Page 28 of My Orc Contract Husband
It was impossible to imagine down-to-earth, easygoing Tarkhan thinking that. “I don’twanthalf my father’s company.”
“Right, and we’ll burn that bridge when we get there. But for now, just in terms of protection, you’re going to need a contract. The lawyer in town is Mated to an orc, yeah?”
“Harper O’Donnell.” Real estate wasn’t Harper’s forte, but we’d worked together often enough. “She’s good.”
“Okay, so have her write up a contract, and include an exit strategy.”
I frowned. “An exit strategy to a marriage?”
“Sure.” She twisted her torso by pulling on her arm, stretching farther than I thought possible. “You don’t want to be married to this guy forever, do you? Just long enough to get Montgomery off your back.”
Forever.
I’d frozen at the words.
DidI want to be married to Tarkhan forever?
No, right? I mean, I wasn’t some foolish romantic; I knew a good percentage of marriages failed, a ring didn’t necessarily meanforever. But the idea of entering into a marriage with Tarkhanexpectingit to end felt…wrong.
Or maybe it was just Tarkhan.
Riven hadn’t noticed my hesitation. “So you make the contract for a year and a day or something. Long enough to deal with Montgomery and your father’s company, but not forever. You could handle being married for a year, right?”
“Right,” I whispered, still stuck on the idea of going into a marriage with a divorce planned.
“The two of you are going to need to have a conversation about expectations.” Riven pointed to her chest, where BAGGACOTD reminded the world about my naughty side. “Does he know about this?”
Did Iwanthim to know? My cheeks had to be bright red. “This is supposed to be a business arrangement. And I don’t think we have a lot of time to make the decision,” I rushed to change the subject. “Montgomery sent thecourier on Monday, and I just found out about his threat today.”
My cousin frowned. “Good point. Think you could arrange a wedding by this weekend?”
I would reschedule my showings if necessary. “Your mom cannotknow about this, okay? As far as she’s going to be aware, this is just a whirlwind romance, and in a year we tell her it didn’t work out.”
Riven rolled to her feet. “I don’t think she’s going to believe us—no one gets married in three days, especially not after the news you received this week. But I don’t think she’ll argue with you.”
Really? “Why not?” I slowly stood, to match her.
“Because she thinks like you.” Riven smiled and held out her arms. “Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. I demand the role of maid of honor. Or bridesmaid. Flower girl, at least.”
“Deal,” I whispered, moving into the hug.
Knowing I had her support meant a lot. More importantly, she’d helped me talk through my real feelings and make a decision.
I trusted Tarkhan, not just to keep me safe from Pierce, but not to do anything that made me uncomfortable. Maybe it was silly to trust him when I still had questions about his background…but that didn’t change the fact I did.
Things were moving fast, yeah, but they were therightthings.
Tomorrow, bright and early, I’d contact Harper and ask her to draw up a contract. And then I’d send it to Tarkhan, make sure he was on board, and start planning the world’s fastest wedding.
I was going to marry Tarkhan, and the peace I felt at that decision told me it was the right one.
I hope.
Chapter Seven
Tarkhan
I wincedwhen Abydos’s text came through.
