Page 8 of Keeping My Wife
“Already there, honey.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Don’t call me honey.”
His lips twitched. “All right, Maxine.”
I rolled my eyes at the full name. No one called me that anymore. Not to mention living in the south for the last seven years had cured me of pet names. Add in the patronizing men at the ad agency I’d worked at since I’d graduated, and it was enough to make me snarl. I’d dealt with the good old boys’ club in a corporate setting and now I came home only to find out my grandmother wasn’t much better.
“Okay, this is going to sound mercenary, but I’m out of options. This is a win-win situation for the both of us.”
He arched one brow.
“So, my grandmother has a clause in her will. An archaic and absolutely ridiculous clause, but it’s there nonetheless.”
He frowned. “What kind of clause?”
“It’s preposterous since she’d been a widow for the last twenty years. Who is she to put this on me?”
“Maxine, honey—sorry. I don’t know why I keep saying that,” he muttered. “You aren’t making much sense.”
“Sorry, sorry.” I flicked my hair out of my face. “To inherit the trust that goes with this house I have to be married. Well, me or my mother.With my mother’s track record with men, she’ll end up with a con artist who will swindle all of the money.”
“And I wouldn’t?” The half smirk on his face made something twist inside of me.
Something very inconvenient.
“No. The Murdock family has more character than that. Angus, nor your dad would allow you to get away with that. Besides, this will include an ironclad contract. I need you in name only. One year and you get your pick of antique furniture in this house.”
“And you get?”
I pressed my lips together.
Maybe this impulsive idea was stupid. I didn’t want to give him the number, but I wasn’t a liar. I’d dealt with that too much in my life. I huffed out a breath. “Five million dollars.”
He whistled. “That’s quite the number.”
“It is, but it’s going to take half of it to fix up this house. I didn’t realize just how bad it had gotten since I’ve been gone.”
“It’s not hopeless.” He shifted so both of those big, distracting hands were gripping the counter. “I’ve been walking around for the last few hours.”
“You haven’t seen upstairs.”
He pushed off the counter and moved into my space. “I have a counteroffer.”
In my heels, I was just a few inches shorter than Cam. And my heart rate kicked up a notch as that sweetness drifted over to me again.
His gaze dropped to my mouth for a moment before they burned into mine. “You give the Murdock Brothers first bid on the renovations,andI get the furniture.”
“Just the bid?”
He nodded. “It’s a big job, but my brothers and I are good at what we do. And whatever we don’t know how to do, we can find specialists who do. If you don’t like what we come up with I’ll just take the pieces in my notebook.”
“That’s all you want?”
“Monetarily.” He slid past me, making sure his chest brushed against my arm as he opened the door.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
I chased him out of the pantry. “Where are you going?”
