Page 21 of Married With Lies

She blinks. “If you must. I promise not to look. But it’s snowing harder now and the temperature outside is probably only about twenty degrees so you might want to wait to find a bathroom with walls.”

“No, that’s the book you were reading at the hockey game. You kept trying to hide it under a game program.”

“That’s some memory you have.” She blows out a breath and gazes out the windshield at the falling snow. “What are we really doing here, Cale?”

“I told you. I want to help you save your ranch.”

“But not for free.”

“Of course not. I’m not a fairy godmother.”

“If you’re going to demand ownership of the ranch you can forget it.”

“What would I do with an animal sanctuary in Colorado?”

“I don’t know. I suppose you could use it to, uh, hide things.”

“What kind of things?”

“You know, like…” She fidgets and gestures. “BODIES.”

I laugh out loud. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in quite some time.

Sadie flinches. She shrinks away and makes a panicked search of the deserted area. I’m pretty sure she’s considering jumping out and taking her chances in the ocean.

“I don’t want you to hide bodies, Sadie,” I assure her. Apparently that needs to be said.

“Good.” She takes a deep breath. “I hope I didn’t insult you.”

“You didn’t. I want you to marry me.”

Now she’s the one who laughs. But when I don’t join in with her she stops laughing.

“What kind of a game is this?”

“No game. You need money. I need a wife.”

“What on earth for?”

“My uncle expects me to settle down. He has ideas about who I should settle down with. I don’t agree with his ideas.”

“OH NO.” Her eyes suddenly widen and nearly pop out of her head. “Hey, if you expect me to produce an heir for you then you can shop elsewhere.”

Produce an heir?

Where on earth does this girl get her ideas from?

Keeping a straight face right now is quite a chore. “Rest assured, no sex is included and I don’t want an heir. I don’t even want a wife. What I’m about to tell you absolutely cannot be repeated under any circumstances. Got it?”

She nods very slowly, very seriously.

“Say that you understand.”

She swallows. “I understand.”

“You’re smart, Sadie. You must know a thing or two about my family. My uncle sees me as his second in command, the next head of the Amato family. His health isn’t great and he’s thinking about the future. I’ve always been loyal and I’ll stay loyal. But he’s pushing me to marry one of the daughters of a powerful boss, one he wants to be more closely aligned with.” I pause. “You understand what that’s like, don’t you? Being pushed to marry someone you don’t want to marry?”

For a moment she sits on this question with a deep frown and then sighs. “I had doubts about Grant. I ignored them for as long as I could because for the first time in my life I had my father’s approval.”

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