“Yeah, well, nothing about this will be funny when the town sees our marriage fails and I look like the man I loathe.”
“I’m sorry, Ollie.” And I really am. I hate putting him through this. I scrawl my signature at the bottom and turn to him. “I want you to know that no matter what gossip is spread, you are a hero to me. You’re kind and helping a friend when you didn’t have to. I know you have reasons to do this as well and while it’s not completely selfless, you have the best intentions.”
Before Oliver can comment, Mrs. Garner is back. “Are you done with the form, honey?”
Oliver hands the filled out form to her. “Here you go.”
She takes it with a smile, looking at me. “You are so beautiful. It’s no wonder Oliver couldn’t help but fall in love with you.”
I smile. “Thank you. It’s me who is the lucky one though.”
He chuckles. “Clearly, we know that’s not true. Mrs. Garner has known me since I was in diapers and is well aware of my failings.”
She makes a dismissive noise. “You are nothing close to a failure, Oliver Parkerson. You were always my favorite.”
He leans in. “Don’t tell anyone this, but you were mine too.”
She blushes a little. “You and your silver tongue.”
Oliver winks. Literally winks at the woman. “Remember, it’s our secret.”
“Sign this before I fill in that I’m the bride,” she jokes.
Oliver moves his hand up my back. “If I wasn’t in love with Maren, I might just take you up on that.”
The blush that paints her face is adorable. “You watch this one, sweetheart. He’s one of a kind and you’re a lucky woman to have a chance with him.”
I grin. “I’m a lucky girl.”
“Yes, you sure are. Now, you’ll have to come by the house tomorrow and pick up something for you both.”
Oliver tilts his head. “For us? How could you have something for us?”
She pats his hand. “You don’t worry about that. I already have Marivett working her busy little hands.”
He groans. “Already?”
“Already what?” Mrs. Garner asks.
“You told her?”
She shakes her head. “Well, I had to get to work on a wedding present.” She gasps. “Oh! When is the wedding? I do hope it’s a big one.”
I step in quickly. “No, it’s just immediate family. We want it really small. My father is in cancer treatments, so we can’t expose him to too many people.”
Her eyes go soft as she takes my hand in hers. “You poor thing. The Lord took my Vincent just ten years ago. It was so hard to watch him go. Is he responding to the treatments?”
I shake my head. “No, the doctors say it won’t be long now.”
Moisture builds in my eyes, and I look away. Oliver wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me to him as emotions start to become too much. I sink into his embrace, letting his strength keep me up.
You’d think I would have come to terms with this. He’s been sick for so long, suffering and trying to live for whatever reason. Years ago, I thought I had accepted that my father wouldn’t live to see me married or meet my children. Now, I’m faced with the reality of it, and it’s so much harder than I thought.
Oliver clears his throat and rubs my back. “Thank you for everything, Mrs. Garner.”
“Of course. I’m sorry to make you cry, sweet girl. Come by tomorrow, don’t forget.”
I wipe at my tears and push a smile onto my lips. “We’ll be there.”
As we exit the courthouse, Oliver chuckles. “You have no idea what you just agreed to.”
Maybe not. “How about we go grab lunch and you can tell me what I’m in for.”
“Food is always a yes.”
I grin. Such a guy.
Eight
OLIVER
We got the license taken care of and picked out wedding rings that will be ready in a few days.
Of course, I looked like a total asshole because I never bought her an engagement ring since we aren’t really engaged, but try explaining that to Mrs. Villafane’s son. I really hoped to have lunch out of town, since we’d seen enough people for the day, but my sister demanded to meet with Maren, so we’re here at Jennie’s.
“Thank you for today,” Maren says as we sit.
“It’s not a problem.”
She tucks her hair behind her ears. “I wouldn’t say that. You did get a lecture on women and diamonds.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“I could always use the one I had—”
“No.” It might be easier, but we both already agreed it was better not to. She took it off and plans to give it back once she’s back in Virginia Beach.
“I agree, but I don’t want people to say anything.”
“Will your family?”
Maren shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so. They know I’m not really traditional, so it won’t come as a surprise. They know we rushed everything, so we can just say we plan to get one later.”
That’ll work for me. “Then we’ll just go forward not using your ex’s ring.”
She nods once. “Perfect. So, Oliver Parkerson, silver-tongued charmer that you are, tell me what you’ve been up to for the last ten years.”
I lean back in my seat. “You know up until I left Sugarloaf, right?”
“I do.”
I figured Devney told her everything, and I would rather not rehash being dumped. “After we ended things, I went to Wyoming to open a new inn for my father. It was . . . a damn mess. While I was there, my family kind of went crazy. Dad was cheating on Mom—as always—and we were all sick of cleaning up his messes.”
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”
I plaster on my smile and shrug. “Could’ve been worse. I could’ve been Grayson and had my dad sleep with my ex—who is Amelia’s biological mother.” Her eyes widen. “Yeah, he’s a winner, and that is reason number 794849 that I will never get married. My blood is tainted.”
“I very much doubt that. You can’t be all that bad, you’re fake marrying me to make someone you never met happy.”
“Oh, buckle up for the stories . . .”
Talking to her is easy, and I fill her in on all the drama my father created. She needs to know why we left the company we built with our dad and went out on our own. She listens, dipping a fry into the ketchup and swirling it around.
Once I finish, she sits back. “Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“But, wow in a good way, Oliver. You could have stayed under your dad’s thumb because . . . why not? You were making great money and you liked the job. But you took a chance and did something amazing. No matter what, you have this really special family who came together. I wish I had that.”
No, she doesn’t. She has no idea what she’s wishing for. Nothing I’ve done in my life has been heroic or great. I deal with one shitstorm after another, and the cycle never ends.
“So, tell me about your supersecret job,” I suggest.
She reaches down and grabs a folder. “Okay, so I work for Cole Security Forces and in order for me to disclose anything beyond that, you have to sign this.”
I take the folder from her and read over the single document inside. “You need me to sign an NDA?”
“Yes.”
“Because what you’re about to tell me is supersecret spy stuff?”
Maren jerks her head at the paper. “Go ahead and sign.”