Chapter 14
MAGGIE
Marcus sat across from me in Ryan’s living room while Ryan himself pretended to be extremely busy in the kitchen, but he wasn’t fooling anyone. At least, he wasn’t fooling me. I could practically feel his eyes on us whenever he thought I wasn’t paying attention to him.
At the same time, I was grateful that he was here. As soon as he’d walked in with Marcus in tow, there had been a moment when I’d thought of running again, but everything Ryan had said this morning was still true.
I had to at least try to fix this, and Marcus, being the oldest and the most level-headed, was probably the only person in my family who might actually try to understand.
Once that urge to run had subsided, I’d decided to lay it all out for the very first time.
With Ryan here to back me up, maybe I stood a chance.
Ryan spoke boy, but he’d also proven to me a few times by now that he genuinely did understand where I’d come from too. Perhaps having him here would help my brother and me to find some sort of middle ground.
I glanced at him and caught his gaze, holding those blue eyes for just one short second before he gave me a small but presumably encouraging nod, so I turned back to my brother.
Marcus was a Pembroke through and through, with our father’s strong features and tall stature, but his gaze was softer than Dad’s would ever be. Surely, that meant something.
“Did you know that I didn’t get a single choice in my own wedding?” I started quietly. “Seriously, not one. No one asked me where I wanted to get married or what music I’d want playing. I didn’t get a say in the guest list or the flowers. I didn’t even get to choose my own dress.”
His jaw tightened. “I’m sorry, Mags.”
I shrugged. “So am I, but I didn’t want to get married in the first place and I tried telling Mom and Dad a hundred times.
They simply refused to hear me. Just like Mom and Cathy didn’t bother to listen when I tried telling them the shoes were squeezing the life out of my toes or that I didn’t like the girly lace on that dress. It was beautiful, but it wasn’t me.”
He inhaled a deep breath, his eyes closing for a moment before he nodded. “Let’s work through this one thing at a time. You said you didn’t want to get married in the first place?”
“I didn’t. I still don’t.”
Marcus leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Is Daniel the issue? Because if so, another one of the Hawthorne boys could easily take his place.”
Both of my eyebrows shot up. “That is hands-down the least romantic thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
He grimaced. “Yeah, I heard it. Don’t worry. The words were just already out of my mouth.”
I gave him a sad smile. “That’s kind of the thing, though, isn’t it?
There’s been nothing romantic about any of this.
Daniel and I have never been on a date. We know next to nothing about each other.
He didn’t even propose. Dad just gave me a ring after they’d signed the contracts and told me to put it on. ”
“When you say it like that…” He trailed off and dragged in another deep breath. “Okay, so just to be clear, Daniel isn’t the problem?”
“No. Daniel is fine. He hasn’t done anything wrong.
” I picked up the cup of coffee I’d made before they’d barged in and wrapped my fingers around its warmth, tucking my feet underneath me as I leaned back on the couch.
“I just don’t want any of it. An arranged marriage isn’t me, Marc. You all know that.”
“I doubt anyone thinks an arranged marriage is for them, but this is the Pembroke way,” he said quietly. “If you don’t go through with it, you will find yourself broke with no prospects and you have no idea how much it hurts me to say that, but it’s true.”
It hurt me too, but that hardly mattered. “So Dad is serious about cutting me off?”
“Completely,” he said without even taking a second to think about it. “Plus, with the inheritance provisions being what they are, you wouldn’t stand a chance of getting your share even after Dad is gone. It’s either get married or…”
“Stop being a Pembroke,” I finished for him when he trailed off. “Would I even get to keep the name?”
“I don’t know,” he said, his voice cracking just a little bit on the last word.
“Honestly, Mags? I’m not sure how it would work if you refuse this arrangement.
I’m not even sure a Pembroke ever has. There might not be any precedent for this, but I wouldn’t put it past Dad to force you to change your name if there’s a way he can get it done. ”
A massive fissure opened up in my heart, tears burning at the backs of my eyes, but I couldn’t even begin to process the implications of what he was saying. “Do you really think he’d go that far?”
“Yes.” Marcus pressed his hands together where they hung between his knees, his eyes gravely serious on mine. “What can I do to convince you to marry Daniel?”
“Nothing,” I said, forcing the words out through the ache of heartbreak clogging my throat. “There is nothing anyone can do or say that will make me want this.”
“Fair enough, but there has to be something that would make you consider doing it anyway.”
