"Isn't that what you would want, Win, a paper marriage?"
"Want? Well, no…I definitely haven't dreamed of being married in name only, existing only as a couple on a piece of paper, but I certainly might consider it to be able to put my money to good use without having to wait six long years for it."
"I can draw up a prenup and have one of the partners present it—protecting your trust, of course—and I'd take no assets upon dissolution."
Dissolution?
He means temporary.
My weary brain finally caught up and figured out precisely what he was suggesting. James wasn't offering anything beyond a marriage on paper, which would grant me access to my trust fund, and then at a later date we would quietly dissolve the marriage. I tried to slow the pounding in my chest, but his actually stung a little. It wouldn't be out of love. "You would do that for me?"
"I would."
"What would you get out of it, though?"
"You," he said simply.
"What does that even mean, James? I am so confused, and just so you know, suggesting we get married isn't helping my confusion to lessen even a little." It was hard to be mad at him, but I seriously couldn't take any more of his mysterious crap.
"I know, Win. I realize we need to talk about a lot of things and figure shit out, but I've asked that we not do it today. I know I brought up the marriage thing, and I'm very sorry. My timing is really bad, but can we just put these ideas aside for a few hours and try and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner? We'll work everything out to where you're comfortable with the plan, or we won't do it at all." He reached for my good hand and squeezed it. "I promise. All you have to know right now is that you are very important to me, and I'd never hurt you. I want to spend Thanksgiving with you."
He pulled into the long private drive that led to the front of his parent's house, pausing in pleading his case so he could park the car. "We're here anyway, so it's a perfect stopping point for this discussion. We will pick it all up later, okay? Can we do that, sweetheart?"
Whenever he called me sweetheart I melted, so I did the only thing I was capable of doing. I nodded slowly, and gave him my agreement. I didn't know what to say to him anyway. What words could I possibly use that would clear up the fog that felt like it was growing thicker by the minute.
Thank you for offering to marry me, James?
You are the most generous friend ever?
I just might take you up on your proposal?
There was only one problem with agreeing to his plan.
Being married to James in name only would probably kill me.
Vanessa Blakney had always been lovely and sweet to me. Judge Blakney, on the other hand, gave the impression he might be contemplating roasting you over an open spit and eating you one bite at a time. Seriously, the man gave me the creeps. How he'd fathered such beautiful children like James and Victoria remained a curious mystery. That, and how his wife had managed to stay married to him for thirty-plus years. She had the look of a woman who pretended, almost as if she was on autopilot with her conversations and behaviors. For example, while we were eating, she barely touched her food. It was weird, because it almost felt like she was present for ornamental purposes only, but not supposed to enjoy a meal. Or participate. Still, her love for her children was apparent, and I could tell she was happy to have them home for the day. Victoria's fiancé, Clay, was absent though, something about being away in Europe .
"I'm so sorry about your accident last night, but we're thrilled you were able to join us for Thanksgiving, dear."
"Thank you for welcoming me into your beautiful home, but really, James gave me no say in the matter. He colluded with my brother and my mother to keep tabs on me today." I hoped a little teasing might help lighten the mood.
I glanced at James beside me to find him grinning like a devil. "I know a thing or two about collusion," he said, "and I definitely know how to close a deal."
No doubt on that point. I think James could get me to do anything by merely asking. I was hopeless when it came to him.
I laughed him off and refocused my attention to his mother, because she was the one who had addressed me, but Judge Blakney inserted himself into our conversation. "Yes, social work is your focus at university, is it not?" He leveled his cold gray eyes at me in a way that made my spine tingle, and not in a good way. More like a bug under a magnifying glass with the sun burning a hole right through him.
"Yes…I'll have my master's in social work in another month. Then I'll apply for my license with the state so I can practice."
"Ah, a public servant. How noble. I must say it's very useful in its way…at least for the time being." James stiffened beside me, obviously annoyed by his dad's comment. He reached for my hand under the table and squeezed it. I assumed it was a signal to avoid taking the bait and responding defensively to the thinly veiled insult, so I took the high road instead.
"I hope I can be useful to those that need some help," I said firmly, meeting his callous eyes head-on. After my long night, I was in no mood for delving into another one of those conversations that started with: "Are you sure you want to surround yourself with poor people and their problems?" I'd heard it before, and I was sure I'd hear it again considering the world I came from, but the way in which James's father spoke to me sounded so archaically pompous, like he was of a higher class of human than the rest of us—even better than his own family.
What an incredibly heartless asshole.
Did he not have a shred of compassion for others in hard situations? And he was a fucking judge—the most revered "public" servant of all. God, pity the poor souls who had him assigned to their cases.
"I think you misunderstand me, Winter. I do approve of your endeavors to help the poor and disenfranchised. It will make for good press certainly." His eyes held no trace of insincerity.
What the hell? Now he was bestowing compliments? I didn't know what to make of that last comment he'd thrown at me about "good press" but I decided I wasn't going to engage him. If he could speak in riddles, then so could I.
"Actually, I am hoping to set up a private shelter facility that I will spearhead. That's my dream." I looked at James again and smiled at him, hoping he caught my appreciation for his offer to help me realize my dream. Even if it didn't work out, just the fact he was willing to do something as drastic as marry me so I could get to my money left me utterly speechless. Come to think of it, James was really good at rendering me speechless over a lot of things.
James gave me a wink back and said to his father, "I'm very proud of her and her altruistic ambitions."
"As you should be," Judge Blakney said with a thoroughly disturbing smile.
The tingle in my spine returned, and as it zapped me a second time I had to suppress a shudder. What is his deal? I've known him for years and he's never been this weird.
"Please don't take anything my father says to heart, okay?"
This was Victoria trying to smooth things over for her badly behaving parent while we set up the desserts to bring out later.
"It's okay, I'm used to it actually. What he said is nothing I haven't heard before, Victoria. Really, I can take it."
"Well, it's still rude as hell for him to even say one thing to you about what you choose to study in school, or what to do with your life. But I get it. He didn't even want me working for your brother as PA to the head of a billion-dollar corporation. He said that being a personal assistant was not a worthy occupation." She rolled her eyes as we both laughed at the ridiculousness of her statement.