Page 99 of Marrying Off My Husband

“Okay, okay, easy,” Eve said, patting my hand.

I threaded my fingers through hers, squeezing them.

“So, you’re going to believe her over your own sister?” Audrey crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Eve.

“No, but I don’t think it’s that important. You don’t get along. Let’s leave it at that.”

“What? She came to my apartment and threatened me. She told me to stay away from you.”

“Okay,” Eve said with a nod. “Well…”

“Unbelievable,” Audrey said, throwing her arms in the air. “You know what? You deserve the crazy you’re getting yourself into with these two weirdos. Have fun. I’m glad you’re okay.”

With that, the venomous woman stormed from the room, leaving us alone.

I slid my gaze sideways to Eve, my lips still tugged into a wince. Would she hate me?

Eve let her head fall back against the pillow. “I hate to say it, but I’m sort of glad she’s leaving.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you’re not mad at me. I did tell her to stay away from you. But only because she’s so awful to you.”

“I know,” Eve answered with a squeeze of my hand. “And my painkillers haven’t kicked in yet, so tolerating her is difficult.”

I let my gaze fall to her swollen ankle. “Oh my word, does it hurt terribly?”

“It’s not pleasant, but it’s not too bad.”

“Is it broken? How long do you have to stay off of it?” Spencer asked.

“Yeah. Six weeks. At least I don’t need surgery. I’ll barely afford this.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Spencer said with a pat on her shoulder.

“No, I can’t–”

“You can and you will,” he insisted.

“Thank you. I’ll repay you somehow. I promise. Just as soon as I’m back on my feet. Literally. I don’t know how I’ll make it sixweeks with one leg.” She shook her head as he reassured her that she didn’t need to repay him in any way.

I cocked my head as I watched them together, an idea forming. A grin spread on my lips as I realized the perfect way to get Spencer and Eve closer than ever. Eve was going to move in with us.

CHAPTER 24

SPENCER

Icringed as the tires squealed against the pavement of my driveway. Louise’s car tore down the drive. She hadn’t said it straight out, but I knew she was headed to Audrey Dawson’s apartment for a showdown.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot as I stared at my own car, wondering if I should hop inside and follow her.

Confrontation was not my thing, though, and I was fairly certain I’d somehow make things worse. How, I wasn’t sure, but I had a tendency to do just that.

As I closed the door and shuffled in the living room, my mind went over the conversation I’d had with Louise. Eve had suggested we’d fall in love.

I laughed out loud at that implication. Louise was a wonderful woman, kind, caring, beautiful, but she couldn’t have been more wrong for me. Us falling in love was like going to the desert and hoping to see a polar bear–it wasn’t going to happen.

For fun, I ran an internet search to determine how many romantic comedies ended up with the fake marriage couple falling in love. I puffed out my cheeks as I saw hundreds of them.

No wonder Eve thought it would happen. She’d been shovel-fed this narrative in every Christmas movie Hallmark made.

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