Chapter Fourteen

Jake

I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this. My palms were sweaty, and I felt hot around the collar of my shirt. I fought the urge to loosen my tie. I couldn’t. I had to maintain appearances. This was too important to screw up.

“Are you coming?” I asked when Avery picked up the phone, doing my best not to sound too impatient.

“I just pulled into the parking lot.”

“Did you wear a dress?” I asked, knowing it was a stupid detail, but this all had to look good.

She sighed. “Yes, I wore a dress.”

“I’m outside, on the steps. Hurry up.”

She grumbled before hanging up the phone. It wasn’t long before I saw her carefully climbing the steps to the courthouse in a pretty white dress. It was a summery beach-type dress that looked perfect on her figure. It was then I realized how pretty she was. I had always been too busy being pissed at her or guarding my shins to really notice how beautiful she was.

“I’m here,” she said, slightly out of breath from her climb up the courthouse steps.

“Good. Here, put this on,” I said, sliding a giant rock on her finger.

“What’s this?” she asked, pulling her hand away.

I shrugged. “I can’t have you going in there without an engagement ring. This has to look legit.”

She nodded. “I know. I got it. Let’s get this over with.”

Drew was standing near the front doors, smiling like an idiot.

I took a deep breath, knowing there was no way I was going to get around the introductions.

“Drew, Avery. Avery, this is Drew. He works for me and is here on business. He’ll be acting as our witness.”

Drew extended his hand before leaning in and kissing Avery on the cheek. “I’m also his only friend, but he doesn’t like to admit that.”

“I’m not surprised,” she said.

“Can we get through this without you insulting me or kicking me?” I said.

“Now who won’t let go of the past?” she snapped.

We managed to get through security and to the judge I had on standby. With Drew watching, I married Avery. She slid the silver band on my finger, and a short time later, we exchanged a chaste kiss. Even though our lips barely touched, I felt an electric shock tear through my body, and it had nothing to do with static electricity.

She pulled away, and when I opened my eyes, she was looking at me strangely. I reminded myself over and over that this was for Iris. I couldn’t let the ring on my finger freak me out, even though it felt like a ring of fire connected to the pits of hell. I’d worry about the consequences later. I would also think about my body’s primal response to the kiss later. That had been strange. Good, but strange.

“Let’s go get some lunch,” I suggested. “It will give us a chance to go over everything that needs to happen from here on out.”

“Good; I’m starving. The guy never feeds me,” Drew quipped.

Avery smiled. “I’m sorry. Now that I’m his ball and chain, I will do what I can to ensure he gets you on a feeding schedule.”

Drew laughed, and I felt a slight twinge of jealousy. I ignored that as well and ordered Avery to ride over with us in my car. She hesitated and tried to say she would meet us, but I refused to take no for an answer. I was kind of liking my husband power. I knew she only caved in because Drew asked her nicely, but the point was she was doing what I wanted.

The restaurant was upscale but not so fancy it was uncomfortable.

“How long have you known him?” Drew asked Avery, referring to me.

She rolled her eyes. “By him, are you referring to my dear, sweet husband?”

Drew laughed. “I am.”

She put her hand to her chin and looked at me. “I don’t know, ten, fifteen years. I mean, he was around when Tracy and I were little, but he was always too cool to hang out with us.”

“Wow. You are the last person on this earth to have known him when he was a kid. What was he like?” Drew asked.

“Hello? He’s right here. You’re talking about me as if I’m not,” I said.

“Exactly like that,” Avery replied. “Cranky. Always cranky and always so serious.”

“I was not,” I shot back.

“I believe you,” Drew said, laughing over my irritation.

I sat back and watched the two of them chat like they were old friends. Avery was a completely different woman with him. Once again, I felt jealous of the easy way they could talk. She wasn’t spitting fire at him or trying to kick him in the shins. She could say she wasn’t mad at me all she wanted, but it was obvious she was. It was the only reason I could think of for her instant dislike of me.

I smiled, thinking about who had really won the game between us. She could hate me all she wanted and tell me how much she disliked me, but it didn’t matter. We were married now. She was stuck with me until death did us part or I could divorce her.

“Why are you smiling?” Drew asked.

I kept smiling. “Oh, thinking about the future.”

Avery looked at me, and I could see that fire in her eyes. “The future?”

I nodded. “You’re stuck with me.”

“On paper, buddy. I don’t have to like you, and I only have to be nice to you when certain people are watching. Don’t get too cocky.”

Drew raised his eyebrow, clearly intrigued by the woman’s distaste for me. I knew it was shocking. I had never encountered such hostility from a woman before.

“So, you’re still mad at him?” Drew said in a low voice.

She looked at him, horrified. “He told you?”

Drew nodded. “He didn’t give me the details, but yes. I told him he was a jerk.”

She smiled. “Good. He was. He still is. I can’t believe I married him.”

“Him is sitting right here!” I reminded them both.

