick my lips, my nerves getting the best of me. “When I think about marriage in general, it makes my palms sweaty. But when I think about marrying you, it’s different. It feels so damn right.”
Gemma continues getting emotional. “But I have to marry Robert, and he’d kill me before giving me a divorce. So that could never happen for us.”
“Unless you marry me first.”
The line goes quiet, and I almost question if she’s still there. “Tyler…”
“If you were in front of me right now, Gemma, I’d get down on one knee and tell you how much I fucking love you and always have.
You’re the only woman I’ve ever imagined myself growing old with, and if you’d allow me, I’d spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy.
” My heart races, and I wish I didn’t have to do this over the phone.
“Tyler Blackwood,” she whispers. “Are you asking me to marry marry you?”
“Yes, yes, I am.” I smirk. “Because if you’re married to me, you can’t legally be married to him. He’ll think it’s legit and sign the paperwork. By the time he realizes what’s going on, it’ll be too late for him to do anything about it.”
“He’ll never see it coming,” Gemma says with a sweetness in her tone.
“Hell no, he won’t. I can’t imagine a future without you, baby. You’re my everything. And I wish you were here so I could propose properly, then make love to you all damn night. I know it’s a wild idea but—”
She interrupts me. “Yes,” she blurts, and I can tell she’s smiling. “I love you so damn much that I can barely put it into words. I just don’t want you only doing this because—”
“Trust me, it’s not because of Robert. It’s because I love you, need you, and want you forever, sweetheart.”
She lets out a hum. “You’ve made me the happiest woman.”
“I’ll get all the details together. We can go down to the courthouse and file the paperwork together. We’ll slip out of work separately and take care of it. It’s gonna be the best kind of satisfaction, knowing you’re my wife and not his.”
She blows out a relieved breath. “This really could work.”
“It will. I’ll always protect you, Gemma,” I reassure her. “Now we just have to figure out how to get him away for a bit so we can move your things back to your place and change the locks. Should do a security system too. Once everything’s done, you can tell him to fuck off.”
She chuckles, and the sound is so goddamn sweet. “I feel like I can finally breathe again. I can’t believe we’re really doing this—getting hitched,” she gushes.
“I told you we’d get through this together, and I meant it. Though I still want you to have the wedding of your dreams, sweetheart. The one you always talked about having when you were a teenager. I don’t want you to be robbed from that,” I say genuinely.
“I’d get married to you anywhere, Tyler. Courthouse. Church. Hell, even inside the deli if we had to. You’re enough for me and always have been,” she says. “As long as it’s us, I’ll be the happiest person alive.”
I chuckle, almost shocked by where this conversation has gone because it wasn’t promising ten minutes ago.
“I promise to give you the wedding you deserve one day, but right now, we need to just make it legal. Let’s go to the courthouse on Monday.
Maybe ask your dad if we can go in to work late.
I’ll borrow Everleigh’s car and meet you in Birmingham so no one can tip Robert off.
Since there’s no waiting period in Alabama, it’ll be official as soon as we sign and they file it. ”
“That’s perfect. I’ll get with my dad and make sure we can get off. Then the only issue left is getting Robert out of town for a couple of days.”
I plop down on my bed and think this through. Knowing what I know about Robert, he’s easily deceived. When it comes to money, he’ll do anything. “I think I have another idea. What if he has a rich client out of town that he needs to meet? Think he’d fall for that?”
“Absolutely, as long as he thinks it’s worth his time.
So it’d have to be a huge investment, someone with a lot of money.
And I’ve been to so many of those boring dinners that I could literally write a guidebook on what to say.
” I can tell she’s beaming by the tone of her voice. “He’s made this too easy for me.”
“Don’t get cocky.” I chuckle. “But who are we gonna have to do it? Someone who could pull it off. A man who could act and look the part.” After a moment of silence, it hits me. “Eric’s coming to town next Wednesday and owes me a favor from doing the deposition. He’d do it without a doubt.”
“Eric? Really? He’s already been through so much already.”
“He has, but he told me if I ever needed anything, he’d be happy to help.
We can rent him a fancy car and buy him an expensive suit.
You could coach him on what to say and how to act, and trust me, he’s got that douchebag vibe down.
I hated him when we first met, so I’m sure Robert would adore him. ”
Gemma laughs. “I’m sure he will. I’ll even use the money in Robert’s and my joint checking account to fund it.”
I chuckle as the adrenaline rush has me smiling nonstop.
“Great, so I’ll talk to Eric, and you take care of your dad.
Change my name in your phone to someone else, a girl’s name or something, just to cover your tracks.
If it gets too dangerous, call me. I’ll be there to beat his ass within ten minutes,” I say seriously.
“I’m sleeping in one of the spare rooms until the wedding, so I’ll be able to avoid him for a couple of weeks, but good idea.
I’ll get things together on my end, and we’ll meet Monday.
God, I’m so happy right now,” she adds at the end.
“I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you for rescuing me. ”
I smirk. “I can think of a few ways.”
“Blow jobs every morning for a year?” she suggests.
“For eternity,” I add with a chuckle. “We’ve got this, babe. It’s all gonna work out, and in the end, it’s gonna taste like sweet, sweet victory.”
“It will,” she whispers. “I should let you go, though.”
“Okay, baby, please be safe. I love you,” I say.
“Love you more.”
The call ends, and I blow out a relaxed breath, trying to put all the pieces together.
If this doesn’t work out, it could piss Robert off even more and then who knows what he’d do to get back at Gemma.
But if we play our cards right, Robert would get a dose of his own manipulative medicine, something I would pay my life savings to see.
He needs to be knocked down a few pegs, and I think we’ve found a way to beat the bastard at his own game.
Now, I just need to call Eric and get him on board.
SEVEN DAYS EARLIER