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I didn't know whether to be shocked by the prenuptial papers my grandfather had handed me or awed that he actually thought I would agree to this crazy idea.
I tossed the papers down on the desk and raised my eyes to look at the old man. "No."
Bushy gray eyebrows rose in surprise at my words. "No?"
"No," I repeated. "I'm not going to marry someone I have never met."
I didn't even want to marry someone I had met. Marriage was not in the cards for me. As I grew up, I had watched what married life did to my parents and I wanted nothing to do with it.
"It has already been arranged," my grandfather stated firmly. "You will be getting married in two weeks."
I adored my grandfather and didn't want to argue with him, but... "I will not."
Delancy Matisse was a force to be reckoned with even at the age of seventy-five so when he narrowed his eyes, I gulped, knowing I was in trouble.
"Grandfather—"
"I've had enough of your playboy lifestyle, Lancy." Grandfather slammed a stack of newspaper articles down on his desk. "You are in the news more than the weather. It's making the Matisse family look bad and it is going to stop."
I didn't roll my eyes, but it was a close thing. This was an argument I had heard before, many times. It wasn't like I tried to get my name in the gossip magazines. It just seemed to happen no matter what I did.
I blamed the Matisse legacy.
Five or six generations back, some Matisse ancestor had invented some kitchen gadget that had taken the world by storm. I was always a little iffy on what exactly that something was because there had been so many since then, but it had made the name Matisse a household word overnight, and the family had been raking in the benefits of that ever since.
Being born with a silver spoon in my mouth certainly made my life easier. I could go wherever I wanted when I wanted, buy what I wanted, and basically do whatever I wanted, and I never had to worry about how I was going to pay my way.
My silver spoon was gold plated and encrusted with diamonds.
The flip side of that was that I lived in a fishbowl world. My every move was, apparently, newsworthy. I'd had more cameras flashed in my face than a runway model.
I was almost as famous as my ancestor.
The thing was, that was all a persona put on for the public eye. No one knew the real me. I was starting to suspect that my grandfather didn't either.
I tried another protest. "I'm too young to get married."
My grandfather snorted. "I was married with two kids by the time I was your age."
Doubt he would be getting kids out of me. I was gay right down to my toes. Maybe that could be used as an argument?
"I'm gay, Grandfather. I can't—"
"I am aware of that Lancy. You will be marrying a man."
Well, shit.
"I don't want to get married."
"It's not up for debate," my grandfather replied. "You will take your vows two weeks from now or you will be cut off and banished from the family."
I could feel the blood drain from my face as my entire body grew cold. "What?" I whispered.
"You heard me." There was a no-nonsense stern tone to my grandfather's voice. "If you do not say your vows and marry the man I have chosen for you, you can kiss your cushy lifestyle goodbye. I will cut off every credit card you have, close your bank account, remove your access to everything under the Matisse name, and rewrite my will."
I fell back into the chair behind me as my legs gave out. "You would really do that to me?"
"I don't want to, but you have left me no choice. Your antics have reached the point where they are starting to affect our family's reputation. I'm getting calls of concern from board members almost on a daily basis."
