Tending Tara (Alaska Blizzard #7) - Kat Mizera Page 0,26
Mikka just turned twenty-five, and Leon is nine. He was a late-in-life surprise for my parents.”
They talked about the details for another hour until they’d relaxed back into their usual lighthearted banter. He would talk to his attorney tomorrow, Tara would start packing, and he’d make sure the team knew that he was getting married but didn’t want any press releases or attention drawn to the matter.
“It’s going to be okay,” Donovan said. “You’ll get the job you want, I’ll be focusing on hockey, and our personal relationship will be status quo.”
“But what if it’s not? What if we decide we hate each other? Or don’t want to be together anymore?”
“Then we work on finding a solution for you to stay in the U.S. and quietly get a divorce. With a prenup in place and no one aware we’re married, it’ll be quick and easy. Worst case scenario, you have to go back to Finland, but you’d have to do that now if we don’t do this.”
She nodded even though he couldn’t see it. “Yes. Right.”
“Look, we may not know each other that well, but we’re not strangers. We’re already friends and would have been lovers if we hadn’t gotten so drunk on Halloween.”
“I have a feeling I won’t be living that down for a long time.”
“Probably not.” He chuckled. “Now, I need to get some rest, so I’m going to go to bed. You okay?”
“I think so.”
“Good night, Tara. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
“Hyvää yötä, Donovan.” Good night.
Despite how calm Donovan was and how easy it was to talk to him, Tara’s stomach was in knots when they hung up, and she didn’t know what to do. Mostly, she wanted to talk to her mother because she wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing. What if this was a colossal mistake? Maybe she should just go home to Finland and stop this insanity. But they’d just agreed not to tell anyone except Miikka, Gage, and Laurel, which meant she had no one to talk to.
Except Charli.
If Miikka knew they were married, Charli would have to know, so she could talk to Charli. She called her before she could change her mind.
“Hi!” Charli sounded so happy to hear from her, Tara burst into tears.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Charli’s voice dropped. “Are you okay? Do you need me to come over?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m just…” She blurted out the whole story.
“Oh, wow. So, you and Donovan…” Charli seemed thoughtful. “You like him, don’t you?”
“I think that’s what’s so scary. I do like him. With Logan, marrying him would be easy because we’re buddies. There is no attraction between us, no chemistry, just friendship. With Donovan… This could become serious, at least for me, and what happens if he doesn’t feel the same?”
“That’s a risk you would take regardless, don’t you think? The marriage part of it isn’t real, so it’s like you’re still dating, but now living together. If you fell in love and he didn’t, you’d be hurt even without a piece of paper making it legal. So what’s the difference?”
“That’s essentially what he said, without me talking about the potential for falling in love.”
“It sounds like he’s pretty chill about the whole thing. Why are you so upset?”
“I don’t know. I guess getting married is a big deal even when it’s a fake marriage. And really, even if we’re not in love, it’s not fake because we’re friends, and I’m positive we’re going to be lovers either before or as soon as we get married. Doesn’t that complicate everything?”
“It does. But what’s the alternative? Going back to Finland?”
“I know. That’s the problem.”
“You might want to think about things for a few days and do some soul-searching. You need a husband to stay in the U.S. and Donovan is willing to do it. And the fact that you already like each other is a bonus. Imagine if you married Logan and started having feelings for him but he was just doing his normal thing, sleeping with you because it’s convenient, and then walking away when it was done? I don’t believe Donovan is like that, you know?”
“I don’t think he is, either.”
“So relax. Take a deep breath. Think about all the reasons you already like him. Remember that doing this means you get to stay in the U.S. with us. And it gives you a chance to see if there’s something there with him.”
There was definitely something there. Tara just didn’t know what it was.