The lawyer stood at the front of the room, with a desk to his side that held a folder of papers. There was a chair behind him, not that he had bothered to sit down once other people had started to enter the room.

They were all strangers, I didn’t recognize most of them. Then they probably thought the same thing about me. The years hadn’t been good to me, especially after leaving the Navy.

I was no longer the thinner, scrawnier version of myself that some of them might have remembered. Serving my country had changed me in many ways, and my appearance was just one of them.

“I want to thank you all for being in attendance today for the will reading of the late Mr. Ben Winston,” the lawyer began.

“I extend my condolences to all of you in this room.”

There were some murmurings, but I stayed silent and kept my eyes straight ahead. I purposely took a seat in the front row to avoid making eye contact with anyone who might remember me.

The last thing I wanted to do was make small talk or play twenty questions with people I hadn’t seen in years.

“As some of you already know, my name is Franklin Smith. I was Mr. Winston’s lawyer, and I will be carrying out the proceedings.”

He paused to open the folder and pull out some papers. Then, he cleared his throat and held up the papers. The only thing going through my mind was the fact that he was dragging this thing out. I just wanted him to start and get out of there.

“I will now start the reading of the will,” he peered over the top of his thin, black wire-frame glasses.

I sighed as the attorney began. Seeing the will itself was a document with several pages, I had a feeling there would be a lot of boring rambling before he got to the interesting sections.

The introduction alone was enough to bore me to bits, and I knew already that I wouldn’t be able to pay attention for long, which was the same problem I had in the Navy. It was the main reason that I was dismissed early.

Maybe I should have been more emotional, considering a man had died and the man just happened to be my grandfather.

There was just one problem, Ben—my grandfather—hadn't exactly been a nice man during his stay on Earth. Very few in the family had still talked to him while he was alive—not that I've spoken to the family much.

I was surprised when I saw the number of people in the room. Then again, most likely they were here for the same reason that I was and that was for money.

A part of me felt guilty for a variety of reasons. I wanted to be better than all of the people—the family—in the room, but the truth was, I wasn’t any better than any of them. I’d left years ago and hadn’t spoken to hardly anyone in years.

Not like it matters now anyway, I scoffed quietly to myself. It happened; now I’m broke, and here I am.

I was just one fish in the sea of people waiting for their handout. Part of me wanted to grin as I thought about how the old bastard probably wouldn’t care if any of us came to the reading of his will or not; it was just like him.

There was someone, though. Someone that had talked to grandpa Ben—likely even after I left—and probably the one person the old man had openly cared about.

Hope Banter.

The old man had treated her like a daughter. And because of that, he and I hadn't exactly gotten along. There were some things between us—things that I’d rather not remember—that made being in the same room with her after so long a little uncomfortable.

I didn’t dislike her; though I couldn’t say she felt the same for me. But, I couldn’t help my body’s reaction at the mere sight of her.

It was ridiculous, no woman should have that much effect on any man, but she did.

I was half hard the moment I saw her, and the will reading had kept up for the past half hour. As my mind wandered away from the reading of the will, I couldn’t stop my eyes from straying to her, just a couple seats away from me.

Fuck, I thought to myself, my eyes skimming where her skirt ended at her thighs; her long, sexy legs crossed one over the other.

It’s not fair that she looks so damn good.

Hope and I had never quite been a thing. I never kept it a secret—at least, I was pretty sure I didn’t—that the only reason I went out with her at all was that I wanted to get her in my bed.

We didn’t go out on that many dates over the few months we were together. I’ve never been a chocolates-and-flowers kind of guy. Mostly, it was just me taking her somewhere we could sneak away for a quickie here and there.

Suddenly, I frowned.

Is she even supposed to be here?

Technically, no matter how much grandpa Ben treated her like family, she isn’t, but then I snorted. I wouldn’t be surprised if he mentioned her in the will. She probably deserves it more than anyone else here in all honesty.

A few of my relatives were in attendance, and I knew none of them had any hope that they would be the successors of the family farm and fortune.

I was the best contender, being that I was a direct descendant, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something was left for Hope.

A lot of the relatives wouldn’t like that.

“Curt, are you even listening?”

An angry voice calling my name broke my attention. I blinked, looking up to meet Hope’s eyes. She was glaring at me, but a glance at her dark eyes had my body heating up, and I felt a twitch in my pants.

I wanted to growl at myself for the stupid reaction. It had been a while since I was with any woman, but that was no excuse to be half hard at a fucking will reading.

There was something wrong with me, and that something was the beauty glaring back at me.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice gruff, and scowling to cover up my embarrassment.

Then I noticed how it was suddenly so much quieter in the room. I glanced around, my eyebrows shooting up when I realized it was just us in the chamber with the lawyer. The half dozen or so relatives that had attended had already left.

My brow wrinkled in confusion as I scrambled to string my thoughts together.

