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Emma thrust a hand through her hair. “I can’t let you pay for everything.”
“Oh, I’m not. I have a new plan.” He covered her hands with his, guiding them down because she’d started making fists, pulling her hair.
He tipped her chin up so she couldn’t avoid his eyes. “I think we should get married.”
Emma groaned aloud. Seriously, there was a time and a place. “I told you that wasn’t funny.”
He squeezed her hands, the earnest light in his downright terrifying.
Emma straightened, her heart beginning to hammer in her chest.
“Emma, I’m not joking. Marriage is the fastest and most reliable solution. You have pre-existing conditions, which makes things complicated. But there is no way the insurance company that covers Next Chapter would deny my spouse coverage. Not when it could jeopardize our entire corporate account.”
He rubbed her arms, chafing warmth back into them. “The contracts we have with them are worth mid-six figures and growing. Not to mention the business I could throw their way in the future. Hell, they’d bend over backward to add my wife to the plan.”
His wife? A frisson passed down her body, making her skin tingle.Mrs. Garrett Chapman. What would that even look like?
It would look like a Wall Street wolf went slumming.
With that apt assessment, she snorted and shook her head. “Please stop talking nonsense. We can’t get married.”
“People do it every day.”
“Because they’re in love.”
His cheek twitched.
“True,” he said, looking at his feet as if to make sure they were still there. “But they also do it for a lot of other reasons. Money and green cards to name a few.”
“Are you comparing this to a green card marriage?”
He perked up suddenly, and she realized she’d phrased it as if she was considering his crazy plan. “I’m pointing out that there’s a longand varied list of reasons people marry other than love. Practical reasons.”
Garrett led her to the couch. But he didn’t sit next to her. Instead, he sat on the coffee table in front of her.
“I know you have a million arguments against it but trust me when I say I’ve given this a lot of thought, and the benefits outweigh the costs.”
Emma had to be careful. A wheeler and dealer like Garrett needed just a crack, the tiniest of openings to work his magic.
“For me,” she pointed out. “Not for you.”
What would he get out of this? She was afraid to ask.
Garrett rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m the one who jeopardized your current health plan. So let me fix it. And not just temporarily. By marrying me, we can guarantee your coverage for life. It can be part of your prenuptial agreement.”
Emma sat up. “A prenup?”
“Yeah. One with special considerations for both of us. That’s legal speak for the things we get out of it.”
Christian Grey’s contract sprang into her mind. With effort, she pushed that visual away. “Mine is health insurance. What would yours be?”
“Protection.”
“Huh?”
He gestured to the space around them. “We would spell everything out in writing. In the event of a divorce, you wouldn’t have a claim on my fortune, businesses, or properties. You only get insurance, and perhaps a small stipend to offset any expenses a divorce would cost you. That kind of thing.”
Garrett leaned forward, patting her knee. “I know you are leery of accepting money but it’s important you don’t come outowingmoney because of this.”