The December Deal

by Dana Volney

  “What about you? Was there ever a fiancé in the mix?”

  He wasn’t sure he actually wanted to know the answer to the question he was asking. Or the ones that would inevitably come up. Knowing someone’s past made the situation serious. Real. And all of this was not real. It was purchased.

  • • •

  Lilia purposefully took small bites. Her wild decisions were well documented—partying in college, job hopping, picking up and moving to Europe on a whim. Heck, she’d blogged about most of it since starting her Made to Wander blog years ago. But she didn’t want to share her story now—she wanted Vincent Morgenstern’s.

  “Nope. Never even close to a fiancé.” Unless she counted Zenzo—who was perfect right up until she left and he immediately started seeing someone else. Commitment made her itchy—the real kind, anyway. “I’m not the type who likes to be tied down.”

  “You sure proposed to me quickly.”

  Her laugh sounded happy even to her own ears, a welcome relief after being down in the dumps about her dad the last couple of weeks. “That’s how you remember it happening, huh?”

  “Yep, that’s what I’m going to tell people, that you couldn’t live without me.”

  His blue eyes sparkled in the dim light. She wanted to run her hand through his thick brown hair. If she were interested in dating him, she’d be sitting much closer and batting her eyelashes. Vincent was a catch; she’d have to be an idiot not to know or see that.

  “Did I get down on one knee?” She sat forward. “I recited a poem, didn’t I? Classic romantic.” She intended to playfully slap his knee, but her fingers lingered. She sat back quickly and cleared her throat before shoving more ice cream in her mouth.

  “Okay, okay. I’m rethinking this story.”

  “I thought so.” She swirled her melted marshmallow, caramel, and chocolate, not looking up.

  It was getting late. There were tons of details she should still learn, like his mom’s name, for one, but her brain was starting to slow from the lack of sleep she’d been experiencing.

  “It’s getting late.” She stood. “I’m going to call it a night.” Not exactly the romantic talk she’d pictured for a wedding night, but it was what it was. Her life wasn’t exactly a romance at the moment—from any angle.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Lilia woke up to new surroundings, taking a while to remember where she was and why. Oh, right, I’m married. The thrill of her big decision and the sheer stupidity of it mixed into one ball rolling around in her stomach. She tried not to focus on the consequences of her actions and more on the positive as she went about her morning. She threw on skinny jeans, her gray snow boots that went to her knee but looked like moccasins, and a heather-gray t-shirt scattered with small flamingos and curled her long, blond hair.

  There had to be a good way to tell her family about marrying Vincent; she just hadn’t come up with the right angle yet. They would be totally skeptical if she said she’d gotten married and then handed her parents a check for the treatment. The information had to be doled out correctly. Intentionally.

  His house, her new residence, was beautiful. The garage entrance opened to a dining room on one side that led to the spacious kitchen, and on the other side was a loft-ceiling living room with a grand fireplace and stairs leading to the second floor that housed three rooms—hers being the one on the far right. There was also an office on the first floor and a big deck that had the most breathtaking view of Casper Mountain. Next time it snowed, she was going to sit out there under the canopy, drink peppermint hot chocolate, and read or write, or just soak it all in.

  She grabbed a banana for breakfast in the ridiculously nice kitchen, which went along with the rest of the expensive-looking house, and turned around to see all of Vincent’s plans laying on the counter from last night.

  I thought he needed those. He was long gone, but she could swing by his office on her way to have lunch with her siblings to spread the joy of her news. This would let her put it off longer.

  She put all of his stuff in her bag and went out through the garage, using an opener he’d given her the night before.

  She actually felt good about her decision this morning. Vincent was a nice guy. She had a rent-free place to live for the next year, and her dad was going to be okay—he had to be. The deal could’ve been much worse.

  Zenzo had tried to Skype her last night, but she hadn’t answered. She’d been foolish with her heart, and that wouldn’t happen again. As a bonus, her marriage would force her to take a break from dating.

  Vincent’s office was close to downtown, so she’d pop in there and then go meet her family at Carrigan’s Pub for lunch. And step one of her plan: tell them about Vincent Morgenstern.

  When she reached his office, a plump woman smiled at her politely. “Can I help you, dear?” A plump woman behind a desk below a big metal sign that read Morgenstern Fabrication smiled politely.

  “Yes. I have these for Vincent.” She laid the rolls and folder on the counter.

  “And your name is?”

  “Lilia!” a man’s voice said.

  She whirled around to see Vincent a couple doors down the hall, heading right for her. He wore dark jeans, square-toed shoes, and a white button-up under a dark blue argyle sweater. The man looked good in everything. She stopped from rolling her eyes at herself—of course he would still look good, just like he had the day before and the day before that. But her stance on men hadn’t changed, so it really didn’t matter how good he looked in his jeans. There’d be no dating, no blurring the line of their relationship. Her heart couldn’t take another letdown if she ventured down the road with Vincent, and she couldn’t risk losing the money—if she didn’t complete the year, she owed him every dollar.

  He looked happy to see her. And wasn’t that nice.

  “Hey. Did you forget something?” She jabbed her finger a couple of times in the direction of the counter.