“Are we done already?”

Crap. What did I miss?

Hope rolled her eyes at me.

“If you had been paying attention,” she griped, “you would have heard Mr. Smith say he was done with the public reading. There’s more, but we’re the only ones allowed to listen to the last page of it.”

I frowned and turned to the lawyer. Was that even allowed?

I didn’t get the chance to ask, though, because it seemed he’d been waiting for me to pay attention as well. He watched me through blank eyes, and I could have sworn I felt some warmth to my cheeks.

“Now that you’re with us,” he said with a pointed look. “I’m going to read the last part of the will—”

“Please don’t do that,” I cut in with both of them glaring at me, but I was having none of it. I glared right back. “No way, okay? It’s just the two of us in here, so there’s no reason for formalities. If she wants to hear the whole thing,” I said with a wave of my hand at Hope, who wrinkled her nose in disgust at me, “she can do that in her own time. I’m sure you would have no problem giving us the highlights of what we want to hear so we can end this quickly.”

After a silent moment, the lawyer just looked at me with a stern expression and Hope stared off to the side with her arms crossed tightly over her ample chest, the attorney sighed. I knew I’d won.

“Mr. Winston—”

“Please, call me Curt,” I said cutting in again, causing him to purse his lips. “Mr. Winston was my grandfather.”

There was another moment, but I could have sworn the lawyer’s lips twitched at the corner. I didn’t know if it was in amusement or more annoyance.

Hope was staring at me, definitely annoyed, but I barely spared her a glance. I just needed to hear this little bit, and I could leave. It would finally be over, and that’s all I wanted.

It’s all I wanted since I stepped foot into the room and took my seat.

I’d decided that being in the same room as Hope was uncomfortable. At one time, I might not have thought too much about giving into my desire to have her, but times had changed.

“That he was,” Mr. Smith said quietly. Then he cleared his throat and raised the papers again. “Very well. If you want this done quickly, I’ll just skip all the unimportant details for the moment. Now, regarding your family’s farm: the land will be yours, but only on condition. The two of you, Hope Banter and Curt Winston, are to be married within three months from the time of this will reading,” he paused to give me another pointed look. “That means three months from today.”

I frowned. I knew what he fucking meant.

The dissatisfaction must’ve been written all over my face because he seemed to take pleasure in staring at me for a beat before continuing with a wry smile on his face.

“Within those three months, the two so stated individuals are to be joined in holy matrimony, or you only receive half the land, and the other half goes to charity.”

I was hardly listening to a word he said.

I should have expected something like this. I should have known going to the stupid will reading was a bad idea. Whatever had tempted me to make such a stupid mistake in the first place?

Oh, yeah. I was completely broke and thought my the old man would have had some pity on his grandson.

I blocked out the man’s words as I clambered to my feet. I pushed the chair back, but the floor was carpeted, and I was almost disappointed when there wasn’t a loud screeching echo that would’ve followed if the floors were made of hardwood.

I practically stumbled down the short aisle created by the seats, arranged in two rows. For a moment, a vision of Hope walking down it, dressed in white with a veil over her face and carrying flowers flashed through my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

The room wasn’t that big, but I was almost hysterical and practically running, knocking down a few chairs. And yet, I still managed to not miss one crucial piece of news as I hurried out of the room.

“If within a year of getting married, the two have not yet had a child, then the land will be lost, and it all goes to—”

I practically slammed the door closed to cut off the man’s voice as I tried to catch my breath. Everything was spinning, and I felt like I was suffocating. I backed away from the door, nearly stumbled over my own feet, and cursed myself.

“Get a fucking hold of yourself,” I growled, turning away while I tried to compose myself.

I’d taken one last glance at Hope as I left in the room. She was still seated, pretty much in the same position she’d been in since we walked the beginning of the will reading; one leg crossed over the other and arms crossed under her breasts, looking as hot and sexy as I remembered in her professional skirt suit.

I hadn't missed the shocked expression on her face when she learned everything with me, so she hadn't expected that either.

For a moment, there was a part of me that wanted to go back in the room; if not for the sake of the will and my inheritance, then for her.

Hope got to me as no other woman had. There had been few after her, and all of them had ended up as unsatisfying flings. I was tempted at the thought of forming something with Hope for the sake of my potential inheritance and maybe having one more night with her.

But, no. This was different from what I’d been thinking; this wouldn’t be just sex. I didn’t want to give up the farm, and I knew she wouldn’t, either.

We were to be married, and even worse, to have a child together to inherit what should have been mine to begin with but that’s not how the old man saw things.

It wasn’t fair because I was pretty sure there was no way I could commit, not even for my inheritance, to Hope or any other woman.

I’d decided a while ago I was better off on my own. Hope and I weren’t on the best of terms; dragging her into my life as it currently was wouldn’t exactly endear her to me further, and I was not up to a marriage full of misery.