Page 67

His logic seemed reasonable. Or was she just grasping at a shiny piece of straw?
“Oh.”
“Can I get anothersyllable?”
She kicked him in the shin, not hard. “Hey, this is a lot to take in.”
“I know,” he admitted. “But I don’t see any downsides.”
Emma blinked with exaggerated slowness. “You’re kidding, right? What about your social life?”
“What about it?”
Seriously?Emma was tempted to kick him harder.
“You’re a young single man. How will it look to the many models vying for your time if you suddenly get married to some nobody?”
He gave her the strangest look.
“I’m marrying to help out a friend,” he began in a halting voice. “Any woman I dated would understand. Besides, I haven’t been divorced long. It’ll be years before I think of tying the knot for real.”
His words were like a punch to the stomach.It’s a paper marriage, she reminded herself. Garrett wasn’t proposing anything real.
“Then the third time will be the charm?” she asked, attempting a snicker and failing miserably.
He lifted a hand. “Why not? I’m wealthy enough for a string of wives. It’s expected. In the meantime, you’ll help me keep the gold diggers away.”
Garrett gave her a hapless grin.
He was joking, but she really wanted to kick him now. Emma was still contemplating it when he put his hand on her arm.
“I realize this is a big decision. Why don’t you call your mom and baby sister and ask them what they think?”
“My sister is four and thinks boys are gross.”
He chuckled. “I see. I didn’t realize how much younger she was.”
“Yeah, well, my mom’s still pretty young herself.” Emma had been a teen pregnancy.
He rocked back on his heels. “You know that’s a bonus I hadn’t considered. You paid Pedro rent, right?”
“Yeah. A little,” she muttered, already suspicious. Emma was starting to recognize Garrett’s crafty look.
He tilted his head to one side. “It must be expensive for your mom, having such a young kid at home. I guess she’s never been able to help with your expenses or vice versa.”
“No. Neither of us earns much.”
He nodded sagely. “Well, if you take me up on my offer, you’d have no expenses. Any money you made working would be freed up. You could send a bit of it home.”
Emma sucked in a breath, her thoughts roiling. What could she do with her wages if she didn’t have to pay rent?
Damn the man. He had her and he knew it.
“You might also think about enrolling in college classes again,” he continued. “I’m not sure if a degree in business is still interesting to you, but you had all your core classes done. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult for you to finish up your bachelor's. No need to stick to business either. With your core classes done, you could pursue a degree in any field. There are any number of high-paying jobs available.”
But the one thing they all required was a degree. Or a technical certificate of some kind.
Emma pictured going to a job that earned more than minimum wage. It almost hurt.