over the food was light and comfortable, and by the end of the meal, the women had made plans to attend the Farmer’s Market in town the next morning, and all of his siblings had agreed to witness their wedding the next day.
Not that he was surprised. His family might put up a fight at first, but they always supported each other’s decisions—even if they were crazy.
3
Elle glanced at the simple gold band on her finger and smiled, even though the trinket confused her. It wasn’t an expensive piece of jewelry, that wasn’t the confusing part, it was the fact that Liam had bought it for her.
She hadn’t expected them to exchange rings during the ceremony, but when the preacher arrived, Liam had surprised her by pulling the two gold bands out of the pocket of his jeans. Because their wedding was a simple, business arrangement, they had decided not to dress up, but Liam still wore a newer pair of jeans and a short sleeve button down shirt, and she had worn a pretty blue sundress with yellow flowers on it.
His family had also cleaned up for the occasion, and even though they all wore jeans, the men also wore button down shirts, and Lacey wore a flowy, off-the-shoulder lavender top that looked brand-new. Their presence, more than their attire, is what mattered to Elle, but she appreciated everyone’s efforts to make the ceremony special, including the flowers Lacey bought for her from the Farmer’s Market.
Elle smiled again as she placed the rolled cookie dough onto the cookie sheet.
The morning of her wedding day had been spent with Lacey at the Farmer’s Market, and she’d had a lot of fun with Liam’s sister. She’d also learned that Liam rarely attended any of the festivals or other events in town, preferring to stay on the lake property most of the time. That was another reason why the rings had surprised her so much. He must have had to leave the property to buy the jewelry, but she was beginning to learn that he really preferred to spend his days roaming the lake by himself.
After their first meeting with his family, Liam had given her a tour of the property in the golf cart, and explained everyone’s duties on the land. They could all do everything that needed to be done, but Levi ran the reservation desk, Lacey ran the store, and Lael handled the lake and equipment rentals.
Liam had the most solitary and time-consuming job, which basically involved everything to do with maintaining the grounds. He was like a handyman and landscaper all rolled into one, and there was always something to do. He had warned her in advance that he was hardly ever in the cabin, and after two days, she was beginning to understand exactly what he meant.
So far, she had barely seen the man since their wedding, and deep down, she couldn’t help but wonder if his staying away so much had something to do with her. Of course, he had warned her ahead of time, but that info didn’t make her feel any better. Especially when she heard him get up and leave in the middle of the night.
They had to sleep under the same roof, that was part of the contract, but Liam’s cabin only had one bedroom. She had offered to take the couch, or sleep on the air mattress she had brought with her in the SUV, but Liam had refused to let her sleep anywhere other than in his bed, and then, instead of using one of the more comfortable options, he had opted to take the floor.
She hated the thought of him trying to rest on the hard wood, and had offered to share the king-sized bed, knowing that nothing would ever happen between them—even if she wasn’t opposed to the idea—but he had flat out refused.
The rejection had hurt at first, but then she reminded herself that they weren’t lovers, and they were barely friends, and she should be happy that he wasn’t a loser trying to get into her pants just because he was stuck with her for two years.
Once that reminder kicked in, it had been easier to go about her business.
The day after their ceremony, she had gone grocery shopping, and later that day, when he had met with his family for their weekly staff meeting, she had prepared and ate dinner for herself, and then separated the leftovers into containers for the week. She knew she