Chapter 54
The room was dark and quiet, with tiny slivers of moonlight filtering in through the open blinds. "You know," Joel teased, "if I get you pregnant, you'llhaveto marry me."
Laughing, I rolled my eyes. "Notthisagain."
In the four days since his return, it had become a recurring a joke. But in spite of my feigned protest, I never grew tired of hearing it – or, of trying to make the joke a reality.
Who knows? Maybe it was already reality, given the fact that we'd been in and out of bed, along with other places, pretty much non-stop since his return.
Now, we'd just gotten out of a bath for two and were lying naked across my fresh sheets, with the ceiling fan, turned on low, wafting a nice, cool breeze across our warm, glistening skin.
The last few days had been a whirlwind of secret planning and getting the house ready for guests. In just three short days, we were going to be married out on the back patio, overlooking Lake Michigan.
Oh sure, it was December, and snow wasn't completely out of the question. But we'd splurged on a few patio heaters and were definitely planning to use them. And if we got a little chilly? So what? The way I saw it, it would make everything that much sweeter when we returned to the house and gathered around the main fireplace for cake and warm cider.
Unconventional? Probably. But it was what I wanted, and I couldn't regret a thing – especially the guy I'd be marrying.
Aunt Gina was flying in from France, and a few of my closest friends, Cassie in particular, had been sworn to secrecy, even as I frantically worked to finalize all the arrangements.
Two of the guests had already arrived – Steve and Anthony, who had shown up early to help repair the lawn – and to snag any pizza or beer that happened to cross their path.
This time, they weren't staying in the guest house, but rather in one of the guest rooms downstairs – a big one, where they'd have plenty of space to fling dirty laundry, hide beer, and argue over Kung fu.
I'd also been talking to the lawyer from Troy. From what he'd told me on the phone, he was still sifting through all of the details, but already, I knew a lot more than I'd ever known before.
Happily, the news was better than I dared to hope. All of my parents' money was still there, tied up in a trust that was practically unbreakable.
Oh sure, I wouldn't have access to the actual funds until I turned twenty-five, but in the meantime, there were plenty of things I could do to protect myself – starting with moving the estate-management away from Derek's dad.
Already, the new lawyer was working on the necessary paperwork. If things went smoothly – which he assured me they would – I'd soon have Derek and his dad out of my hair forever.
Still, I couldn't help but be at least a little nervous.
Even here, in my quiet bedroom, lying next to the guy I loved, I wasn't blind to the possibility of a long, nasty court battle. I turned to Joel and said, "About the estate thing, what do you think will happen if Derek's dad fights it?"
Joel reached out and pulled me close. "Don't worry. He won't."
"But how can you be so sure?"
"Just trust me, okay?"
It was the same thing he always said when I brought it up. "It's not that I don't trust you," I said. "It's just that I don't see him giving up without a fight."
Joel ran a soothing hand along my naked back. "Baby, the fight's already won, so stop worrying, alright?"
"Believe me, Iwantto," I said. "But you don't know them like I do."
"You think so, huh?"
I pulled back to ask, "What doesthatmean?"
After a long pause, Joel said, "Alright. Let's just say this. The dad? I met him in Bermuda."
"What?" I gave Joel a playful shove. "But you never told me."
"Yeah." He pulled me back into his arms. "And I wasn't gonna."
"Why not?"
