Page 29 of Four-ever Single

“I’m sure she had her reasons,” Lia offered, curling her feet beneath her. “She always did stuff that seemed weird at first, but then when she finally explained why she did, it always made sense.”

“True, but this is marriage, Lia. Not something silly like changing all of the clocks in the house by ten minutes every day before daylight savings so you’re more adjusted to the time change when it happens.”

“That was actually quite genius,” Lia admitted with a chuckle. “I wasn’t as late to things as I would have normally been.”

“Can we get back to the real problem here?” I whined, shifting under my blanket on the couch. It wasn’t cold, but I liked the weighted comfort of it around me.

“Is it really a problem though?” Her voice was softer, so I knew she was trying to keep me calm before I escalated into a full-blown panic attack, like earlier with Jones. “Just hear me out, okay?”

I nodded and pulled the blanket tighter.

“I know the marriage part freaks you out.”

“Who wouldn’t be?!”

She cocked an eyebrow and waited for me to calm down again before she continued.

“Marriage is a big deal, I get it. But Bella, you’re in a good position for this to be thrown in your lap right now. You’re dating—even if you didn’t want to admit it before now—one of the nicest guys in the world. Not only that, he adores you. Like, would do anything in the world to make you happy level of adoring you. On top of that, you’re having mind-blowing sex with him, so you know, you’ve got the chemistry, too. These are all things that make a good marriage, and you already have them. I know you’re scared of the commitment side of this, and I get it. I really do. But if you have to do this, Jones is the perfect guy to do it with. And I don’t want to freak you out more than you are already, but I seriously think you guys could be destined for marriage if it wasn’t already being thrown at you as a requirement of the trust.”

I worried my lip between my teeth. She was right. Jones was one of the nicest people I’d ever met, and he was so selfless around me. And the sex was really great.

“But it’s marriage, Lia. Legally being bound to the other person. I’ve never even been in a long-term relationship, and now I’m expected to just jump into a marriage. Who knows if I’ll even make a good wife.”

“You’re going to be fine. But if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.”

“But I do. Because if I don’t do it, then my twerp of a cousin can petition it in court, and knowing him, he’ll likely win.”

“That’s true, too.” She nodded.

“I never wanted anything from my grandparents. I just loved that they spent time with me and gave me unconditional love. They didn’t hound me about dieting after I got my first modeling gig, like my parents. They weren’t concerned with using my looks to make them money. They just loved me—wholeheartedly and without expectations. They were better parents than my real parents ever were. I have my memories of them, and for me, that’s enough. But it’s the thought of Todd swooping in and thinking he can have something he doesn’t deserve. He wasn’t around when I was young unless he wanted something. They warned me about him as soon as I was old enough to understand. I hadn’t seen him in at least ten years until my grandfather passed and he came looking for money. I don’t want to get married right now, Lia, but even more—I don’t want Todd to get a single thing of theirs. I want my grandparents to rest in peace knowing that their legacy will live on with the only person who truly loved them.”

“So... does this mean...?”

“It means I’m getting married, and you and Kensy are both going to be my maids of honor.”

She arched an eyebrow but dropped it when I grabbed a throw pillow and hit her with it.

“Stop it. If I have to get married, then you have to share being the maid of honor with Kensy. I love you both equally and refuse to pick one over the other.”

“Fine, but I’m planning your bachelorette party.” She jutted her chin up and looked at me through narrowed eyes.

“No—we’re not having a bachelorette—”

“Shh. That’s enough out of you. I will not have you ruin my fun planning a bachelorette party.”

“You can plan Kensy’s,” I offered.

“She’s not getting married for a while. You, on the other hand, are getting married in less than three weeks. Which means you guys need to pick a date, and I’ll talk to Kensy about having your party on my next night off.”

“So, like a Wednesday night thing?” I teased. “Or maybe we do Taco Tuesday and let Kensy get crazy with the guacamole?”

“Don’t even joke about that,” she warned. “You do NOT want to know what she’s done with guacamole.”

I shivered and shook my head.

“You’re right. I don’t. But really, you don’t have to throw me a party. It’s a fake marriage. We don’t have to get all crazy about it. Jones and I will pick a date, go down to the courtho—”

“Bella,” she said sternly, closing her eyes and pinching her nose between her fingers. “If you refer to this as a fake marriage again, I’m going to divorce you. You heard your grandmother’s attorney—this needs to be as real as can be. People have to believe that you two are so in love that you decided to get married.”

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