CHAPTER 7
MEADOW
My leg is bouncing as I try and not let what happened yesterday burst out of me before it’s my turn during our morning meeting.
While my day started a while ago, and I’ve been in the kitchen already, taking a moment to meet with my girls while my staff handles the bakery is fine by me.
We have good, steady traffic throughout the day because a portion of our items don’t contain anything psychotropic at all.
It’s a fact the mayor continues to ignore.
Mayer keeps glancing my way, her gaze sweeping from my face to my leg and then back again. I’m sure she thinks I’m just on edge because I met with Rook and am now anxious to get to work on testing out recipes for the fall menu.
She’s nowhere close.
I almost can’t wait to see her face when I tell them what really went down yesterday.
I hope they won’t be disappointed in me.
I’ve always been a bit of a romantic, and while my parents are happy and still married, I’ve never had the impression that their love was one filled with passion or even anything beyond taciturn acceptance.
It was kind of sad. I’ve always dreamed of a love that’s more than what I saw growing up.
Maybe I read too many books or something, but I believe the love I’m destined to find will ground me and sweep me off my feet at the same time.
Well, the love I was meant to find. I’m not so sure now. I agreed to something that really should have taken more thought, but there’s no way I’ll back out now.
Not after seeing the relief written on Rook’s face. How can I take that away?
For a moment, he looked at me like I was the answer to all of his prayers. It was heavy, a look weighted by the responsibility of not letting him down. Which is exactly why I can’t go back on my word now.
Well, my pride won’t let me either.
“Okay,” Mayer’s voice cuts through my thoughts and when I glance up at her, she’s looking right at me, “what is going on with you, Meadow. Spill,” she demands, but with a heavy dose of love infused in the word.
“Is it my turn? I’ve been waiting very patiently,” I try to defend myself.
Glancing at Gemma and Greylin finds them blinking at me like the words I just said are ridiculous. Okay. Maybe I wasn’t all that patient.
“Well, I was trying to be,” I grumble.
“You failed,” Gemma deadpans.
I scrunch my face up and stick my tongue out at her. “Just for that, I’m not sharing any of my test samples with you.”
“You would never deprive me of such goodness,” she throws back, her tone dismissive.
She’s right. I wouldn’t. Especially because she’s always honest with me, even when it’s hard to hear. I value her opinion and I doubt I’d be able to get a menu completed, actually finalized, without her.
“I’m going to need you to tell us what happened yesterday when you went out to see Rook,” Greylin leans forward in her chair, her eyes locked on me like she’s been waiting for her favorite show to come on.
From the eager looks on all the faces of my best friends, they’ve been dying to know what happened. I just went home yesterday and let them know I was home and fine but refused to say anything else about what went down. I just needed a little bit of time to wrap my mind around what I agreed to do.
“Rook looked like shit when I got there yesterday,” I blurt out the words and then press my lips together and purse my lips. “I mean, he still looked good,” I admit, and grimace.
The man is clearly grieving. I should not be objectifying him. In my head or with my best friends.
“Yes, yes,” Gemma motions with her hand for me to keep going, “he’s hot. We got it.”
“He is hot,” I huff out, my shoulders going up defensively. The droll look she gives me has me rolling my eyes. “But that’s not the point. He wolfed down two slices of pizza without even coming up for air. It made me wonder when the last time he ate something, really ate something, was.”
“He has to take care of himself,” Mayer’s voice goes soft and her mouth dips down into a frown.
“Yeah,” I breathe out, my leg bouncing kicking up a notch.
Because this is it.
“Well,” I clear my throat, “I guess I’ll be taking care of him because I agreed to marry him.”
Silence.
Honestly, I was expecting silence. But I also know it’s just a matter of time for it to be broken. Because my best friends are predictable and they won’t be able to contain the questions, the shock, or the confused outrage.
“What do you mean when you say you agreed to marry him?” Every word of Gemma’s question is measured like if she says it slowly enough then it will make more sense.
It won’t.
“I mean exactly what I just said. I’m going to marry Rook Sherman. I’m going to be his wife,” the words feel almost wrong, like my mouth can’t form them in a natural way.
Probably because they make no sense, but yet here I am and while they might be outrageous, they’re still true.
