Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
At the note of genuine concern in his voice, I shrugged my shoulders back and took a deep breath and slow exhale.
Jared straightened as he watched me, his gaze unreadable.
“I have a proposal to make to you. About the farm.”
Something about my words put him visibly on the defense. Jared crossed his arms over his broad chest and widened his stance. “What do you want with the farm?”
Prickly, prickly. So far this was not going well and I’d barely said a word. The tractor growled in the distance, distracting me. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”
He gestured around us impatiently. “This is as private as it gets.”
“Right.” I licked my lips nervously, and Jared’s gaze dipped to my mouth.
His expression tightened, a muscle in his jaw flexing as he looked away.
What happened at the airport with Immigration abruptly spilled out of me. Jared studied me with that same unreadable expression as I told him about my fight with Aria too. “So you see, when I leave Scotland, they’re not going to let me back in. For who knows how long.” I shrugged helplessly, hating that I was here, putting my fate in the hands of a mere acquaintance, being vulnerable with him, but doing it, anyway. “This is my home now, Jared. I … if I’m forced back to the US … I was never happy there. I’m afraid what will happen to me if I go back there permanently. Anyway, I need time to figure out how to get a business visa. More time than I currently have. And you …” I gestured to him and then the surrounding land. “You need someone to invest in this place.”
Jared shook his head slowly. “Where are you going with this, Allegra?”
I ignored the thrill that coursed through my body at the sound of his voice wrapped around my name. “I came into my trust fund when I turned twenty-one. There is more than enough money to invest whatever you need into the farm. And …” I drew myself up, shrugging on a confidence I did not feel. “As my husband, I would grant you access to those funds.”
The words hung between us for what felt like forever. Then Jared blinked a few times and shook his head almost comically. “Wait a minute … Are you … What the fuck?”
My lips twitched with nervous amusement. “I am proposing a marriage of convenience. As your wife, I get to stay in Scotland. As my husband, you get the capital you need to turn the farm around. To turn your grandfather’s farm around. I know how important it is to you. And I know you want to do it yourself, but this is a solution, Jared. To both our problems.”
He turned away, scrubbing his palms down his face before blowing out a loud whoosh of air.
I fidgeted nervously behind him.
“I think you’ve seen too many of your dad’s movies,” he scoffed.
“My dad doesn’t make rom-coms.”
“You know what I mean.” He stared at me incredulously. “A marriage of convenience?”
“Y-yes.”
“What does that even look like?” he asked, then scowled. “Fuck! Why am I asking? Clearly this is insane.”
“No, it’s not.” I took a few steps toward him and he retreated like I might bite or something. Grimacing, I stopped moving. “Jared, this would solve our problems. I’m not suggesting a real marriage. Of course, it has to look like a real marriage or I think there are fraud implications—”
“You think? You do realize you are asking me to do something illegal?”
“No one else will know that, though. We’ll get married, I’ll move into the farmhouse, and for a while, we’ll make it look real but, obviously, we’ll just be roommates. I’m not suggesting anything sexy here.” Though I wouldn’t be opposed to it.
“Our friends and family will know the truth.”
“Yeah, but they won’t tell anyone.”
“Allegra,” Jared growled, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
I took heart in this overwrought response.
It meant he was contemplating it!
“Just marry me and stay married to me for eighteen months. No matter if I get my gallery up and running, I will grant you a divorce in eighteen months.”
He glowered for what felt like forever. Then, “And am I expected to remain a monk for eighteen months?”
A sharp stab of something I didn’t want to call rejection panged in my chest. “No. Men cheat.” I shrugged.
Jared’s nostrils flared. “So, I’m to look like the arsehole who married a wealthy Hollywooder to secure his farm and then cheated on her?”
“Well, I’m not going to be a nun, so they’ll think we’re both assholes. I think we can both agree to not have sex with other people for two months to sell the lie. Then whatever happens after that, happens.”
Something flickered in his eyes before he looked away. He watched Georgie move the tractor up the field before turning back to me. “How much money are we talking about here, Allegra?”