Broken River - Ruby Shae Page 0,2
He left you a note!”
The words came out at a higher pitch than she’d intended, but she was a desperate woman, and no longer cared. If Liam wasn’t interested in her, that was fine. She hadn’t expected him to be impressed with her appearance, but she had expected him to treat her with kindness.
Especially since Gavin had sent her to him.
Liam turned back around, and stalked back toward her, this time leaving only a foot of space between them. Up close, he was even more perfect than she had originally thought, and she had to force herself to maintain eye contact and not peruse his body again.
“A note? How? I thought he was killed instantly?”
“He was. I really don’t understand it, either, but I guess he was just being proactive? I didn’t even know he had a will, so maybe he updated it annually or something.”
“Probably,” he nodded. “Where’s the note?”
“This one is yours,” she said, handing him the thinner of the two manila envelopes. “This thick one contains three copies of the marriage agreement. If we marry, then we both have to sign one and mail it back to the attorney.”
His answering grunt was an obvious indication that he still didn’t plan on marrying her, but she still waited while he opened the envelope, pulled out a single sheet of paper, and read the words written there.
Elle could see the indention of a few markings made with an ink pen on the back of the paper as Liam pulled it out of the envelope, but other than that, she had no idea what the note said. She wanted to know, but the envelope had been sealed, and the words weren’t for her. They were for Liam, and right now, her only hope was that they convinced him to marry her.
Liam started at the paper for what seemed like an eternity, and then he slowly nodded as he gently slid the missive back into the envelope.
“Well…I guess we’re getting married.”
Liam Rivers frowned as he looked at Gavin’s little sister.
From far away, she hadn’t looked familiar to him at all, but now that he stood less than two feet away from her, he could see she shared a familial resemblance with his friend.
He still couldn’t believe that Gavin was dead, but even more unbelievable was the man’s last wish. Especially since Gavin knew better than anyone how fucked up in the head he was. Liam hated thinking back to those dark days, the ones after he had returned home from his short time in the military, but that’s when he’d met Gavin, and the man had literally saved his life.
Did Elle know? Had her brother told her what a mess he had been? Or what a mess he still was? Looking at her beautiful face, Liam doubted it.
Because of one huge mistake on Liam’s part, Gavin, a stranger at the time, had seen something he was never supposed to see. Something that could have cost Liam and his family everything.
They could have become enemies, but instead, Gavin had sworn to protect his secret, and aside from his siblings, there was no one Liam trusted more. That unfortunate incident had created a strong bond of friendship between himself and Gavin, and even though he only saw the man once or twice a year, their friendship had never faded.
Which made him wonder why the man wanted him to marry Elle.
MARRY MY SISTER, AND WE’RE EVEN.
Honestly, if she had left after his original dismissal, the guilt would have eaten him alive until he tracked her down to find out what the hell his friend had been up to. He was glad for the note, even though it had been short and sweet, but he was still confused.
Why would Gavin withhold his sister’s inheritance? Or more importantly, why would he force her to endure his grumpy, messed up ass for two years before she could move on with her life?
He did owe Gavin a great debt, but he didn’t think marrying Elle made them even. How could it? She would probably make his life better—maybe—but there was nothing he could do for her. He had nothing to give anyone, and deep down, he truly felt sorry for the girl.
Elle was pretty, and sweet, and she definitely deserved better.
She was tall for a woman, but not as tall as his sister, who always complained about being a giant, and he found he liked the fact that she wasn’t a shrimp when standing next to him. A