She looks between me and my brother. I have no idea where he’s going with this. Though… maybe I could use some help in the office.
But then he has to open his big, fat fucking mouth again. “Whatcha doing for the next six months or so? Because my brother here needs a wife.”
5
PAIGE
I choke on my taco.Frantically, I toss back a few sips of my juice until I swallow down that bite.
“What?” I ask, hoarse from coughing.
I must’ve misheard Jace because there’s no way he asked what I think he just did.
He slings his arm around Rhett’s broad shoulders. “You see, Paige, we’ve gotten ourselves in a pickle, but my brother can get us out of it if he’s married.”
“And you think he should marry me?” I ask dubiously.
Jace gives me a smile that I’m sure has charmed the panties off dozens of groupies. “You’d be perfect.”
“Why? Because you think I’m desperate?” I shove my plate away from me. “Look, I know I’m not doing great at the moment, but that doesn’t mean I want to marry some rando.”
Rhett flinches. “I’m not some rando.” But then he sighs. “For the record, I think this is a terrible idea too.”
Jace clucks his tongue and sinks back in his chair. “Y’all, don’t get your knickers in a twist.” He points at me. “You need physical therapy and health insurance. Guess what? We have great insurance. Bet you could get your ankle all fixed up overthe next few months, and then you can go back to your cheer camp right as rain.” Then Jace turns to Rhett. “And you need a wife so Harlan loans you that money. Paige is perfect. She’s not gonna rat you out and ruin this for us.”
I wrap my arms around myself. “Why do you need a loan?”
Rhett rubs the back of his neck. “Our father’s nursing home bill tapped us out. His life insurance should’ve covered it, but he canceled it without telling us. Between that, alimony, a second mortgage we didn’t know about, and the regular operating expenses around here, we have a serious cash flow problem. We really just need to gut it out until this fall when we can take our cattle to market.”
“I was sorry to hear that your dad passed.”
“He was an asshole.”
I chuckle. “Well, I didn’t want to say that.”
Rhett stares at me so intently, I look away. I can’t believe this conversation. “So you need a wife. Don’t you have a girlfriend you can ask?” It’s been years, and I’ve spent all of that time fortifying myself against this man, but for some reason, I’m afraid of his answer.
“No girlfriend. Pretty much swore off dating when Amber and I got divorced.”
“What about a friend with benefits?” My heart stops beating as I wait for him to answer.
Jace nudges Rhett. “You said Darlene’s a good lay, and she seems like a nice person. What about her?”
Darlene must be a friend he sleeps with. My heart sinks, and internally, I shake my head at myself. I will not care what Rhett does with his free time or his dick.
Rhett closes his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Jace. Will you shut the fuck up?”
Jace snickers. “What? People are gonna see you and your ‘wife’ around town. This needs to be believable. Darlene alwayslooks like she wants to maul you, so I don’t think it’ll be a stretch. Plus, she’s hot.” He holds his hands out to show us what her boobs look like.
My taco feels like it’s going to surge back up.
Rhett smacks him over the back of the head. “You’re not being helpful.”
Jace just laughs. “Just to recap, we have Darlene, who might bang you through your headboard, or Paige…” Glancing at me, he hums. “Who looks like she might puke. You okay? My brother isn’t that bad, I swear.”
I stare out the window. “I don’t want to be the laughingstock of town again.”
Rhett stares at me hard. “What does that mean?”
