Til Debt Do Us Part (Married At Midnight #4)

Chapter 26

Twenty-Six

Talia

T he rest of the weekend passes in a blur. I grin and bear it as I spend my days pretending to fall all over my fiancé, touching his arm, kissing his lips, slipping my hand around his waist, and looking at him lovingly.

In the meantime, I try to call Olivia and update her on what is happening. But for some reason, all my calls go straight to voicemail. It’s exceedingly frustrating.

By the time we call it a night, I slip upstairs and lock myself in the same bedroom. I don’t want a repeat of last night, no matter how good he made me feel or how much just thinking about it makes my pussy dampen.

No matter how loudly I might have moaned.

Before I know it, we are on our way back to Harwicke. As we are closing in on the town, Dare looks over at me and reaches in his pocket. I’m expecting that maybe he is going to have me sign another document or something. But instead, he produces a small black velvet ring box.

Without a hint of ceremony, he puts it on the seat beside me and then looks away, leaving me to wonder what the box could possibly contain. There’s no way that it holds a ring. Even Dare would know better than to just set the box down beside me.

I reach for the box and crack it open, lifting it. Inside is the largest emerald and diamond ring I have ever seen. It is a huge, absolutely gorgeous rectangular emerald set in the middle and several rectangular baguette-cut diamonds beside it. My mouth hangs open, and I try to estimate how much the ring is worth. Easily in the tens of millions of dollars.

I look at Dare, reaching out and nudging him with my elbow. He arches a brow and turns away from the window, casual as anything.

The fact that he would just hand me such a magnificent ring and expect me to know what to do with it is like acid sizzling in the pit of my stomach.

Dare flashes me a smirk. "It’s a ring."

"And? What is it for?"

I feel beads of sweat break out on my brow every time I glance at the ring, so I reach down and close the lid to the box. He rolls his eyes. "It’s an engagement ring. Do you really need me to spell it out for you?"

"Wow, could you be any less romantic when you just lean over and drop the ring on my lap?"

“I thought I was perfectly romantic when I wired you the money for our arrangement. If I didn’t make it clear enough, this is not exactly going to be a normal marriage.”

My feelings about the ring are complicated, and I try to sort them out as I stew in my own silence. I look out my window and see the town of Harwicke as we begin to approach. Slowly, I begin to make out the shape of the roofs.

I jump out of my skin as Dare grabs my hand and tries to put the ring on it. It’s much too large and it slides on quite easily, the enormous emerald sliding to the side. I look at the platinum setting, and my lips twist. I don’t know what I had imagined my engagement ring would look like, but this huge emerald is just not it. I can’t tell if I dislike the ring because it is being forced on me or if I just genuinely don’t like platinum or the way the diamonds catch in the sunlight, winking at me.

I try to pluck the ring off, but Dare grips my hand. He looks at me and pulls the ring off my finger, pursing his lips. "It doesn’t fit. My assistant picked the damn thing out, so that tracks. I'll have it resized today and delivered to you before our engagement photos."

He had someone pick the damn ring out? Ugh. Of course he did.

I rip his fingers off my wrist and give him a sour look. "I need to go home first. I need to tell Aunt Minnie that I am engaged. She can’t hear this from anyone else."

He flops a hand at me, rolling his eyes. "Tell her to meet us at the penthouse."

"What penthouse?"

He gives me a look. "I bought a penthouse for us. Keep up, Talia."

My brows furrow. "How was I supposed to know that you bought a penthouse for us? What if I hate it?"

He gives me a puzzled glance. "You won’t. But even if you did, who cares? You only have to stay there when we are here in Harwicke. The rest of the time, we can stay at my Manhattan penthouse."

I want to argue with him, but the whole helicopter suddenly lurches, and my attention is diverted. I feel us descending, and I reach out my hands, clasping one on the door and the other on Dare’s knee. Until the helicopter lands, I grip his knee, praying quietly, though I'm not sure to whom I’m praying to. I’ve never been to church, much less been religious.

Once I climb out of the helicopter, feeling shaky, I text my Aunt Minnie the address of the penthouse that Dare gives me. It’s a quick trip to the penthouse from the helicopter landing pad and I spend it trying to get over my motion sickness from being in the helicopter.

I look around as I climb out of the car. To my left is a trendy-looking restaurant. I squint and realize that it’s Herbsaint, the same restaurant that Olivia took me to before. Looking around with some confusion, I notice that Herbsaint is in a huge warehouse loft building. Actually, now that I look around, all four corners of the intersection that I’m currently standing at have the same style of warehouse loft.

Dare grabs my arm and ushers me into the building across the street from that bar, but just before I step inside I hear Aunt Minnie’s voice.

"Talia! Talia, wait!"

I whirl on my heel, looking around. I spot her pulling up in her ancient eggplant colored rusted Volvo, a true nineteen seventies artifact. She has the passenger-side window rolled down, and she pulls to a stop beside the building. I look at Dare, biting my lip.

He waves his hand dismissively and walks in the door. “I’ll leave it to you. The doorman has your name.”

As if I were just unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Jesus, Dare really knows how to make me feel small.

Rushing over to the car, I give Aunt Minnie a wave. Opening the door, I pluck several balled up pieces of paper off the front seat, gently tossing them behind the front seat. Then I crawl in and shut the door. She gives me several hard hugs, as if she sensed that what I needed most from her right now was some affection. I hug her for a solid minute and then release her with a sigh.

She looks at me quite seriously, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Well, what happened? All you said on the phone was that you had to go out of town. I don’t understand? Where did you go?"

