“Wish I was. I told him to look up who I am and then tell me if he’s still interested.”
“And …”
“Radio silence.”
She hisses. “Ouch.”
“Thank you for confirming my pain.”
“Why … I’m confused. Why does who you are have to do with anything?”
“Because he might have agreed to be my fiancé.”
She opens her mouth, closes it. Opens again and then—my pillow smacks me over the head.
“Already in pain, thank you.”
She hits me again, and I wrestle the pillow from her.
“You done?”
“What do you mean?Fiancé? Are you engaged? To someone youjustmet?”
With a long exhale, I pull out the letter and show her. Instead of clearing things up, she looks more confused than ever.
“So …”
“He offered to help me get the money. No strings. Said I can make a contract and everything.”
“Emmy … what if he tells someone?”
“He won’t.”
“You can’t know that.”
“I trust him.”
She splutters. “Why? Because you met him that whole one time?”
“I offered to pay off his debt.”
“Yeah, but we both know his debt can’t be anything compared to what you’re going to inherit. What if he finds out and wants more? You can’t trust people when it comes to money.”
Maybe she’s right. Maybe I’m some ridiculous idiot, won over by a pretty face and talented mouth.
“Can you please try to trust me?”
Some of her shock melts away but she doesn’t look any less worried. “You forget I know how much you loved Pa. If you’re doing this to honor him and do good things, I’d hate to see that all be ruined by some guy after a quick payday.”
“I know. But he hasn’t messaged me back anyway, so at this point, our whole discussion could be for nothing.”
“Unless he’s on his way to meet with Gran as we speak.”
I chuckle, wishing she could meet Christian, because I’m certain that’s all it would take for her to see what I see. “Let’s all cross fingers that isn’t going to happen.”
Elle fills me in on everything else I missed while I try not to fidget. The buzzing under my skin won’t settle down, and I remind myself that this is why I gave Christian my number rather than the other way around. I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from texting him.
“Are you listening to a word I said?”