Page 17 of Impending Consent

“Yep.”

“And if I make you a solid offer to annul this and walk away now, you won’t accept it.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want her money or yours. I want Sailor as my wife.”

“I don’t trust you or your intentions but I also have to admit a part of me feels you truly are invested in my sister and not her money. This is her mess to fix so I’m going to stand down and let her deal with things. Please understand, if at any time I feel this union is harmful to my sister or you are not being honest, I will step in. Our father can make this go away without your consent. You would have to empty your bank accounts to fight us. It would crush my sister to deal with his scrutiny, and she would likely hate me for bringing him into this, but I can live with Sailor being angry if it means removing her from a situation harmful to her well-being. For now, you two figure this out, but please understand I don’t fucking play about my sister.”

“And neither will I. So it seems we at least agree that Sailor will be the priority.”

He grunted his displeasure and moved back inside the apartment, leaving me to stay or follow because he didn’t say another word. I came inside and closed the door behind me.

“Sail…” TJ called out and she hurried out of the room and down the hall like she was already waiting. “I’m leaving. I’ll see you at the office. You two need to talk.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes, I am. There are two options, you two work this out or you let Dad know you recklessly married a man only for the benefit of sleeping with him. Also if you refuse the terms of the agreement you signed, he gets half of everything you own. I’m sure working this out between the two of you feels like the better option.”

Her mouth dropped open then slammed shut before her eyes darted over to me like deadly laser beams. A few minutes later the door clicked and we were alone.

“Now are you ready to talk?”

“No, I have work to do. You’re threatening to take half of what I own so I need to ensure my clients are taken care of so they pay their bills and I’m not left destitute.”

She angled her head to the side and I smirked. “Then dinner tonight. We’ll try this again. Be at my house by seven and we can talk this out. If you’re not there I’ll reach out to your father to express my concerns with our union…”

“You would not?”

I wouldn’t, but at this point, I was running out of options. My wife was a very stubborn woman.

“Try me. My place at seven, Sailor.”

“I hate you.”

“You’ll get over it.”

“Doubtful.” She stormed off while tossing over her shoulder, “Lock my door on your way out. I don’t think I can handle any more unwanted guests this morning.”

Seconds later, the bedroom door slammed and I considered this a victory. A very small one but still a victory.

Chapter 5

Sailor.

I managed to avoid my siblings for most of the day but in all honesty I had a feeling they were avoiding me. At least TJ was. I stayed in my office, reviewed and drafted contracts I should have sent to my legal assistant. I also had consultations with two potential new clients. All of which kept me busy until just after five when Skylar slipped into my office and gently closed the door. She settled into a seat in front of my desk and stared for a long moment. When I didn’t speak, she did.

“Are we going to discuss this marriage thing?”

“No.” My eyes darted past my sister to the door before I added, “And TJ needs to mind his business.”

“We’re family, Sail. Whatever issues you have land on our shoulders as well. That’s how this works, and for the record, he didn’t exactly walk in here offering up the details. He was in his office talking through his stress. When I kept pushing, he handed over the details. We more or less swapped information from what little we both knew then he told me to leave it alone because this was your shit show and you had to figure it out.”

My stomach sank. My brother was angry, or worse, disappointed. He and Skylar made peace with my reckless ways.I was very open with my sexuality and never embarrassed about how I lived my life because why should I be? Men moved the way I moved all the time and it was celebrated. Sex, however, wasn’t the issue. In the past, my actions never directly affected them. This did. I was married to a man who, if I refused to comply with the terms of our agreement, could challenge me in court for money and assets attached to my siblings.

“He’s right and I’ll figure it out.”

“I can help, Sail. This isn’t just about you. Your decisions affect all of us.”

“He won’t touch the practice. If someone has to lose, it will be me. Not you and Teej.”

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