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I started toward the kitchen, but Lisa’s voice stopped me.

"I’ve already prepared dinner, dear," she said, far too cheerful. "Why don’t you relax a bit? Your dad told me you work too much. I don’t want you worrying about anything here."

I looked at Dad. That soft, happy smile was back. And even though I wasn’t sure how to feel about losing a little control, I had to admit that dinner being ready and some alone time to rest felt incredible.

“Thank you,” I whispered, then made my way quietly to my room. I pulled my phone out and reread West’s message a few times before deciding to answer him back.

Lisa is fine for now. Thank you.

West replied with a thumbs-up emoji and I stared at it before rolling my eyes. West Brooks, sending emojis? He wasn’t an emoji guy.

But he was about to learn a few things.

Chapter Sixteen

WEST

"Mr. Brooks,with all due respect, this is not a very good decision."

"I'm not paying you for your opinion. I'm paying you to do what I tell you to do." I snapped at Harrison, who was now on his third attempt to convince me that the marriage didn’t need to be real for things to work the way I wanted.

"But why not have a ceremony? Something public. Let people see it."

"I don’t need a parade to be married. She signed the paperwork, didn’t she?"

"Yes, sir. And Judge Robertson agreed to sign off on it tomorrow morning."

"Good." I leaned back in my chair. "By the time I head back to Harmony Haven on Friday, I’ll be a married man."

He stood slowly, still hesitant seeming to have more to say, but knowing it wouldn’t matter. We’d been at it for over an hour. I knew the drill. He thought I was being impulsive. Making a mistake. But even though he was my lawyer, he didn’t understand.

Being legally married was the only way I could protect Blue and her family. And I needed to make sure no one had a reason to dig deeper. A fake marriage without legal grounding could unravel under scrutiny, and I wasn’t about to let that happen.

I didn’t know her well, not really. But I knew enough. Enough to see the weight she carried, the burden she wore like armor. And even with all the dark, jagged thoughts I carried about myself, I still knew how to fake being decent. That’s all I’d done since my parents died. My entire life had been putting on a polished front, smiling when I had to, shaking hands, and following through.

Dragging her into my lie, and offering her the bar, wasn’t enough. Not if it meant opening her up to more gossip, more damage. The legal protection of a real marriage made everything easier. Access, authority, credibility. Cleaner.

Once Harrison was gone, I stood and walked to the window. Atlanta sprawled below me, buzzing with energy, people moving about their day with purpose. Meanwhile, I was about to do the one thing I swore I never would: get married. Even if it was a ruse. Even if it came with an expiration date.

I was still pacing when my phone buzzed on the desk and I jumped toward it, thinking it was one of my brothers, most likely Easton. It would be just like him to know what I had just done and call me at work to give me shit about it. But when I glanced at the caller ID, it was a spam call labeled North Dakota.

I laughed at myself as I sent it to voicemail. Gossip would spread through town, but surely not that quickly. I’d be able to hold my brother off until Sunday dinner, I needed to calm down.

Another buzz of my phone sent my eyes back to the screen and that time, it was a text.

Blue

Don’t forget you’re supposed to work at the bar Friday night.

I rolled my eyes and let out a quiet groan. Truthfully, I had forgotten. It had only been a little over twenty-four hours since I agreed, and I’d already mentally blocked it out for the sake of my sanity. What exactly did she think would be accomplished by me working at Fiddlers?

West

And don’t you forget that the paperwork is being signed by the judge tomorrow morning.

Blue

And don’t you forget we could’ve faked this without actually getting married.