Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 119548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
“Which is?”
My secret weapon.
The Dowager Countess of Coventry, Margaret Wellington. She was a strict, aristocratic woman who was a stickler for propriety, and that was exactly why she’d thrown up every obstacle to Fred’s previous relationship with his ex-fiancée.
She’d seen Charlotte for what she was almost immediately. Even after they’d been together for years, she refused to allow Fred to propose with one of the family heirloom rings.
There was no way she’d consent to a fake marriage, even if she treated me as her own granddaughter. Some things were too much, no matter how close our relationship was.
“Your grandmother would never allow it.”
He opened his mouth to argue with me, then stopped. “Perhaps.”
Perhaps? What did he mean, perhaps?
“What would I never allow?”
4
* * *
FRED
My grandmother’s timing was impeccable, as always.
Deli glared at me with her brown eyes before swinging her attention towards Granny, visibly softening. “Hi, Granny.”
“Hello, dear,” Granny said, sweeping into my office. “I didn’t know you were visiting today.”
“It was an impromptu visit,” Deli replied, fidgeting with her ponytail. “Someone didn’t tell me he was home.”
“Fred, you really should be more considerate.” Granny turned her sharp gaze on me. “A quick text wouldn’t hurt, would it?”
“I wasn’t aware I was required to do it. She’s not my wife, is she?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
“She’s as good as.” Granny sat on the sofa opposite us. “What are you kids talking about?”
Deli shifted uncomfortably, putting another few inches of distance between us. “Nana. Dr Anthony told her it’s terminal, and she doesn’t want further treatment.”
Granny pressed her lips together in a sad smile. “She called me. I’m sorry, Delilah, dear. She told me you took it quite hard. How are you feeling now?”
“I’m over the shock,” Deli replied vaguely. “I was just talking a few things out with Fred.”
“Oh? I thought you might be doing that with your secret boyfriend. Unless…” Granny looked between us questioningly.
See?
I’d told Deli nobody would be surprised.
Sure, marrying each other was a bit dramatic, but I loved Nana as if she were my own grandmother. If her last wish truly was to know that Deli would be taken care of, I would sacrifice a year or two of my life to make that dream come true.
Deli was my best friend. If she had to be in a pretend marriage with anyone, I was her best choice. It wasn’t as if I expected anything from her, and I’d been honest when I’d said she could live in one of the annexed apartments.
Our marriage would be on paper only.
I understood her apprehension, though. I hadn’t even been sure of what I was saying until the words had escaped my lips, and I’d felt a moment of sincere regret when she’d looked at me like I’d magically grown another two heads.
Her point about Matt and Eva was well made, but the situations here were entirely different. They’d agreed to a contract marriage because Matthew had wanted an heir, and that required them to be intimate—plus they’d already been sleeping together before Matt had even proposed the idea to her.
The idea of getting an annulment meant that me and Deli would be the furthest thing from intimate.
“No, no.” Deli held her hands up, shaking her head. “Granny, we’re not dating.”
“Oh.” Granny’s expression dropped. “I thought you’d make my day and finally admit to it.”
“There’s nothing to admit to,” I said, stretching my arms out in front of me and linking my fingers to crack my knuckles. “But you did just prove an earlier point of mine, so thank you.”
Deli threw a half-hearted punch at my ribs. “Shut up.”
“What point?” Granny asked, eyeing us both.
“That absolutely nobody would be surprised if we suddenly announced we were in a relationship,” I explained.
“Oh, that.” Granny paused, then nodded. “I can’t think of a single person who would be, except perhaps the pair of you.”
Deli buried her face in her hands. “Please stop.”
“You really should think about it,” I said, prodding her thigh. “Or is the idea that repulsive?”
“What idea?” Granny asked, looking between us again. “And why were you discussing me when I walked in here?”
I stared at the side of Deli’s head. “Which one of us is telling her?”
“Telling me what?”
Deli screwed up her nose. “It’s never going to happen, Fred.”
“What isn’t?”
“You never know,” I replied.
“For the love of God, tell me what you’re talking about!” Granny slapped her hand against the coffee table. “Frederick!”
Deli leant over and clapped her hand over my mouth before I could speak, and I flicked my tongue against her palm in protest.
“Eww!” She snatched her hand away and rubbed it on my arm. “Did you just lick my hand? Why would you do that?”
“To make you move your hand.” I grinned.
Granny sat back on the sofa and threw her arm over her eyes dramatically. “You two will never grow up.”