“There has to be more to the story,” Mayer’s voice is on the verge of shrill.
I can’t say I blame her for it either.
Greylin huffs out a breath and slumps back in her chair as if it’s simply too difficult to hold herself up completely, in light of my confession.
She blinks at me a few times before opening and closing her mouth.
She does it again and again, but then she presses her lips together which causes them to press into a thin line.
“Yeah,” I admit, “there’s more to the story.”
I take a deep breath and look around the office, meeting the expectant gazes of the women who have had my back for almost my entire life.
We’re the type of friends where none of us remembers when it happened or how.
It simply did; we managed to hold onto each other even though life gave us highs and lows that could have seen us drifting apart.
But not us.
We always stuck together. I know the same will be true now, even though what I plan to do is out there, far more out there than anything I’ve ever done before.
I square my shoulders and figure it’s better to just lay it all out there. “Rook’s inheritance, apparently, when it came to his grandfather’s private finances was very straightforward. He gets it all. I don’t have the details on that and, frankly, I don’t need them.”
Gemma snorts, “You might need them considering you’re marrying the man.”
“No,” my voice is firm, “I’m going to marry him to help him out, not because I went over there yesterday and he swept me off my feet.”
Mayer makes a noise filled with relief and relaxes a fraction. Her voice clings to the words, “I knew there was some sort of explanation.”
Greylin’s face morphs into one filled with horror as she looks at Mayer. “You think marrying a man to help him out with something, which we haven’t gotten the details on yet, is an acceptable explanation?”
“At least it’s an explanation,” Mayer mutters.
I can’t help the small smile that lifts my lips. “Here’s the deal,” I start and lean forward in my chair slightly, my leg no longer bouncing now that I’ve gotten the worst of it out in the open, “the private finances were one thing, but then there’s the farm.”
My three best friends look at me with concern written all over their faces. Yeah, they’re starting to get it.
“For some reason, his grandfather added a clause that the farm would be handed down to the youngest living blood relative, but they have to be married.” I pause and take a deep breath as their eyebrows shoot up to their respective hairlines.
Yeah, it’s a reaction I completely understand.
“The thing is, nothing will be transferred for a year, and during the year the farm will function as it has been. Nothing will change and the lawyer will be overseeing things, from what I understand. Well, I guess I assumed that last part since Rook didn’t say it specifically, but it’s the only thing that makes sense. ”
“Meadow,” Mayer’s voice is sharp and I slam my mouth shut. When I look in her direction, her eyes soften. “You were starting to ramble.”
“I think she’s earned the right to ramble considering she agreed to marry a man in some sort of contractual marriage situation,” Gemma grumbles with an epic frown on her face. “Let’s not even mention that this is the same man she’s had a crush on since the first time she met him.”
“It’s going to be fine,” I try to reassure her, but she just throws her hands up in frustration.
Greylin’s voice is gentle, like she’s talking to a wild animal who has gone feral, “Gemma brings up a really crucial point. What is going to happen at the end of this thing? Is there a stipulation about how long you have to stay married? Just until the ink is dry on the deed and whatever else is required to transfer ownership? Longer? Years? The rest of your life?” Her voice was rising with each question and, by the last one, it borders on hysterical.
“I’ll sign whatever I need to sign because whenever this ends,” I try to keep the sadness out of my voice, “I don’t want anything I didn’t step into the marriage with.
I don’t want his farm, and I don’t want him to be able to touch Green Mountain High.
I’ll make sure everything stays clean and I’ll help him get what should have been his without any hoops to jump through. ”
I swallow hard, unwilling to meet the penetrating gazes of my best friends.
“I know it’s a little reckless and I probably should have given it more thought, but I’ve committed now and I’m going to help Rook get the farm.
I’ll deal with what comes after,” I pause and shift in my seat, “well, I’ll deal with it when I need to deal with it. ”
Mayer is shaking her head, and Gemma is looking at me like I’ve sprouted at least four additional arms than the two I had moments ago. Greylin’s eyes are keen as she studies me. I have no idea what she sees there but she gives one nod.
“I think it’s kind of romantic,” Greylin offers.
“That’s because you’re all loved up and happy,” Mayer’s voice is cutting, but not cruel.
