Page 21 of Somehow You Knew

She looks as though she wants to argue but, thankfully, she drops it. “Fine. So, do we still wait until next week to tell Timothy about our decision?”

“Well, you said you’re busy, and I need to get back down to Florida—talk to my boss, my landlord, and pack my shit. So, I think waiting is the best option.”

“You’re not going to change your mind, are you, Gage?” Her voice is softer than it was before. She places her hands on the table, leaning forward slightly.

“Scared I’ll go back on my word?”

She exhales. “I mean…”

“Again, I’d be stupid to pass up this kind of money.” Without thinking, I reach across the table and place my hand over hers. The second we touch, it’s just as electric as I remember it—her skin just as soft. I retract my hand almost instantly. “I promise, I won’t change my mind.”

“Okay.” Her eyes drop from mine and she pulls her hands back to her lap. “I mean, I’d just hate to start planning how I’m going to spend my new fortune and then you take it all away from me.”

I arch a brow. “You thinking of leaving Carrington Cove and starting somewhere new with that kind of cash?”

She shakes her head. “I’d never leave Carrington Cove. This is where my family is.”

I shrug. “Yeah, family isn’t my thing, so…”

Her eyes snap back to mine. “You know you’ll have to meet them at some point if we go through with this.”

I hate the way nerves crawl up my spine. Meeting families is something people in relationships do, not two people who are only entering into a marriage of convenience. “Do youwantme to meet them?”

“I just don’t think we’ll be able to avoid it. My brothers especially are going to have questions.” She lets out a groan. “Honestly, their reactions are the only reason I contemplated not going through with this. But again…”

“We’d be stupid to pass up millions of dollars.”

She nods. “Exactly.”

“How many brothers do you have?”

“Three, and they’re all older. And just so you know, the stereotype of the overprotective older brother is real with them.”

“Great,” I mutter under my breath, growing more annoyed by all the details of this arrangement I’ve overlooked. All I can see right now are dollar signs, but this is going to be much more complicated than just signing a piece of paper and trying not to kill each other for six months.“So you don’t have family for me to meet then?” she asks, pulling me back to the conversation.

“Diane was the last of them.”

She places a hand to her chest. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry, Gage.”

I hold up a hand. “I don’t need your pity.”

Her brows draw together. “It’s not pity, it’s compassion. Losing your family is…”

“A blessing when they’re selfish human beings, Hazel.” She blinks, taken aback by my response. “Look, just consider yourself lucky we don’t have to worry about my family being around to offer judgment too, okay?”

She stands from her chair, shaking her head and sighing audibly. “Okay then. Well, this has been fun. Gosh, I can’t wait for the next six months.” She rolls her eyes, and I get the feeling that will be a commonoccurrence moving forward. “But I have work to do, and you obviously need some space, so…” She moves to turn away but I reach out and grab her hand before she can get too far.

Standing from the chair, I hover over her, her face so close to mine that I would only need to close a few inches to taste her lips.

Fuck. Don’t think about shit like that, Gage.

“Look. I meant what I said, Hazel. Feelings have to stay out of this, okay? I don’t do that shit, and I know that women say they can handle it, but—”

“I heard you, Gage,” she cuts me off, voice firm. “And trust me, the last thing I want from you is any type of feelings. But for the sake of the next six months, I will tell you this: I don’t put up with assholes. You might have some anger you need to deal with, or a shitty past that continues to haunt you, but you’re sure as hell not going to take it out on me.”

My eyes widen in surprise.

Damn. Why does hearing her lay down the law like that make me hard?