They both laughed, and I had to sit there and take it. I could read Avery like an open book. She was mad because she’d obviously had a crush on me back then. She had thought we were going to be together and have some happily-ever-after nonsense. That had been her own naivety. She couldn’t possibly hold me responsible for her thoughts and hopes.

In the end, she did end up marrying me. That should have given her some solace. Maybe it wasn’t the wedding of her dreams, and it certainly wasn’t going to be the happily ever after she was looking for, but she got me. And I would take care of her, which reminded me we had important matters to discuss.

“If you two are done with the Jake-bashing, can we discuss what happens next?”

“Like what?” Drew asked. “I don’t think she wants to take a honeymoon with you. It was hard enough to get her to share the same car to lunch.”

I shot him a look. He and Avery burst into laughter over my irritation.

“Good. Great. Are you two kids ready to play grown-up now? This may surprise you, but this whole thing was done for a reason. It isn’t a joke. Can we please get down to business?”

Avery nodded. “You’re right. What’s next? Do we call Janice and tell her we’re married and we want Iris?”

I shook my head. “We need to get a house. Remember, she wants Iris to have her own room, and it needs to look homey.

She nodded her head. “Okay. That could take some time.”

“No, it won’t. I’ll have something by the end of the day or first thing tomorrow.”

She scoffed in disgust. “Of course you will. Whatever Jake wants, Jake gets.”

“I’m not going to apologize for being determined and wealthy. I do want this, and I will get it.”

“So you get a house, then we tell Janice?” she asked.

I looked at Drew, watched him grimace, and dove right in. “We’ll both need to move into the house.”

“What? I thought that wasn’t until later? You want me to move in with you?”

“We’re married. Don’t married people generally share a home together?”

“They share a bed together as well, but we are not doing that,” she stated firmly.

I looked at her and watched her squirm. She kept insisting on the no bed thing. The woman had sex on the brain. I hadn’t brought up sex or sharing a bed together. It was always her. She seemed convinced I was some sex-crazed maniac who couldn’t wait to take advantage of her. I needed to dismiss that notion right away.

“Avery, I have already agreed to a no-sex marriage. I think you are confused about why I wanted to marry you. Trust me, I’m not trying to get you in my bed. I don’t have to try with any woman. I’m not going to try to persuade you or take advantage of you. I don’t need to. Trust me, there are plenty of women who will eagerly and willingly climb into my bed. Your body is safe. Get over it.”

Drew looked at me, then Avery, and then back at me, shaking his head slightly, telling me I had fucked up.

“Oh, really. Do you plan on bringing your parade of women home? The home where I will be? How exactly will you explain that to them and then to the state? And, Jake, I will never trust you about anything,” she seethed.

I could see how pissed she was. I hadn’t truly meant to piss her off, but good god, the woman would not get over the sex thing.

“Let’s all take a deep breath. Avery, Jake didn’t mean to offend you, did you, Jake?”

I shook my head no.

“Jake, Avery has some valid concerns. I think she wants you to apologize for whatever happened in the past. If he apologizes, could we move past all that stuff and get you guys a nice new home together?” he said with a cheesy smile.

“I don’t need an apology.”

“Good, because I don’t think I need to apologize. I am sorry I was a dick. I’ve already told you that. But, really, let’s move on. You have to pretend you can stand to be in the same room with me if we want to sell this. The animosity you feel toward me practically flows out of your body,” I told her, hoping to make her realize she wasn’t fooling anyone.

She took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll tone it down. But this”—she drew a circle in the air around her face—“isn’t so easy to control. This is my face, and when you piss me off or do something I think is really stupid, I can’t hide how I feel. I’ll try, but I’m warning you now.”

Drew laughed. I looked at him and then at Avery, who seemed to have relaxed a bit.

“Fine. I can handle that, but remember Janice is going to be watching. We need her to believe we are a happy, loving couple.”

She nodded. “Got it. Now, if there’s nothing else, I have an interview.”

“Oh really?” Drew asked, interested.

“Yep. I need to get a job in case all this blows up in our faces.”

“You’re going to work?” Drew asked in surprise. “You do know he can support you, right?”

She shrugged. “I’m sure he can, but I don’t want a penny from him. I only want Iris.”

Drew looked at me, and I could see the moment he decided my ultimate plan was terrible. I stared back, defiant.

“Well, good luck,” Drew said as she stood to leave.

“We’ll have to go with you,” I told her.

“No way! You are not going to my job interview!”

“If you remember, you rode here in my car. I’ll have the driver take you back to your car.”

“Oh, dammit. I forgot. See, I knew there was a reason I needed to drive,” she complained.

“If you’re going to be late, we can go straight to the interview,” I offered.

“Can you? I’ll take an Uber to pick up my car after I’m done. I don’t expect you to wait around,” she said, sounding like a normal person who didn’t hate me.

“Yes. Let’s go, Drew.”

I left a hundred on the table and headed for the door. It wasn’t like Drew and I had anything pressing to do besides finding a house. Drew could stay in town another day and help me look. I liked having him around. He was a good buffer between Avery and me.