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CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

EASTON

I never planned on touching the inheritance, so I relented on the stupid idea of a prenup. Mostly to help Gary. He was squeezing my hand so hard it actually hurt, and he looked stressed enough to start crying.

“Fine. And you can pay for the wedding planner. I’m not setting that shit up to fit in with your social group.”

My old man nodded once. “I can agree to that. I still have the contact information for the man who coordinated Arthur’s and Sierra’s weddings. Is there a timeframe in mind? Once you finish school, perhaps?”

“What’s your schedule look like this summer?”

It surprised him, but not as much as it surprised Gary. He jerked to face me, wide-eyed, and spluttered out, “Are you insane?”

“You already know the answer to that,” I pointed out with a smirk.

He threw his hands into the air, exasperated. “We have school, you know? I can’t take time off. I’ll lose my scholarship.”

I lifted a shoulder, unfazed. “You’re not going to be planning most of it anyway. Focus on school. The wedding planner will handle it.”

And maybe after this stupid one-on-one meeting with Gary’s family, the wedding planner could keep the stupid sister off my back.

Pretty sure Gary was only brought in here to keep me calm.

He wasn’t really part of the conversation.

My old man and I went back and forth on dates before finally settling on a date in June, after school was out.

He was going to set it up with the wedding planner, and he’d get back to me later, so I figured the conversation was done.

I got up to leave and dragged Gary with me, but the old man stopped me before I could leave his office.

“Easton. A minute, please?”

Gary looked uneasy, which was fair. I didn’t handle shit well yesterday. It was easier to cope knowing I wouldn’t be losing him after all this was over. We were in a relationship now, one that I could be part of without wanting to gag and that wasn’t changing after this thing was through.

I jerked my chin down the hallway. “Go. If I have to talk wedding details with Victoria, I’ll lose my mind. You do it for me.”

Gary snorted, but his smile faltered when he looked back at my dad. I gave him a little push, trying to be as reassuring as possible when I nodded at him. “I’m good. Go.”

He wandered off, hopefully not getting lost along the way. It wasn’t that complicated, but this place was a maze, so I sent a text to Jayden to find him if he didn’t get there in two minutes before joining my old man again.

“You’re different with him,” he said, his expression more curious than accusing.

“He’s different,” I shrugged. “He trusts me. Like whole heartedly. It means something to me.”

He nodded like he understood. “And his family?”

I scowled, which was answer enough, but I didn’t want to tip off the old man about the ruse.

“Pretty sure he still wants them there. I don’t like them, but that’s not saying much.

” I didn’t like most people. But I especially didn’t like Gary’s parents, who used him and treated him like a servant to his sister.

“Do you think they’ll be a problem? Do we need to protect the two of you?”

That surprised me. I expected more bullshit about protecting me from Gary. Not the both of us together.

“What do you mean?”

He sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, we have to be cautious about the people we invite into our lives. If you think Gary’s family will be a problem, I can have protections set up so they won’t have access to you and Gary without your say so.

And we can meet with my estate planner, so you can dictate where that money goes until you two decide to have kids. ”

I jerked my head back and practically shuddered at the thought. “Absolutely not.” My entire focus would be on Gary. He deserved to be the center of attention after all the bullshit he’d put up with. I had so much fun shit planned, it would make his head spin.

“Have you discussed it with Gary?”

“No. I don’t have to. He knows me. He wouldn’t agree to this expecting that from me.

” Which would be true if this thing was real.

Besides, I couldn’t see Gary wanting kids.

He wanted security, and kids were expensive and chaotic.

If it was something he wanted, it wouldn’t be for a long ass time.

Long enough for me to wrap my head around the idea.

I was pretty solid on no, but if fifteen years from now, Gary wanted to adopt a kid, I’d think about it.

“Might want to discuss that. But if you don’t plan on having the money go to kids and you don’t want his family suing for it, then we need to plan now for where it’ll go. Charity perhaps?”

I nodded. “That works.”

Gary would like that idea. And I know he’d rather stay broke than give a penny willingly to his sister or his family.

“Okay. I’ll call Tim and set up a meeting. You never told me how classes are going.”

I gave him a flat look. “Exactly how I thought they’d go. Boring, with a huge serving of a waste of time.”

He chuckled but didn’t offer to let me drop out. Jerk.

“Well, you did meet Gary there. So at least some good has come from it. And it’s only been a semester.”

Touché.

The rest of the holiday was better. Gary was happy, got along well with my siblings.

Sierra liked that he was serious and good with numbers.

She even offered him a paid internship over the summer.