A day ago, I would have stuck to my guns, but neither Ryan nor Marcus had left me with any illusions about everything being okay if I just stubbornly put my foot down. I lifted my mug and took a sip of my coffee, the liquid cool against my lips for how long it’d been since I’d made it.
“Okay,” I said finally. “If I agree to get married, I want to do it my way.”
Marcus frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means I want full control over my own wedding,” I said simply. “I want to choose the venue, the dress, the flowers, the music. Everything. I want to compile the guest list myself and I want to do the seating chart.”
A wary expression settled on my brother’s features. “That’s isn’t going to go over well, Maggie. Mom will throw a fit.”
“Let her,” I said. “I’ll marry Daniel if I have to, but I’m not going to stand there feeling like I got stuck in someone else’s life again.”
I could feel Ryan watching us, but I didn’t look at him. Instead, I watched Marcus mull over my proposal until he finally sighed. “What if they say no?”
I shrugged. “Then I will literally join a circus act on a cruise ship. For once in my life, I will have it my way, Marcus. Just this once, I’m going to insist, the same way everyone else keeps doing, and if they won’t give me what I want, which is a perfectly reasonable request considering that I’m the bride, after all, then I’ll become a performer on a cruise liner. ”
He stared at me at me for a long beat, but that last comment seemed to have settled it. “You’ve really thought this through, huh?”
“Not particularly, but that’s the deal I’m willing to offer.
” My parents would never go for it, which meant I’d won, but I held my brother’s gaze calmly and took another sip of my coffee.
“If they expect me to spend the rest of my life with a man I didn’t choose, it only seems fair that I do get to choose where I do it and what I wear while I’m committing my life to that man, don’t you think? ”
“Fine,” he said finally. “I’ll talk to them, but I can’t promise they’ll agree.”
I bit back a smile. “I know. Just try, but make it clear that if they don’t, there will be no wedding unless one of you wants to marry one of the Hawthorne boys.”
Marcus looked at me like he knew exactly what my game was, but he didn’t call me out on it. “I’ll convey the message, but I’m not leaving until you’ve set a date. If you want them to believe you’re serious about this, you need to be serious about it. There can’t be a wedding without a date.”
“She also needs to confirm with Daniel that he actually still wants to do this,” Ryan said from the kitchen. “After the stunt she pulled last week, there’s no guarantee that the Hawthornes will come back to the table.”
Marcus nodded. “That’s true. We’ll have to set up a meeting.”
I groaned. “I forgot about him.”
Ryan sighed. “That’s probably not the best sign for a marriage.”
“I meant I forgot he might not want to marry me anymore.”
Marcus sighed. “I’ll speak to Daniel and smooth things over. For now, just set a date, Maggie. Make it soon. No one is going to wait another six months.”
“Okay.”
As he stood up, he looked back at Ryan. “What about her living arrangements?”
“She can stay here for a while,” he said. “Just until things cool off a bit.”
I hadn’t expected that, but Marcus nodded, gave me a quick hug, and left. As soon as the door swung shut behind him, I finally spoke again. “I’ll stay here, but I’m not sleeping on the couch.”
Ryan ignored the comment, fixing me with a knowing look as he walked out from around the kitchen counter and leaned with his butt against it instead, facing me. “Are you actually serious about all of this, or are you just stringing your family along the ride?”
“You heard Marcus. I have to be serious about it, but I’m also serious about making it everyone’s problem until they eventually give up.”
He frowned at me. “You know that’s not a real strategy, right?”
“It is if you have enough stamina, and I do.”
He shook his head. “That’s insane. They’re not going to let you out of marrying him just because you want to pick a flower arrangement.”
“Clearly, you don’t know my mother,” I said. “Sit down before you hurt yourself on this one, Ryan. You couldn’t possibly understand.”
“That’s probably fair.” He raked his fingers through his hair and exhaled a deep breath, then looked at me again. “Why didn’t you tell Marcus about the picture we found at the cottage?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, letting my gaze wander to the window.
“It’s just that apparently, Pembroke marriages have failed before.
I just need more ammo before I bring it up.
That way, I may be able to use my grandfather’s past to strengthen my case about wanting to marry for love, which is my goal. ”
He groaned but pushed away from the counter and shook his head. “I give up. Let’s just drop it for now. Do you want something to eat?”
“Believe it or not, I’m actually a very good cook.”
“That’s great, because I’m not.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Either way, I’m still ordering Chinese tonight. It’s been a very long day and I’m starving. The last thing I feel like doing is starving for even longer just because I don’t have the ingredients you need.”