“So what in the world brings the bad boy of Seattle hockey to my doorstep at seven in the morning?”
Then he dropped a bomb on me. “I need you to marry me.”
“I’m sorry, say that again?”
“You heard me. I need you to marry me. Today.”
“Why would I do that? I don’t even like you.” I narrowed my gaze.
“Oh, come on, lass. You like me at least a little. You’ve let me put my tongue—”
As if in remembrance of his touch, my lady parts quivered. Theyquivered. “Stop right there. That was a mistake I made. I might like your tongue, but the man attached to it leaves a lot to be desired.”
“What if I offered to pay for your new kitchen in exchange for your hand in marriage?”
“What is this, the Middle Ages? No.”
“Just in name. We don’t have to... you know.”
“No, Taylor, I don’t know. What in God’s name could be so bad that you’d need a wife to get out of it?”
“Look, this app thing is getting out of control. They want me to be on some reality show next and to sign a five-year endorsement deal.”
“Isn’t that just money in your pocket?”
“No. I mean... it is, but it’s also me being forced to use this bonkers app, date women I don’t really like, then post about it, and, you know, sell my soul for profit.”
I had no sympathy for the man’s plight. “Aw, you poor baby. You’re famous and being used by the big bad corporations for their financial gain. Must be hard.”
“I’m serious, Becca. I’ll pay for a state-of-the-art kitchen. I’ll take care of you.”
The absolute audacity of this man to come in here thinking I needed him totake care of me. So I told him exactly that. “I don’t need you to take care of me.”
“I know that. I just... I need help, and this is the only way I can get out of this bloody contract.”
“How long?”
“What?”
“How long do we have to be married?”
“A year, just to be safe.”
He had to be kidding. “An entire year? Are you crazy?”
“And we have to live together.”
“What? You said in name only. I can’t move off the island. I need to be close to the bakery. To Scarlett.”
“I’ll buy a house nearby. We can live there.”
“Why do we have to live together?” I couldn’t live with him. I’d fall for him if I had to see him every day, despite my better judgment.
“The contract withMeet-Cupidstipulates the agreement is void if I’m married and in a committed, co-habitant relationship.”
Biting my lower lip, I let his offer sink in. Really sink in. I needed something to save us from this stupid decision we’d made, and I refused to ask my sister for her husband’s money. Would being Taylor Savage’s wife really be the worst thing in the world? I’d get to look at him every day, smell that delicious cologne he wore, hear that Scottish brogue. And this would be good for the bakery. It would offer us financial security during our brick-and-mortar start-up years.
“You’ll redo the kitchen exactly how we want it? No questions asked?”