Page 3 of An Engagement Pact

In the six months since he proposed, I’ve paid attention to anything anyone said about him and learned he isn’t a creep at all.

At least no one in the world believes him to be one.

In fact, everyone everywhere testifies to what a nice guy he is.

He doesn’t mention his offer or sound snide in any way as he asks, “What do you want to study in grad school?”

“Wildlife conservation,” I tell him. “There aren’t a ton of programs for that yet, and they aren’t exactly cheap.”

“Oh, that sounds interesting. You’ll have to tell me about it sometime.”

We’ve reached the doorway that leads to Oscar’s apartment. I need to take him upstairs and get going with my day. But Dan doesn’t appear to be in a hurry, and for some reason I don’t have any compulsion to say goodbye. “Oh. I can, I guess.” I look down at Oscar and then back up at Dan. “So I guess you’re not married yet?” He’s not wearing a ring. I looked specifically.

He huffs in dry amusement. “No. That’s the problem with living in such a wealthy town. My trust is decent but not very large by Green Valley standards, so most of the people I know don’t need the money. And it’s kind of weird to go around asking.”

“Well, yes. It’s a strange situation. I’m not surprised you thought of me first.” I might be the only person in his circle who actually needs the money. No wonder he asked me before anyone else.

His face tenses briefly before it relaxes into a smile. “I wasn’t trying to be creepy or take advantage of you. I honestly thought we could help each other out.”

“I see that now. I’m sorry I was kind of brusque when I turned you down. You were nice about it, and I totally shut down the conversation before you even finished the offer. I probably really annoyed you.”

“I wasn’t annoyed. I was disappointed.” He meets my eyes. “And I still think it’s not a bad deal for the right person. The offer is still available if you change your mind. I can give you a hundred thousand dollars after we get married and get access to the trust. No matter how expensive your grad program is, surely that will get you a good way into it.”

I almost choked at the amount. “A good way? That will cover it and more. I’m just starting with a two-year master’s program since that’s the minimum for most of the jobs I’m interested in. You can seriously give me that much?”

His stance and eyes have changed. Like he’s getting excited. But his pleasant, laid-back expression doesn’t flicker. “Yes. It’s ten percent of the trust, but I figure that’s fair since we’re only talking about three months or so. We just need to date briefly, have a short engagement, and then be married for long enough for the trustee to unlock the trust.”

I gulp, my blood rushing from an entirely new excitement. “Oh. Wow.”

“Should I have mentioned the exact amount before? It felt kind of crass to announce an exact amount immediately following a proposal, and you were so clear about not being interested.”

“Well, it was weird, so I felt awkward about it and didn’t even consider it. But I’ve heard only good things about you since. I’m not from Green Valley. I’ve never seen even close to that amount of money in my entire life.”

“Maybe you can think about it.” I sense more urgent feelings inside him, but he’s not showing any of it. “Just let me know if you change your mind.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls a business card out of his wallet. “You can call or text me anytime.”

I take the card. It’s from a local architecture firm.

I hadn’t realized that he was an architect. I guess I never even thought about what his job was. He was just the weird guy who proposed the third time we met.

“Okay,” I say, my voice breaking oddly. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good.” He leans over to give Oscar one more pet. “It was nice to meet you, Oscar.”

Before I can think of anything else to say, he’s walking away, turning back once to give me a little wave. “See you around, Vicky.”

I wave back with a blank expression.

A hundred thousand dollars.

For a few months of my time.

With a nice guy, not the creep I thought he was.

It’s weird, yes. But still...

Surely I’m not the only girl in the world who would consider the offer.

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