Page 7 of The Backup Groom

ChapterTwo

Amber

“Five million dollars?! Are you kidding me?” Stella said after I arrived back to work at Pacific Beach Media and told her the news.

“Shh!” I smacked her on the shoulder with the manila folder that contained the transcript of Uncle G’s will. I got on my tip-toes and peeked over her cubicle to see if anybody in the office had heard her outburst.

Of course, they did.

All I needed was a mallet with a long pole and I could play the human version of whack-a-mole with my coworkers’ heads, the way they were bobbing up and down in their cubicles, looking in our direction.

Even my boss was glaring at us through the glass partition of his office.

“Five million dollars in advertising is a drop in the bucket compared to what Nike spends every year,” I said, trying to pretend we were talking about something else. “Imagine a marketing budget of three billion. Now, that’s insane.” I winked at Stella.

“Conference room—now,” she whispered, dragging me down the hallway.

After she closed the conference room door behind me, Stella crushed me with a hug. “This is the best news ever! I can’t believe you’re a millionaire. Did you laugh all the way to the bank? I’ve always wanted to do that.”

“Hold on.” I sighed. “It’s not as simple as you think.”

Stella ignored my comment, a hand on each of my shoulders. “The world is your oyster.”

“Well, I’m ready to drink like a fish because the inheritance comes with strings attached.”

“You can handle anything,” Stella said. “You are strong. You are invincible. You are—”

“Screwed. Seriously. This is not good.”

Stella gave me a sympathetic smile, then gestured to the chairs for us to sit. “Okay, what conditions are we talking about here? You get the money in installments, so you don’t spend it all in one day? Or do you have to promise to start a charitable organization?”

I set my phone on the table, along with Uncle G’s printed will, and sat down next to her, sighing. “I have to marry Ryan Scott.”

Stella whooped. “Uncle G is a genius!”

“On the contrary, I’m wondering if he was of sound mind.”

Stella was a little too amused for my taste, her eyes watering.

“This is not funny!” I said.

“Oh, come on, what could be better than this?” Stella asked. “You get the money, plus you get the one who got away!”

I crossed my arms defiantly. “Ryan didn’t get away. We moved away.”

“Same thing.” Stella squeezed my hand. “Your uncle obviously knew what was best for you. How many times have you wondered what your life would be like if you had ended up with Ryan?”

“Once . . . maybe twice,” I lied, avoiding eye contact.

“Ha! I call bull,” Stella said. “That was the biggest crush anybody has ever had in the entire history of humanity. Admit it. You married the wrong man and you know it.”

Maybe she was right.

“This is the perfect opportunity to get yourself out of that funk you’ve been in,” Stella said.

“It’s a rut, not a funk.”

She smirked. “Same thing, sweetie.”