Speaking of mouths, mine is practically on the floor. Why is he acting so cavalier? We just got married for God’s sake. Why isn’t he freaking out, too? “Cason,” I say. “What
are you doing?”
“I don’t know. Sometimes I ramble and just say the wrong things. Especially when I’m a little thrown off.” He shakes the paper. “Or a lot.”
Ah, okay, now I’m getting a glimpse into the Cason who sometimes says the wrong things. “This is serious, Cason.”
“Sorry. I’m just…hey, it’s okay,” he says when he sees my tightening shoulders. But it’s not just my shoulders reacting negatively to this distressing news. My damn hands are shaking, and I’m on the brink of tears.
“Cason, if my family ever got wind of this, they’d never, ever forgive me, and my trust fund would instantly be absorbed into their estate.” I stand and start to pace. “An impromptu wedding with a friend, after too much tequila, yeah, that just screams I’m adulting and nailing it.”
He folds the paper and sets it on the nightstand. He goes so quiet, and for a minute I think he might have fallen asleep while sitting up.
“We’re really married, Kins,” he finally says, his voice a low, soft whisper. “Consummated it, too, numerous times. I guess there is only one thing we can do now.”
“Get it annulled,” I say at the exact time he says, “Stay married for thirty days.”
Wide-eyed, we both stare at each other, our addled brains working to process what the other just said.
“We can’t do that,” I say. “This isn’t real. We’re friends.”
“Yeah, but look at it this way. I’m not interested in a long-term relationship with anyone, so it’s not like this will be holding me back from finding someone I want to get serious with, and maybe for thirty days, we can pretend, and you can get your trust fund.”
He stands and puts his hands on my arms. He gives a little squeeze, but I’m definitely not reassured. “No way, I could never ask you to do that. I won’t.”
“You didn’t ask. I offered, and we’re already married, Kins. All we’d have to do is pretend it’s a real one.”
“This is insane.” I tug on my hair, and take deep gulping breaths. “We’d never be able to pull it off.”
He shrugs. “With the right motivation, we can do anything.”
“Motivation. What do you mean?”
He pulls me to him. “I get to have sex with you for another thirty days.”
“Really? You want that?”
His grin is sexy and adorable when he says, “Yeah, I want that.”
I nod in understanding. “You do seem to kind of enjoy it.” He lets out a big laugh and it eases some of the tension coiled in my stomach.
“So do you,” he says.
“True, but I don’t know, Cason. You already told me you’re a two-week kind of guy. If we go through with this, how can I expect you to last a whole month without getting bored?”
“I never said I leave because I get bored, Kinsley.”
“Why do you leave?” I ask, really wanting to know. He looks like he’s about to push away right now, but I hold him tight. “Hey, you’re my husband now. I deserve to know the answer.”
A pained look crosses his face. “Fine. It’s not them, it’s me, or rather it’s them. No, it’s me.”
“Yeah, that clarifies everything.”
He chuckles, but it holds no humor. “Kins. If you haven’t noticed, I have a bit of a hard time expressing myself.” He blows out a fast breath. “How personal do you want me to get here?”
I glance at the unmade bed. “I think we’ve been as personal as two people can be, Cason, and you were pretty good at expressing yourself then.”
“Okay, my parents were pretty absent when I was growing up. I was never really shown affection, and I have a hard time showing it to others. I never seem to say the right things at the right times. I swear to God, I mess up every relationship I’ve ever been in and end up hurting the person I’m with. Now, I get out after two weeks, before deeper feelings evolve, and no one gets hurt.”