  “Thank you.” His palms touched in the prayer position. “You’re a lifesaver. I just noticed I was missing them and was on my way back to the house.”

  “No problem. You’re on my way to the pub.”

  “Who’s your friend, Mr. Morgenstern?” the receptionist asked with eyes that expected a juicy answer. And, boy, was she not going to be disappointed.

  Vincent studied the receptionist’s knowing eyes, finding amusement in their situation. “Jan, Lilia. Lilia, Jan. Lilia is my wife.”

  “Wife?” Her drawn-on eyebrows rose high on her forehead, way over her glasses.

  “It’s new,” Lilia said. “Not many people know.” She laced her arm through his, leaned toward Jan, and lowered her voice a bit, like she was telling an important secret with her lie. She’d have to come to peace with this subterfuge at some point, so why not have fun with it? “But we’re planning a party to celebrate on New Year’s Eve. You’ll be invited.”

  Delight crossed the woman’s face. “I’ll tell Frank we have plans for a party.”

  “I better get back.” Vincent gathered the paperwork.

  She untangled her arm from his. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the expectation in Jan’s wrinkles.

  “I’ll see you at home later, hon.” Lilia stood on her tiptoes to reach his lips on his six-foot frame. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his, letting her entire body relax into him. I won’t say no to more kisses, that’s for sure. She stepped back from him—those were thoughts she shouldn’t be having.

  She started to smile but didn’t meet his gaze as she waved good-bye to Jan and then twirled toward the front door, not looking back once.

  In the car, she closed her eyes and reminded herself, Eyes on the prize. On the way downtown, she practiced the sincerity she’d need to sell the story that she’d fallen in love, got married the next day—and all because she wanted to. And also the inevitable shock of her siblings’ non-approval—mostly Luke’s. “We fell in love,” she said out loud as she stopped at a light. “I just knew.”
She took a deep breath and smiled. “I just knew.” Then she practiced smiling. Yes, smiling.

  By the time she opened the giant wood door to the pub, she was ready to sell the lie and had her story straight.

  Bring it on.

  “Hey.” She hugged her identical twin sister, Lena, tightly. “I haven’t seen you all week.”

  “School has another week, then I’ll be free as a bird.” Lena pulled up a seat at the long bar top and shed her jacket, and Lilia did the same. “Thankfully, my free period is right before lunch hour.”

  There was probably a point in time that she should tell Vincent about the whole twin thing. The only difference between her and Lena was their personalities. Everything else was the same—down to their hairstyle, voice, and colors of nail polish they preferred.

  “Yo, bro,” Lilia called down to Luke, who was handing beers to a couple of guys eating lunch at the far end of the bar.

  “There they are, my sisters squared.” Luke, their Irish-twin older brother, owned the pub that had been in the family for three generations.

  “I see your rush hasn’t started yet. We should eat now.” Lena, ever the practical one, nearly lay down on the bar to grab the menus sitting on the shelf that ran just underneath. “I’m starving.”

  “You can look at the menu all you want, but David is already making you guys burgers,” Luke said.

  Lena snapped the menu shut, and Lilia laughed. They never strayed from their burger order.

  “The place looks nice.” Lilia took note of all the white roses and poinsettias that now peppered the tables, bar, and entryway. A lot had changed while she’d been gone, but this place and the town still felt like home. “I see Candace has been doing some decorating.”

  “Trying to make it festive in here.” Luke cleaned a tall glass and set it under the bar.

  “Looks great, really.”

  She’d planned to wait until they were all eating, but adrenaline had started seeping into her bloodstream already, and if she didn’t say something soon, she was going to have to go on a run to burn off all the energy stockpiling itself. And she hadn’t run since high school.

  Without drawing attention, she reached into her jeans pocket and put on her diamond ring and band. She’d taken it off and examined it last night. It wasn’t new, although definitely taken care of with love. The thin, polished, yellow-gold ring had filigree on both sides and held a marquise diamond set up high so the diamond-crusted band could fit nicely underneath. If these were really her wedding rings, she’d have the two fused together. But they weren’t. Vincent was going to want these gems back for sure.

  “I have something to tell you.” She glanced between her siblings as she ran her four fingers across her thumb in her lap. “I got married.” She flashed them the hand sporting the ice.

  “What?” and “You’ve got to be kidding me!” came at her all at once.

  “I met Vincent, and we decided to go to the courthouse and get married.”

  “Who is Vincent?” Lena’s dark brows knitted all the way together. “And when?”

  “Yesterday. He owns Morgenstern Fabrication, was born and raised here, and is one of the nicest men I’ve ever met.” All solid facts, and basically the only ones she had about him. She crossed the fingers on her other hand, hoping they didn’t ask any more specifics about him.

  The men at the other end of the bar hailed Luke for a refill. He glared at her before obliging their request.

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Lena asked.

  Lilia controlled her breathing as she forced herself to keep eye contact with her sister. Sometimes, in moments like these, it was like she was trying to convince herself, not another person. It was either a twin thing or a sister one, but either way it was painful. “It was just a spur- of-the-moment idea. I got caught up in it.” She pulled her phone from her jacket and showed Lena the couple of pictures she’d taken yesterday.

