Chapter Four

––––––––

Haley

––––––––

Great.

When my grandmother said they are distinguished and mature, I immediately thought they were older—not in their early thirties.They’re barely seven years older than I am.So I was thrown off a bit when I asked to see their dads, but I’m back on track now.There is no way I can be married to these three men.I am not crazy.

Maybe I didn’t make myself clear enough about the sneaky clause in the contract, so I repeat everything I said word for word and get the same freaking response from them.

“No.”

“Okay, just to be clear, you do know you’ll be marrying me, right?”

“We’re very well aware of who the bride in question is,” gray-eyed Dean Edwards says.His tone is placating, with a hint of roughness that makes my skin feel hot.

“Why on earth would you want to marry me?”I cry, more astonished than I’ve ever been in my life.I can’t believe my grandma chosethem.They’re just too...well, never mind.“What will you get out of it?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Dean replies.

“So you’re doing this for no reason at all?You get no benefit from it?”

“None.”

“And you still want to do it?Are you nuts?First, I’m a night owl, so good luck getting any sleep because if I’m awake, then you’re awake with me.Second, if you think I’m a good catch,” I say, using air quotes forgood catch, “you’re so wrong.I’m the absolute worst.I don’t cook.I don’t clean.I can’t even supervise either of those things.I’m a demon on my period.I eat pineapple on my pizza.I believe in conspiracy theories.I’m superstitious as heck.I don’t walk under ladders, I’m petrified of breaking a mirror, and I knock on wood.

“Basically, if you think you’re going to get the perfect hostess, a born social butterfly, you’re not.I’m as cranky as my dog, and it’s a wonder we don’t bite humans yet.”

“You sound terrible,” Wesley Manning says.Yes, I now know the man with the dark brown eyes is Wesley Manning.He is not good for my nerves at all.

“Right?Like I said, I’m the worst.You don’t want to be around me, trust me.”I reach for a gold pen on the table and hold it out to them.“Sign this and you’ll never have to see me again.”

“The answer is still no.Or yes, depending on how you look at it.Yes, we’ll still be marrying you,” Camden Nash adds, his green gaze brimming with laughter.

“Oh, you think this is a joke?I am not being funny.This is real.Please sign this so I can be on my way.”

“We know this is real, Ms.Jensen.That’s why we’re still going ahead with the marriage.We plan to honor our family’s commitment to yours.”

“But you don’t have to.”

“We insist.”

“But why?You could have any woman in the world.A celebrity, a princess, a model, an heiress whose family is not facing complete bankruptcy.In case no one told you, you three are crazy good-looking.Some women would give anything to be on your arm wearing your ring.”

“But not you?”

“Exactly, now you’re getting it.We’re completely incompatible.It’ll be a disaster.According to the contract, we have to be married for three months before my trust fund is released.That’s ninety days of sheer inconvenience.Let’s do something nice for each other and spare ourselves a lot of trouble and frustration.Again, everyone wins.”

“No.We prefer for the marriage to go ahead as planned.”