Marrying Mr. Wrong (Dirty Martini Running Club #3) - Claire Kingsley Page 0,30

a little delay in the paperwork. No big deal.”

“We’re married. That’s kind of a big deal.”

His eyebrows drew in. “Why?”

“Because it’s marriage.”

As soon as I’d said it, I realized there was a fundamental disconnect between us. I did think marriage was a big deal. It was supposed to mean something—maybe everything. It was supposed to mean forever. But Cox didn’t take it seriously. To him, it didn’t really mean anything.

Of course, this wasn’t a real marriage and never had been. So it didn’t matter if he believed in marriage.

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

“How?”

The corner of his mouth twitched in a smile, and Vegas memories flashed through my mind. That slow sexy grin as he handed me a celebratory shot of whiskey. Then a flash of him kneeling next to me in his hotel room the next morning—naked.

Stop, Sophie. Don’t be distracted by his huge… gifts.

“That is a good question,” he said. “What do you want?”

Uh-oh. I was about to start negotiating with him. Which meant I was kind of, maybe, possibly considering this.

Could I really be considering this?

But as soon as he’d asked what do you want, an answer had popped into my mind. A crazy answer—much too big; he’d never agree—but an answer nonetheless. And possibly the one thing that would make his plan worth it.

“I’ll do it if you buy my dad a new house.”

His eyebrows lifted. “A house?”

“Yes. Not a big one or anything. He doesn’t need a lot of space. But he lives in a two-story and the bedrooms are all on the second floor. He has a hard time going up and down stairs, so he sleeps in his recliner in the living room. Because he’s disabled, he had to retire early, so his income is limited, and housing is so expensive. I haven’t been able to find a place he can afford that’s all on one level, and in good shape, and in a good neighborhood. He doesn’t get out much, so he has to have a home where he’s really happy, otherwise it’s just going to be awful for him.”

I clapped my hand over my mouth because I had not meant to share all that.

“Done,” Cox said.

“Wait, what?”

“If you stay married to me, I’ll buy your dad a house with no stairs, that’s in good shape, in a good neighborhood.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I said I’d make it worth your while. If this makes it worth your while, I’ll do it.”

“Just like that? He’ll own it free and clear?”

“Absolutely.”

I searched my mind for a downside. Other than the fact that this was kind of ridiculous and probably crazy.

But was it? Like he said, it was just a delay in the paperwork. It wasn’t like I was dating anyone who’d be mad at me for getting—and staying—married to him. It wouldn’t really change anything.

“How long do we need to stay married?”

“A couple of months. Six, tops.”

I paused to take a deep breath, wondering how this was going to go sideways. Because so many things in my life seem to go sideways.

But maybe it already had, and this was the silver lining to my Vegas marriage cloud. Not just a silver lining, but the sun bursting through the clouds to spread warmth and happiness in the form of a very, very tempting solution for my dad.

He’d done so much for me. I could do this for him.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

12

Sophie

My first week as a sort-of-married woman went by without any more surprises. Or provocative deliveries from Cox. By the weekend, I’d decided that my decision to stay married was clearly the smart choice. Nothing much had changed. I went to work. Checked on my dad. Went for a run and then out for drinks with my friends. No biggie.

Although, I started to feel guilty for asking for something as extravagant as a house in exchange for basically doing nothing. All I had to do was not file for divorce right away. It didn’t seem like he was getting nearly as much out of this as I was.

But he’d agreed to it without even a moment’s hesitation, so maybe buying my dad a house was nothing to him.

I had no idea what it would be like to have that kind of money.

Although at the moment, I had no idea what it would be like to have enough money that I didn’t have to live in a shoebox apartment in a crappy neighborhood either, so I was light