Taking a huge breath. "Okay. I have to tell you something, Aunt Minnie. But I want you to promise me that you’ll try not to freak out about it."

She straightens up, patting her wild, frizzy mane of gray hair. She looks more confused than anything.

"Well, I’ll try. Where have you been? You’re not in trouble, are you?"

“Nothing like that,” I assure her.

“Is it Olivia? Did something happen to her?”

“No. Olivia has nothing to do with it.” I purse my lips. “Actually, I’ve been calling her a lot, but I am not getting through. It just goes to voicemail.”

“Isn’t she at a biology conference this whole week?” Minnie asks.

“Oh. Yeah, of course. I am just caught up in my own drama.” I grab her hand and give it a squeeze. "Okay. The truth is that I am engaged. I spent the weekend with my fiancé at his beach house in Maine."

Minnie looks completely and utterly shocked. "Who are you engaged to? Oh my God, is it Olivia?"

I shake my head and squeeze her hand. "No. Thank you, though, for being supportive of whomever I choose. But I’m afraid it’s someone that you don’t know. His name is Dare Morgan."

She looks like I hit her with a shovel. "Dare Morgan? As in Remy Morgan?"

I gulp and nod. "That’s the one. He…" What I’m about to say twists my stomach into knots. "He swept me off my feet. We’ve only known each other for a short time, but we decided to try to get married," I mumble. "Within the month, actually."

Minnie frowns. "My dear, I don’t care who you marry. But are you sure that you want to marry someone so…" Her eyes narrow and I can see that she is trying to choose her words carefully. "Flashy, I guess? You could live in a shoe for all I care."

I grip her hand again and give her a tight smile. "I know it seems random. But he will provide for us in a way that we haven’t been able to do for ourselves. And he…" I swallow. "He loves me. You’ll see, we are very compatible."

Aunt Minnie looks at me with open skepticism. "Very compatible? I’ve never heard anyone who was in love with anyone else use that particular word. Is there something I don’t know?"

Hesitating, I hold my breath for a long second. But then I nod slowly. "I am carrying his child."

Aunt Minnie stares at me, her hands clasping around her heart. "You are? I must say, Talia I had no idea that you were…" She blushes faintly. "That you… I had no idea about the pregnancy,” she finishes at last. "You know, it’s perfectly acceptable to have a baby without having a father or having to marry him."

"I think you know why I feel differently than you on that matter. I grew up without a father, and I felt like there was a huge chunk missing from my life for so many years. I want my baby to have all the things I didn’t have."

Aunt Minnie wells up, blotting at her eyes. "I tried my best, Talia. Really, I did."

I grab her by the shoulders and pull her close, giving her another quick hug. "You did so well. I couldn’t wish for a better person to grow up with. Honestly. But by agreeing to the marriage, I am not just taking care of my baby's future. I’m going to take care of you. And what about all the repairs that Hope House requires? They’ll just be done without any more fuss. No more government red tape, no more town hall meetings. No more shady men paying off your debts."

A look of horror crosses her face. “Talia! You can’t sacrifice your future for me!”

“I’m not. Really Aunt Minnie, I… I love him.” I flinch. “I’m doing the best thing for everybody, including my unborn baby.”

I pull back and look at her.

She is openly crying right now. "What about the bookstore? Are you still going to work there with me?"

"Once the baby comes, I think it will be difficult. But we will see what we can work out. You can afford to hire whoever you want to work there now. It’ll be better than just hiring your niece, right?"

Minnie starts bawling.

She’s really tearing my heart into pieces. I know marrying Dare is for the best. But at the moment, it doesn’t really feel that way.

“Aunt Minnie.” She looks up at me, wiping her cheeks. I give her a soft smile. "My mind is made up. There is no use in crying about it. Honestly, I am a lucky girl. Dare wants to marry me, and I am thankful for that. The only real question is whether you are going to support me or not."

Minnie looks mortified. "Of course. Of course I will. Anything that you really want, I want for you."

"Thanks. Do you really mean that?"

She nods, her expression grave. "Here."

She fishes beneath the edge of her dark gray caftan, lifting a necklace. She unclasps it and pulls a dainty gold ring off it, a simple diamond solitaire glinting in the middle. She looks up at me and offers the ring to me.

"You never met my mother. But she was a wonderful woman. And she left this ring for us. I think she expected that your mother or I would get married and find a use for this ring. But… That’s not really how it went. But now I can pass it on to you."

I take the ring, blinking. "This was Grandma’s?"

She closes my fist around the ring and nods. "It was. Now it’s yours."

"Gosh, thanks." I give her another hug, feeling a little overwhelmed.

We peer out of the car and into the building. She looks at the doorman of the building, who is not even pretending that he is not watching our little drama play out. "Are you in that building?"

"I think so." I glance up at the huge building. It looks sort of vintage, like it was a factory at some point in the past.

Aunt Minnie pats her hair, still looking crestfallen. "Well, I hate to do this. But I actually have a shift at the Hope House that I am going to be late for if I don’t run along right now."

"Of course. Thank you for coming by. I don’t know the details about the wedding just yet, but I am sure that you will be the first to know. Well, maybe second. There’s always Olivia to consider."

She gives me a sad smile and pats my hand. "Make sure that he treats you well. You hear? That’s all that matters in the end."

I swallow and nod, opening the door. I’m ashamed to say that I wave goodbye and hurry across the street corner before she can say anything more.

She’s absolutely right, and if I had any choice, I would know better than to choose Dare.