Page 94 of Marry Me, Right Now

George raised an eyebrow. “You must realize that not everyone believed it.”

“You think I’d fake such a thing? How dare you.”

“C’mon man, think about it. You figured out the clause about the house–”

“Which you hid from me.” I realized that I was glaring so hard I was almost trying to murder him with my eyes.

“Whatever. Then you show up out of nowhere with some little...”

“Some. Little. What?” My jaw was clenched so tightly I could barely form words. My feet were lurching toward him, and I was fighting the urge to grab him by the throat and squeeze. That snotty spoiled piece of shit had gone way too far this time.

“Jacob?” The terrified tiny voice behind me snapped me out of my rage.

“It was George, sweetheart.”

“I’m so sorry, Mia,” he said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt–”

“Some little what?” she asked, her eyes already sparkling with tears. She was wrapped in a blanket, trembling. “A little nobody? Somebody who has to work for a living? Someone who is beneath you all? Why not just tell the truth and call me trash to my face?”

Her huge eyes looked like something inside her had shattered, which caused me to absolutely snap. “Give me the key, now,” I growled at George.

He took it from his keyring, setting it on the hallway table. “Calm down. It was just a misunderstanding.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be sure to understand this,” I said as I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, marched him to the door and opened it. “You will never, ever cross this threshold again,” I growled in his ear, bashing his shoulder hard against the door frame before throwing him into the hallway. “Security will never let you in this building again. Get the fuck out of my life.”

I needed to slam the door behind him, but couldn’t risk scaring Mia any more. I closed it softly and locked it, then ran to her, scooping her into my arms. “Baby, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Is that how your family thinks of me?”

Picking her up, I carried her to the bedroom. I laid her down still wrapped up like a cute burrito, the dark blanket making her look so delicately pale. She was so upset and angry that she was still trembling.

I sat up, holding her in my arms. “I will never care about my mother or George’s opinions again. The rest of the family can either accept you precisely the way you are, or go to hell. I don’t care anymore. You’re the most important person in this world to me.”

M I A

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FAKE BUT REAL

I was shaking like a leaf and didn’t know what to do. I knew full well that I didn’t belong in Jacob’s world, except as his extremely fake wife to earn him money. Or to prevent his brother from getting that house. But it should never have gone this far, and I should never have let myself develop real feelings for him.

“Mia,” Jacob whispered, rocking me gently. “I’m so sorry. I’ll change the locks first thing so that nobody but us and Carol have keys. I’ll speak with security and George and my mother will never be in this building again.”

I began crying softly, furious that I couldn’t stop. “I know that on some level I’m not good enough for you, and you’ll likely be glad to have me out of your life.”

Jacob looked stunned, but I couldn’t stop babbling.

“He’s right,” I said sadly. “Everyone likely knows that we could never really be together. I can just imagine what they’ve been saying about us. That you’re slumming with a piece of trash to rebel against your family, or having a pre-thirties crisis, and that I’m just a broke little gold digger who got lucky.”

His eyes tightened with anger. “If you ever say something like that again, I will be severely pissed off.”

“You know it’s the truth.” My face dropped as my whole body needed to curl into a ball.

His hand grabbed my chin and turned my face up to his. It was the only time he’d ever been the tiniest bit rough with me outside of sex, and I could see that he was as shocked as I was. “I cannot stand that those words touched your lips. Mia, I swear I will wash your mouth out with soap if you say something like that again.”

A few tears fell onto my cheeks, and his fingers gently wiped them away. “I thought it was brutally obvious,” he said quickly, “But I’ve loved you from the moment you agreed to come to a strange man’s home for dinner. From the moment you solved the problem of making sense of the rushed date to our wedding. From the moment you showed me that you’re my go-to gal, who always figures out a way.”

He took a deep breath, intensely meeting my gaze. “Mia, I choose you over my family. I don’t want to live for them, or anyone else anymore. Just you. If yo

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