Before I can find another angle to smooth over the ruffled feathers of my best friends, my phone rings. I almost fumble it when I see Rook is calling me.
Greylin, who is closes to me, strains her neck to see who it is. “You better answer that.”
When I do, I put it on speaker because I’ll just tell them about it later, they might as well hear everything from the horse’s mouth.
“Good morning,” my voice is bright, overly bright, super fucking fake bright. It’s a fight to keep the grimace off my face.
“Good morning, Meadow,” his voice is smooth and with a hint of something I’ve never heard there before, something I might mistake as affection in a different setting.
But it couldn’t be affection.
Not from him.
Not when I’m going to enter into a marriage for far less than love, but for a purpose all the same. Maybe it won’t be so bad.
He clears his throat, a vulnerability entering his voice I’m not used to hearing from him.
“I wanted to reach out and see how you’re doing today.
I know that yesterday was a lot. I threw a lot of information at you; the more I think about it, the more I feel like I set you up to feel like you had to say you’d marry me.
Putting that kind of pressure on you is the last thing I want.
” He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, as if the words are costing him far more than he’ll ever admit.
“If you want to back out, I’ll totally understand. ”
The fact that he’s offering me a way out crystallizes my decision instead of making me reconsider.
When I glance at my best friends, I can see they’re thinking the same thing.
“I’m not backing out,” my voice is steady even though my stomach is dancing a jig in my belly. “I said I was going to help you and I meant it.”
“Okay,” the word comes out weak, but when he says it a second time, it comes out stronger. “Okay.”
I can almost picture him running his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit that wasn’t even remotely difficult to pick up on.
“I know you said a courthouse wedding was fine with you, but I wanted to double check before I make a few phone calls and set us up with a time and date.” Something shifts in his voice, like he’s forcing the words out, “My father came by yesterday after you left. He’s aware of the clause and was more than happy to rub it in my face that he’s married and I’m not, even though he has no respect for his wife or women in general. ”
He pauses and the moment stretches between us. The thing is that it’s a moment I have no idea how to fill. So, I don’t.
“I don’t want to rush you,” another pause, “but I also don’t want to wait very long.
You deserve more than some courthouse ceremony, and I was thinking about how to make it something special for you before he showed up.
Now,” his voice goes raspy, “I’m afraid he’ll catch wind of anything with more fanfare than going down and seeing the judge.
I don’t want to give him the chance to try and put a stop to it or anything. ”
“You really think he’d do that?” It’s impossible to keep the surprise out of my voice.
“I mean,” I try to choose my words carefully, but they come rushing out of me, “I know you said he wasn’t a good guy, but do you think he’d really try to stop you from getting married? You think he would take it that far?”
His voice turns cold, “My father is a grifter and has spent his life perfecting his craft. He’d stop at nothing to prevent me from getting married.”
My mouth opens and closes only to open again. But no words come out.
I just need a moment to realign everything I know about parents and try and find a way for his father to fit into the mix. He doesn’t.
But I also don’t doubt that what Rook is saying is true. He would know better than I would.
“The courthouse is fine and I don’t see a reason to wait at all,” I tell him, my voice wobbling slightly before finding solid ground again.
“Okay,” he breathes out, “I’ll make some calls and see when we can get an appointment.”
Before I can say anything, Mayer cuts into the call, “As soon as you know, please let us know. The ceremony is one thing, but we will be taking care of the reception. You’ll have it here, at Green Mountain High, in the event space and we’ll make sure the people who need to know and be there are. The girls and I will take care of it.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I try and cut in, but Mayer gives me the side-eye she’s been perfecting ever since Mayor Simmons decided our business is the bane of his existence.
“No,” Mayer’s voice is smooth, “we don’t have to, but we are going to. Because you’re our best friend and you’re getting married. We will be celebrating and we’re going to make sure it’s special.”
“Thank you,” Rook’s voice is filled with sincerity, a weight lifted off his shoulders. “I’ll let you know what I find out and when I can get us on the calendar.”
After hanging up I stare at the phone in my hand for a long moment. When I look up, my best friends are already watching me closely.
“I’m getting married,” I whisper while hoping this doesn’t end with me getting my heart broken.