Page 29 of Sweet Nothings

But I can sense her hesitance. Her uncertainty. Even when she lifts her chin and plants her hands on her hips. She thinks this is purely transactional.

“What made you change your mind? I thought you said you deserved a marriage that was more than transactional.”

She blinks and swipes her tongue across her lips. I fight the urge to press my mouth to hers just to know what she tastes like.

There’s an unmistakable sadness in her watery eyes. She sniffs, playing it off as if her thoughts are beginning to stray.Something about the way her body shifts makes me want to wrap myself around her just so she isn’t feeling whatever it is she’s feeling.

She stabs my chest with her finger, snapping me out of my thoughts. “This is a list of conditions I have in order for me to marry you.”

I pop an eyebrow and open the folder. “Conditions?”

“Yes.” She nods once. “Your father put conditions on your inheritance. I think it’s only fair I place a few conditions of my own.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from a lawyer,” I tell her, sliding the paper out from the folder. I drop it on my desk and focus my attention to her list.

It isn’t very long, typed with her family firm’s letterhead at the top.

“Are these conditions negotiable?” I ask before I begin reading.

She frowns and shrugs. “Possibly. I assume these could be a starting point for negotiations. I don’t want to marry you without understanding what our lives will look like once we say our vows.”

I let out a small laugh and read her conditions.

Terms and Conditions to marry

Lennon Harding:

I, Laurel Branford, will continue to work as a lawyer where I see fit. Under no condition can my husband, Lennon Harding, compel me or force me to resign or dictate which firm I work for.

I, Laurel Branford, get to keep my apartment, along with my property and possessions inside it.

I, Laurel Branford, get to have a say in all wedding plans and how it will be executed.

I, Laurel Branford, get to stay in contact and keep all my relationships with family and friends.

Below her list of conditions is the letter x with a line for my signature and today’s date.

I look at her with raised eyebrows. “This is a fairly short list, Laurel.”

And an interesting one.

She crosses her arms over her chest. “It may be short, but they’re important issues to me. I just want to be clear. You know, so there wasn’t any confusion on where we stand. I don’t want to sacrifice the important parts of myself just by agreeing to marry you.”

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