  “Is this the Italian guy?”

  “No.” She grimaced a little at the ambush. She’d forgotten she’d told Lena about Zenzo—and, looking back, how stupid she’d sounded gushing about him. “I met him here in a coffee shop.”

  “How long have you known him? Have you dated him before?” Lena glanced at the picture on Lilia’s phone again. “He doesn’t look familiar.”

  “I met him three days ago.” Finally, the part where she could tell the truth. The only way her family’s feelings wouldn’t be collectively hurt was if this was seen as another crazy Lilia move—marrying a man she’d just met. That way, she hadn’t purposefully excluded the people she loved from sharing in her happiness.

  “You’re certifiable. You know that? I can’t believe this.”

  David set down three juicy burgers in front of them, and Lilia gave him a hug before he returned to the kitchen to deal with the orders from the quickly filling tables.

  “You love him?” Lena asked.

  “Yes.” She nodded and shoved a French fry in her mouth. “When I met him, there were … just, these sparks. When you know, you know.”

  Lena bit into her burger, and they chewed in silence. Lilia glanced sideways to see if Lena was buying her story, and all seemed to be going smoothly.

  Say something normal for cripes’ sake. “We should go get our nails done when you’re out on break.”

  “Your dress looked beautiful. Do you have a better picture?” Lena studied her with knowing eyes.

  Things weren’t so smooth after all.

  “No, this is it. I told you, it was quick. But we are going to throw a big reception party on New Year’s Eve, and you’re invited of course.” If pretty much everyone in Vincent’s life was invited, then the most important people in her life were welcome, too. It wouldn’t really be a reception if the bride’s side was absent. Also, I should probably start planning that. Her job left her more hours in the day than Vincent’s, and it had been her idea.

  “Did you tell Mom and Dad yet?” Luke finally joined the conversation again.

  “Nope. You two are the first people I’ve told.” She wasn’t exactly eager to change her Facebook status. This year would be a good year to dive into her work, really market it, and stay away from things that wasted time—or caused people asked you questions about your life choices.

  “Obviously we need to meet him. Like, now.” Luke sounded like their father when she and Lena used to switch places for events, classes, and anything else they felt like. Luke was going to make a great parent one day.

  “We’ve an office party tomorrow, how about Sunday?”

  Since news of their father’s illness, the Carrigans had decided that Sunday dinner should be set aside for the entire family to gather, if only for a couple hours, at their parents’ to catch up from the week.

  “I look forward to it.” Luke ate his burger, staying on the working side of the bar. He still refused to hire another person, even though business had picked up over the last year.

  Lilia stayed on guard as questions about her news peppered the entire lunch.

  After her belly was full, she bundled up for the cold and stepped into the daylight with Lena. Their cars were next to each other, and she gave her twin a hug.

  Lena stepped back but kept her hands on Lilia’s arms. “What’s going on?”

  “I fell in love.”

  “No, you didn’t.” Lena shook her head and pursed her lips. “You can tell me now or later, but you won’t be able to hide it for long.”

  Lena had a point. They didn’t have secrets from each other—from everyone else, yes. But not between them. Don’t do it. Don’t say the words out loud.

  “I married him for money.”

  “You what?” Lena’s eyes were five times as big as normal. “Where is this coming from?”

  “I didn’t marry him because he’s rich. Well, sort of. I mean, at its basic level I did.”

  “Stop rambling.”

  “We made a deal.” She lowered her voice. “He has his own reasons for needing a wife, and I
said I’d do it if he gave me money. Dad’s treatment isn’t cheap, and we don’t have enough, even when we pool everything.”

  Lena nodded, and her eyes filled with tears.

  “Don’t cry. Then I’ll cry.”

  “There must be another way.”

  “There isn’t. Not one that I’ve come up with. This just fell into my lap, and”—she pulled out the check Vincent had given her yesterday—“now Dad and Mom can start making the arrangements.” Her next stop today was the bank.

  “Holy crap, that’s a lot.”

  “I know. You and Luke can take back your life savings, and we can use this for everything Dad should need.”

  “This Vincent just gave you this money for marrying him?”

  “Trust me, he has it to spare.”

  “I can’t even process this right now.” Lena’s hands dropped to her sides, and now it was Lilia’s turn to rest her hands in the same spots on Lena’s arms.

  “You have to promise me this stays between us. You can’t tell anyone, Lena. Not a soul.” Small alarm bells started to ring in her ears. She should’ve said that sentence before the whole “I married for money” bit. “Look at me. Promise me. I’ve signed a contract and cashed the check. I’m not backing out now, and this whole thing needs to appear real to everyone.”

  “Or he’ll take back the money?”

  “Yeah, and I’d like to save face. If people think our marriage is real, then that’s the end of it.” He’d take back the money only if she left before the year was out.

  “Oh, Lilia.”

  Yeah. She understood. This is what had to be done, so it was over. End of story. Her parents were going to meet Vincent on Sunday, she’d give them the money later that week, and life would go on.

  • • •

  There were still emails to return and projects to lay out, but Vincent found himself pulling into his garage at a decent dinner hour. With takeout.