Page 5 of An Engagement Pact

“She was trying to give me advice,” I explain, “and using you as a positive example.”

“Uh-huh.” Savannah gives her dad a pat on the back as she passes and then accepts a half hug from her mother. “What did Vicky do to deserve all this sage advice?”

“I felt bad for making a minor mistake at work,” I explain.

“Barely a mistake at all,” Esther puts in. “And it sounds like the guy in question didn’t hold it against her. Did it happen to be a handsome young man?”

“Aunt Esther!”

“Mom, don’t even start with that.” Savannah is laughing and leaning against the kitchen counter. She’s got the same golden-brown hair that I have, but she has blue-gray eyes instead of my medium brown. We’re about the same height (average) and build (also average). People could easily mistake us for sisters even though she’s nine years older than me. “Not every woman is looking for a man.”

“Well, you weren’t looking, were you? But then Lance showed up anyway. And you’re so much happier now.”

“I’m happier because Lance was the right person at the right time for me. Not everyone is happier after finding a man, you know. Some women are way worse off.”

“Tell me about it,” I put in. “Rick was one of the worst things to ever happen to me, even though I was blissfully happy for the first six months we were together.”

Rick never cheated on me as far as I know, but he was a lazy, deceitful asshole who left me with no savings, ruined credit, and the resolve to never live with a man again.

“You’re well rid of that jerk,” Esther says, tsking her tongue as she always does when I bring up Rick. “But most of us make relationship mistakes when we’re young. It doesn’t mean that you can’t find a good one.”

“I know. But honestly, I’m not looking. I’ve never been one of those girls who always needs a guy to feel good about herself. And this is the worst possible time for me to get into a relationship. I’ll be moving for grad school as soon as I save up enough money. So it doesn’t really matter how young and handsome the guy this morning happens to be.”

Esther perks up. “So heishandsome?”

I can’t help but laugh as Savannah gives her mother a playful swat.

Then she asks, “Seriously, who was it? A dog didn’t bite him or anything, right?”

“Oh my goodness, no. Oscar just jumped up on him with muddy paws.” I feel my cheeks warming for absolutely no good reason. “It was Dan Mills.”

Savannah thinks for a minute, obviously trying to connect the name with a person. Dan is younger than her, so they wouldn’t have been friends in school. “Dan Mills. Is he the architect?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“He always hangs out with that coffee shop group. Paige Coney and Julianna and Carlton Hill. Carlton’s working for Lance now.”

“I thought Julianna’s last name was Archibald.” I frown, trying to mentally sort out the people I’ve encountered in the past several months. I’ve met a lot of them although I haven’t really made any friends.

“Oh, it is. She got married last year. I forgot about that. Anyway, Dan is always hanging out with them. He is good-looking. And he gives off that relaxed, laid-back vibe I’ve always liked. He didn’t get mad about the muddy paws?”

“No. He wasn’t mad at all. Which was really nice of him.”

“Yes, it was. So maybe you are interested?” Savannah gives me a skeptical look.

“No, I’m not. I mean...” I gulp. “He did give me a weird offer. But it’s so strange I’m not sure I should take it seriously.”

Esther and Savannah wait with obvious interest, and even Jim looks over from the table to see what I’m going to say. So I continue, “I guess his trust fund has a stipulation that he has to be married to get access to it before he turns thirty-five.”

“Oh my God,” Savannah breathes.

Esther covers her mouth with one hand, her eyes wide and round.

“So anyway.” I look at the floor and try not to squirm.

“He wants you to marry him?” Savannah asks.

“He did suggest that. He said he’d give me a hundred thousand dollars of his trust fund if I’ll marry him. We just need to pretend to be engaged for long enough to fool his trustee into thinking it’s real and then get married. As soon as he gets access to the trust, then we can get an annulment or a divorce or whatever.”

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