Page 17 of Baron in Check
“I know,” Greg said. “But he died two weeks ago and now his cousin from the mother’s side wants to marry Hermy to get the title. He’s the only one left in the direct line of the Royal Earldom.”
“So she could pass it on to her husband and then her son, if the abeyance were resolved?”
“It’s all in the will, every step outlined. A windfall to make the will seem valid despite its many unjust conditions for how she may live her life.”
“So you want to find a loophole?” Fave arched a brow.
“I have.” Greg crossed his arms. If he could make Fave and Arnold believe in his plan, it would be viable.
“Why should it be you then?” Arnold asked. He had a practical engineering mind and thought everything had a function or a purpose. Sometimes his pragmatism was annoying. Sometimes, it saved lives.
“Because Hermy’s cousin is a nasty prick.”
“And you love her, always have, always will,” Fave said.
“N-o-o”—Greg drew out the word—“because I’m her legal guardian and I want the best for her.”
“Because you love her,” Fave repeated. “And you’d like to protect her as her husband, not guardian.”
True, but that’s not all.
“You owe her that much,” Arnold said.
Drat, he hadn’t forgotten what Greg had done either. Well, it had been rather memorable.
“That, too,” Greg admitted. There were no secrets between him and his best friends, they knew he’d compromised Hermyover and over when they were sixteen. And then seventeen. And then eighteen. His dry spell over the past few years had been sheer heartbreak.
Fave shook his head. “This is a bad idea. You love her.”
“I grew up, Fave.” Greg couldn’t deny it, Fave would see right through him. “I won’t force her to consummate.”
“You’ll want to,” Fave and Arnold said in unison.
Greg flattened his lips and gave them man-to-man stares. “Says the man who risked his entire family’s fortune and business to marry his wife and the one who kissed the Rabbi’s daughterin the synagogue.”
Arnold cocked his head and stepped in front of Fave. “Does she know about this?”
“Of course, she’s at my house right now, fitting for a gown?—
“She’s here? In London?” Arnold asked. Apparently, Rachel had told Eve but not him.
Why he’d come to his best friends for their blessing only to receive a lecture in propriety, Greg didn’t remember. Perhaps he just needed witnesses for the ceremony.
No, that wasn’t it.
He needed a few guests so the wedding wouldn’t seem so fake.
No, not it either.
His heart soared, and he bubbled with excitement that he didn’t want Hermy to see.
Yes, that was the reason.
“Can’t you just be happy and congratulate me? How often do you get a second chance at love?” Greg gave Fave a friendly boxing in the arm. “I need an engagement ring and bands, by the way.”
“You also need to think about this move, Greg,” Arnold said.
“Like you did when you kissed the rabbi’s bride and had her move in with you the next day?”
