Page 20 of Sweet Deal
Eyes darted back and forth. Carson looked at Garret, Garret looked at Preston, Jillian looked to Jim and eventually, all eyes landed on Rachel.
“Why is everyone looking at me?”
Carson hefted a shoulder. “It’s tempting, but you’re not on board?”
She shook her head, her gaze drifting toward him. “Best way I know to kill a friendship is to borrow money.”
“Don’t you plan to pay it back?” he teased, or at least hoped that’s how it sounded to his audience.
“Of course we do.” Her voice rose an octave with indignation.
“See?” He flashed a smile and faced the others. “Then what’s the problem?”
Rachel collapsed again in the chair. “Besides it’s just a temporary fix, like shoving chewing gum into the hole in the dike. It just feels wrong.”
“She’s right,” Jillian chimed in. “We can’t take advantage of your friendship.”
“Why not?” Preston stared at his sister. “We let Sarah marry me. No one was worried about a family friendship then.”
Jillian’s head snapped over to her sister and Rachel leveled her gaze with her sister’s for a long moment before finally shaking her head with a shrug.
“Excuse me.” Jim cleared his throat. “I wasn’t finished.”
All eyes turned to him, and he took a deep breath.
He might very well have lost his mind, but here went nothing. “What if I step in and play happily ever after the same way the rest of you have?”
Chapter Nine
Jim’s words hung in the air, almost visible in their impact. Not what anyone had expected, her siblings remained silent, everyone processing the implications of the man’s announcement. Preston’s mouth opened and closed once then twice before he wordlessly dropped back into their father’s chair.
“Could you please clarify what you mean?” Jillian finally broke the stunned quiet.
“Marry Rachel.” Jim’s voice didn’t waver. “For the trust. Just like the others did.”
Except only one marriage was for the trust, by the time the other two married, it had been for love. “You can’t do that. You’re going back to California.”
Carson glanced at Garret, who in turn looked at Preston. The three brothers seemed to be having some silent conversation that excluded everyone else in the room.
“That’s not a given. Besides, lots of people have commuter relationships.” Jim inched closer to where Rachel sat.
“Halfway across the country?” She shook her head. “Who would believe that?”
“Lots of people.” Jillian quickly clamped her mouth shut and heaved an apologetic shrug at Rachel’s pointed glare. “Sorry, just saying, actors do it all the time. Live on one coast and commute to the other.”
“We’re not actors,” she snapped back.
Preston tipped his head to one side and shrugged. “So does Corporate America. One partner works overseas and the other stays home and gets the kids to school on time.”
“There are no kids.” Again, Rachel responded quickly. Her mind scrambling. Were all her siblings in agreement with Jim? Didn’t they see the problems a fake marriage with this guy, a man who could too easily work his way back into her heart, would pose?
“Why are you so opposed?” His gaze narrowed, his focus entirely on her. “Your brothers all did it. Sarah, Jackie, Jessica—they all agreed to help. Why am I any different?”
How could she possibly answer that when she couldn’t even think straight?
Carson cleared his throat. “So, you’re proposing commuting to California?”
“I have partners who are perfectly capable of running things. Remote work is a thing these days. I can make it work.” Jim shrugged as if relocating his entire life was no more complicated than deciding what to have for dinner.
