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“Oh my gosh! Adelia sent me some of her products, and they are amazing. She is going to be huge.”
“We hope so.” He was surprised by the truth in his words, but he wanted her to succeed. Especially since it was his investment that was going to help make it happen.
“I’m happy for you, Gus. I really am.”
“Thank you.”
He heard her let out a sigh. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed that you didn’t let us be there for your wedding, though.”
“We wanted quick and simple. Neither of us wanted a big wedding. We just couldn’t wait to make it official.” It sounded good coming out of his mouth, like something a person in love and ready to commit would say.
“I can’t wait to meet her at Bash’s wedding.”
Nerves made his stomach clench. “We’ll be coming to Michigan before that, so I can introduce her to Mom and Dad.”
“Let me know when. I want to be there to meet my new sister-in-law.”
“I will.” He smiled to himself. “Thanks, Sky.”
“See you soon.”
After they hung up, Gus made himself a sandwich with what little was left in the fridge and plopped down in his chair by the pool again to eat it. As he reached for his food, he caught a glimpse of the ring on his left hand. He was married. It had all happened so fast. He was still surprised she had agreed to go through with it.
Bringing Merritt to Michigan would be the real test. He wanted his family to like her and see that he was capable of committing to a great girl like her. She was so far from the type of women he usually spent time with, and he hoped that would make a difference and they would see that he was making good decisions in his life.
He stared down at the ring. It looked good there, and it was going to fix everything for him. He was sure of it.
As he ate, his mind replayed the events of the day and his thoughts stuck on their first kiss. He hadn’t expected her to kiss him back the way she had, like she wanted to keep kissing him, especially considering how much they usually disliked each other. And he’d almost given in and kissed her again before she had stepped away. He’d enjoyed the kiss, but that was just his hormones talking. He had to keep his head on straight and remember this was only an arrangement. There was nothing romantic between them. They’d be lucky if they made it through an entire week without fighting.
TWELVE
Merritt woke with a start, glancing around the room in confusion. Through her bleary morning eyes, she caught a glimpse of the diamond on her finger and it all came back to her in a rush. Oh, right. Married.
She grabbed her laptop as she sat up, reclined against the headboard, and checked her messages. Her fingers typed away with responses to a few urgent ones, and then she logged into her bank account to make sure Gus had followed through. Sure enough, the first installment of “wedding money” was in her account.
Whoa! That’s a lot of zeros.
Last night, she’d begun second-guessing this whole thing, but seeing her bank balance somehow put everything into perspective. There was a reason for all of this.
She logged off and ducked into her private bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. Part of her still wished she hadn’t agreed to live with Gus. Although, this house was incredible.
There was far too much space for the two of them, but she wasn’t complaining. She loved the open layout between the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The patio and pool and ocean view beyond put her little apartment balcony to shame. And the bathrooms were enormous. The shower she was currently standing in was the size of her apartment bathroom, and she lingered there, taking advantage of the massage spray jets along the wall and enjoying the longest shower she’d ever taken. Hey, it wasn’t her utility bill.
When she came out into the living space, she found Gus pouring a mug of coffee. Shirtless. There was no use denying it. Augustus Schultz was an incredibly attractive man. But when she thought about his rude and abrasive personality, any attraction she might have felt for him fizzled away.
“Morning, wifey,” he teased.
She stopped across the kitchen island from him, crossed her arms, and glared.
“Would you rather I call you sweetie or honey or baby?”
“None of the above.”
He chuckled. “Fine. But you can call me hubby if you want. I kind of like the sound of it.”
“You would.”
He took a sip of his coffee. “What does that mean?”