I’d let it go for now, since he seemed really happy about it, but we were going to broach the subject of him choosing a major he’d actually enjoy eventually.

I didn’t want him so focused on money all the time.

After the storm passed and the roads were cleared, Gary and I headed back home.

Not in my car, which didn’t handle the weather well.

Instead, I borrowed one of Jayden’s, a nice SUV more suited for the weather.

I’d get my baby back once the weather was better.

Gary was smiling and happy the whole drive back, so it pissed me off when we got into the city and the sister’s name popped up on my caller ID. I groaned.

“You answer it. She’s fucking annoying,” I complained.

Gary snickered, but did as I asked, pressing the button to answer on the dashboard display.

“Hello?”

His sister’s voice echoed through the SUV, grating on my nerves. “Gary? Why are you answering Easton’s phone?”

“He’s busy,” Gary replied smoothly. “Did you need something?”

“Nothing from you,” she scoffed. “Though you need to pay me back for the cost of the party. You were supposed to help, and you ignored me. It’s the least you can do to pay me back now.”

My hands tightened on the steering wheel so hard the leather creaked. I shot Gary a warning look. He knew better than to agree to send her money.

Luckily, he didn’t cave to her demands. “I’m sorry my phone wasn’t working, but I really can’t afford that right now. I’ve got my new semester starting in a week, and I have to buy my textbooks. Didn’t Mom and Dad cover most of it?”

She let out a frustrated noise, and I could imagine her stamping her foot like a toddler. “That doesn’t matter! It’s your job! You can’t just ditch out on your family, Gary!”

I saw the moment when guilt crossed Gary’s face. They probably spent years hammering the idea that you take care of family into his head so he’d cow to their demands later on. No way was I going to let them manipulate him again.

And thankfully, we pulled into the parking lot of The Hideout while she was talking, so I could answer the call without her noticing I’d been listening in the whole time.

I snatched the phone out of the cupholder, nudging Gary out of the car, and strode around the front to meet him.

Gary looked pale and uncertain, so I didn’t hand him back the phone, instead leaning in close to kiss his temple.

“Hey, sweetheart. Did someone call?”

He nodded, playing along. “My sister is on the phone.”

“Mm. I’ll handle it. Go wait for me in bed, alright?”

He flushed bright red at the implication and scurried away when I slapped him on the ass. Hopefully, the guys were around to help him calm down. I needed to handle this bitch before she manipulated Gary again.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Easton! Hi! Gary said you were busy.”

“I was in the shower. Did you need something?”

She giggled, though the noise sounded forced and irritating. “I’m sorry I missed it,” she purred.

I wasn’t in the mood to play this game with her, and my voice may have been a little gruff when I asked, “Was there something you needed?”

She faltered for a second before perking up again. “I was wondering if you had time to meet now that you two were back from visiting family? My parents are sad they missed you for the holidays and want to have dinner to make up for it. Are you busy tonight?”

Missed me. Not Gary. They didn’t even care that he wasn’t there for the holidays. These assholes were worse than my bio mom. At least she had her sober days where she was nice to me.

Tired of this dragging out, I agreed with a growl. “Fine. I can manage an hour tonight. Not dinner, though. I’m taking Gary out for a date. Does five work?”

“Only an hour?” she whined. It was cuter when Gary did it.

“I’m a little busy right now, Britney. If that doesn’t work, then we can revisit this another time.”

“It’s Brienna,” she said with a huff. “And fine. Five works. I’ll text you the address. Can I talk to Gary? We were discussing something.”

“No. He’s busy. I’ll have him text you when he can.” Which was fucking never. I seriously considered having him block her again. She was more interested in getting to me right now than him. They didn’t need to be in contact.

I hung up before she could argue, tucking my phone away, but didn’t head inside immediately. I was pissed, and I didn't want to take that out on Gary.

“You know, when I saw you in that restaurant, it really looked like you were interested,” Angel commented.

He was standing outside the door, his arms crossed and his expression thoughtful.

“You’re hard to read, even to those of us who know you well.

How much do you want to bet she’s going to try to seduce you once she gets you alone? ”

“She can fucking try,” I growled.

He tipped his head slightly. “Why not let her?”

My brows furrowed. “What?”

“I mean, you let her think she had a chance at the restaurant and then stomped all over it. If you acted more aloof to Gary, not so possessive, she might let her guard down and say something to incriminate herself. If we record the conversations between you and her, you could have added insurance that she’d leave him alone once you’re done with this little charade. ”

I didn’t appreciate the charade comment, but I liked his idea. “What did you have in mind?”