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“Can you not be still?” I ask.
She scrunches her face. “Sorry. It’s not really in my nature.”
“Thankfully, your nature isn’t really what we are relying on. Being still won’t get you pregnant,” I tease.
Her nose wrinkles. “What… what if I get pregnant immediately? Like the first time we have sex?”
“I will high five myself for a job well done.”
She lightly elbows me in the ribs. “I’m serious.”
I consider her question. “We should stop fucking as soon as you get pregnant. It’s the best policy.”
“Yeah?” Her lips twitch.
“I mean it. It’ll help keep either of us from catching feelings for the other.” I feel strangely defensive about my stance.
“Oh, I won’t catch feelings for you. You’re way too strait-laced.”
My eyebrows jump up. “Me? Strait-laced?”
Pearl stares at me. “I’m a diner waitress who loves chasing UFOs. Most people are too dull for me.”
“Ouch.” I put my hand over my heart. “Well, I can’t catch feelings for you either.”
“No?”
“Nope. I already have a good idea of what my someday-fiancée will be like. She’s sleek, cosmopolitan, and worldly. In twenty years, I’ll be ready for her. You… you’re soft, a little country, and… well, I can’t think of a better description than to say otherworldly.”
Pearl’s eyes narrow on my face and her humor seems to die down. “Good to know.”
Ah. I seem to have put my foot in it. I try to play it off. “You’re too good for me, Pearl. You know it as well as I do.”
“That’s for damn sure.” She scoots away from me, standing up from the couch altogether. When she speaks, her voice is cool and aloof. “Do we need to do any more talking? Or are we ready to trade contracts?”
“One second.” I hop up and walk to my office, grabbing the few sheets of paper and the beige file folder with the blank check inside. I return and hand the file folder to a nonplussed looking Pearl. “Here’s what I want you to sign. It basically says that you agree to be my fake fiancée for up to six months in exchange for consideration. By that, I mean my genetic contributions.” I give her a lazy smile. “I need you to have it looked over by your own lawyer. And I have included a check in there to pay for the lawyer’s time.”
She opens the file and immediately hands me the check. “I’ll get my cousin Patricia to look at it for free. She went to Georgia State, and has a family law practice in Alpharetta.”
I nod. “Sounds good.”
She reaches down to her purse and pulls out a printed set of forms titled ‘Consent to Termination of Parental Rights.’ I take the papers and jog them.
“I’ll look these over and get them back to you the next time I see you. Hopefully that’ll be in two days? My mom's throwing a gala for whatever new pediatric charity Rhett has turned her onto now. It’s going to be at the Grand Ole Maison.”
“Really? The Maison is fancy with a capital F. I’ve been to two weddings there and both of them were really chichi affairs.”
Spreading my hands wide, I offer her a smile. “Mom is on the board of executives for the Grand Ole Maison. Sam’s the vice president of the Coastal Golf Club. My family is really ridiculously fancy. These ritzy-ass people are about to be your fake in-laws for a while, so get ready for that. If you don’t know it now, I think you’ll find out soon enough.”
She presses her knuckles against her lips for a moment. “I’ll try to keep up as best I know how.”
My lips twitch. “You’re going to knock ‘em dead.”
Drawing a big breath, she lets it out in a rush. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because.” Stepping close to her, I take her hand and give it a squeeze. Then I pull her body against mine. “You’re going to be with me. There’s no way this can go wrong. I won’t let it.”
My sudden burst of protectiveness takes me by surprise. It’s brand new, but it feels like a welcome emotion.
