Page 69 of Fake Wife
We actually do have crap to talk about and I want it settled.
Standing from the couch, I reach for her emptied wineglass. “I’m going to get a beer. Do you want another drink?”
“Am I going to need another drink for this?”
“Probably.”
She laughs softly, and it’s a balm to my stressed-out, overly angry soul. God, this woman. She justdoesit for me in all the ways I never knew I needed. “Fill me up then.”
I go to the kitchen, grab a fresh beer for me, and fill her glass. When I come back, she’s eyeing the last piece of pizza.
“You can have it,” I say, grinning at her when she looks at me like she’s been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“I shouldn’t.”
Is it wrong for my dick to go hard when she takes it anyway? I don’t care.
I slide the wineglass on the coffee table within her reach and lean back in the corner of the couch, kicking my feet up onto the table. My relaxed posture is the opposite of the storm still brewing inside me, but Teagan doesn’t need to be worried about anything.
I’ve got her covered for as long as she’ll have me, and then some.
“In Eleanor’s will, you know she gave me the Cannon Bluffs property. For my dad, she willed him her shares of Lane Holdings, so he can have majority ownership. It’s always been planned that when he retires and steps down, his shares are supposed to transfer to me so I can become the majority holder and CEO of the company.”
“Okay…” Her brow furrows and she wipes the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
“Today I signed away all rights to my shares.”
“What?”
I take a heavy swig of my beer and set it down. “Officially, in two weeks, I will no longer be employed with Lane Holdings, nor will I have any stock in the future success of my family’s company.”
“But, Corbin,” she says, and she scoots across the couch, reaching for me. She pulls back, her face paling, and confusion is thick on her features. “I don’t understand. Why would you do that?”
“Because I don’t want it. I never have, not since I learned of Grant’s existence anyway. My dad expects me to run the company because I’m his son by blood, because that’s what Lanes do, but I’m not an office guy, and I fucking hate the idea of taking something over after my dad, always being connected to him in that way. I won’t walk in his shadow, fighting the rest of my life to be better than him. I’m over it.”
“You can’t just be over it.”
Her back straightens. She’s on her knees, feet tucked under her, and her hands are in her lap like she’s ready to jump. If I tell her I love her and want a simple life with her, her farm, and Cannon Bluffs forever, she’ll scamper out of here so quick I’ll never see her again.
“It seems sudden, but it’s not. This shit has been brewing for a decade, but I’ve never been ready to take the leap. Eleanor has given me that, securing my future.”You’ve secured my futureis what I mean and don’t say.
I level her with a look, trying to silently tell her everything I truly feel, and she blushes.
“Corbin—”
“It’s not because of you,” I say, lying. “Eleanor knows the only thing I’ve ever wanted is to be in that home, providing for myself. Her will, our marriage, gives me that security, and if I don’t do this now, I might never have the chance. It’s time for a clean break.”
“From your father? He won’t allow it.”
“He doesn’t have a choice. I told him what I plan on doing and when that dissolved into one of our typical arguments, I walked out and typed up my resignation. He’ll get final paperwork tomorrow. Once everything is signed off, it’s a done deal.”
“And that’s why you’re selling this place?”
“I want to start my future, and I’m not wasting time.”
Kicking my feet off the coffee table, I sit up and shift, facing her. Taking her hand in mine, I pull it onto my thigh, holding her close in the only way I know she’ll allow based on the tension still holding her back. “You look like a scared little jackrabbit right now, but nothing changes. We’re getting married in less than a month and then all our dreams, both of ours, that we’ve wanted for so long will finally come true.”
“Yeah.” Her soft voice falters and she tugs on her hand, but I hold it tight, brushing my thumb over the back of her hand. “Everything I’ve always wanted.”
