Page 60 of Inevitable Inheritance

“And I need to know what you and Mr. Fletcher have decided on as your permanent residence?”

And that was when Taylor realized coffee was a poor choice to busy yourself with, for when you choke on it, it burns your lungs as well as your nasal passages when it is expelled.

“Holy cow, Taylor. Are you okay?” Marty asked as she patted her back gingerly, trying not to smudge her hot-pink nails. “Is that still hot?”

“Sorry,” Taylor croaked, trying to regain her composure as she coughed. “Wrong pipe,” she offered as explanation. “Uh, I’m sorry Henry. What did you ask?” she said, trying to buy herself even seconds more to wrap her head around the question.

“Your permanent residence—” Henry asked calmly, “where will it be?”

“Uhhhh,” Taylor snapped her mouth shut when she realized she was not saying anything intelligible.

“I figured you guys were going back to his penthouse,” Marty chimed in. “I mean he bought it for you, didn’t he?”

“Bought it for me?” Taylor asked, perplexed. “No,” she answered shaking her head, “he—”

“Yes he did,” Marty interrupted. “When he bought it he said it was his ‘settle-down place,’” she told Taylor, complete with air quotes. “That was like, I don’t know, eight months ago, and now you show up with a ring. Ergo, he bought it for you! Surprise!”

“No, I think he meant—”

“There you are.” Derrick’s voice cut across the patio, sending everyone turning in his direction, but his eyes were trained on Taylor, and his face was covered in a smile.

“Hey, did you buy your place for Taylor?” Marty shouted.

Derrick’s pace slowed a little, and he looked a little wary. “Why? What’s up?”

“Hunky Henry here wants to know where you guys will be shacking up so he can hot-wire it to keep you guys safe,” Marty rattled on in explanation.

Henry blushed at his new nickname.

“Can you make it safe?” Derrick asked, turning his attention to Hunky Henry.

Henry was silent for a few seconds. “I will need to look into it further. It was definitely a safety issue getting you two out of there from what I understand, but it is a possibility. The building is set up for those who attract press attention.”

“I know,” Derrick said flatly to Henry and then turned his focus to Taylor. “Is that where you want to be, Tay?”

“Uhhhhhhhh.” again Taylor couldn’t process any of this. She looked at Derrick and widened her eyes to try and signal to him she really was not sure what the hell to say.

“The penthouse is where we want to be if it can be made safe enough,” Derrick said to Henry, keeping his eyes on Taylor as he answered. He broke their eye contact and looked at Henry. “If you think there is any concern then we will work on Plan B and stay here until that works. But let’s move forward with trying to get the penthouse ready for us.”

“Will do,” Henry said with a nod.

“Thank you, Henry,” Taylor said as he made his way out.

When Henry was no longer in the room, Marty cocked her head back to Taylor. “How come you were so hesitant to live in the penthouse?” she asked.

“I just—”

“Because the last time she was there and thought she was safe, she was driven out by herds of paparazzi,” Derrick snapped at his sister, saving Taylor from coming up with something, anything to say.

“Oh, right,” Marty said, nodding her head and seeming to remember the events of a few days ago. “Sorry, Taylor, if I hadn’t posted—”

“No, no, Marty, it’s okay.” The last thing she wanted was for Marty to feel responsible for the media circus that had surrounded her.

“It’s not okay. Stop posting shit!” Derrick yelled.

“Derrick, stop,” Taylor said. “Maybe we should just stay here until we figure—”

“No way! I swear I won’t put anything else out there!” Marty assured them. “Don’t stay here. You guys should be on your own, getting everything ready for the wedding, living your lives! There are too many distractions here.”

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