AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She scrunches her freckled nose. It’s adorable. I hate it. Fuck this.
“Are you running a fever?” she asks.
“Only when I’m around you.”
Marci rolls her eyes. “Whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean.”
“Marry me.”
Marci’s jaw drops so fast, I nearly laugh.
I tap the bottom of her chin. She closes her mouth, and her teeth click together.
“Fake marry me,” I say.
She babbles incoherently. “Taylor, you… I—What? You?—?”
“You need protection from this guy, right? This loan shark dude who’s after your money. I bet he’s not going to come around here too often if you’ve got me hanging around. Especially after I chased that motherfucker out of here. You won’t have to call the cops because I’ll be around.”
“I—”
“Hold on, let me finish,” I say. “You won’t have to call the cops, I’ll protect you and your diner while you figure out your financial problems, and I’ll have a wife.”
“Why would you—?” Her eyes widen. “Oh. Oh, because of what that asshole ex of yours said at the bar last night? Are you serious? You’re worried about what the town thinks of your sexual history? What in theFootloose, Taylor? This isn’t the 80s.”
“Say what you want, Angel, but it matters. The people in this town don’t take me seriously,” I say, hating that I have to admit it. “They want a family man. So I’ll give them a family man. It’ll be a mutually beneficial arrangement. We can fake ‘break up’ once we’ve both gotten what we want out of the deal.”
Marci taps her chin and considers me. “I read in a book once that when your fever gets too high, your proteins kind of cook themselves and pop apart and you cease to function properly. Your enzymes go poof.”
“What’s—?”
“I’m saying you should go see a doctor,” she says. “You might be on your way out. This is the most hare-brained scheme I’ve ever heard.”
“It’s crazy enough to work.”
I arch an eyebrow at her, putting on my most charming smile.
“See?” Marci points at my face. “You get people to fall for that. You don’t need my help. Besides, I’m a liability for you,Taylor. The current sheriff hates me, and, unlike you, I’m not afraid of what people think of me.”
“Ouch.”
“That one wasn’t a jab at your character,” she says. “I’m being honest. I’m not afraid. Which means I’m not going to be the right woman for the job.”
“None of that shit will matter,” I say. “They’ll see that I’m getting married, and it will be enough.”
“And how long would this agreement last?” she asks.
“Until our problems go away.”
“That could take a year. More. You realize that, right?” she asks. “We’ll have to pretend to like each other.”
“The alternative is you getting stabbed by some lowlife because you’re too stubborn to go to the cops. And what do you think will happen if I do become sheriff? It will beat having Davis in charge. Or his son. He’s running too.”
“Nate’s running?”
Marci pales.
“That’s right.” What happened between them? I don’t like that look on her face. I’ve heard rumors, but I want it from the source, and the only source I trust is Marci.
