Page 19 of Long Hard Ride
Jenny’s eyes grow wide. She turns to Shane and then me, not saying anything, like she’s trying to wrap her around the concept.
“Trust me.No onewas invited to our wedding.” I point to the living room. “We exchanged vows right there. No pomp and circumstance. Just the pastor, Gramps, and Ethel, the nurse. My mom wasn’t even there.”
“Holy shit.” Jenny lifts her empty glass. “Do you have anything alcoholic?”
“Sure.” I hurry to the fridge and bring back a beer.
“Thanks.” Jenny immediately fills her glass to the rim. “Wow. A hundred grand. That’s a lot of money, and all that land, Shane. This is going to change your life.”
“It is, and it will.” He nods. “But I didn’t do this for the money.”
“I know Mr. Carlisle meant a lot to you, but an arranged marriage? We back in the eighteen hundreds now?”
“Chuck had his reasons, and Brooke and I agreed. Either one of us could’ve walked away,” Shane says, reaching for the relish. “You didn’t know Chuck very well. He could be very persuasive—let’s put it that way. Anyway, now that you know, I’d prefer it if you kept this information to yourself.”
“Not even tell Chase or Ryder? I don’t know if I can keep this from them.” Jenny catches my eye, silently asking if I’m on board.
I nod. “Yeah, it’s best not to tell anyone. We don’t need everybody in town talking about us and starting rumors.”
“If anyone will tell Ryder and Chase, it will be me,” Shane says. “But I doubt it. And I’ll ask Pastor Michael to stop yapping. I don’t need him getting the whole congregation riled up.”
“And this has to be a secret because...”
“Because we’re going to get a divorce in four months and two days.”
I give Shane a double take. Well, that bugs me. Is he really counting down to the day?
Jenny kicks back in her chair and eyes Shane. “So, you’re living together? You’re here full time?”
Shane nods.
“As man and wife?” She quirks her brow and sips her beer.
Well, shit, if that question doesn’t make my cheeks get hot as I flash back to what we did on the couch this morning. I’m probably the color of the ketchup bottle. I hold my breath, waiting for Shane to answer. I’m not touching that question with a ten-foot pole.
Shane shifts his focus on me, as if he’s thinking about a million ways to answer the simple question. “Yes. I guess you could say that, in a way, we’re living as a married couple.”
Jenny shakes her head. “Well, you guys are awfully good at faking it. You look pretty content to me. As a matter of fact, if I didn’t know better, I would swear you two were in love.”
