I throw him a death glare.
“Go ahead, Rooney,” Parker says.
Rooney glances my way, then back down at her cinnamon roll. “I’ve spent time with Axel’s family through Willa. She’s my best friend from college.”
“We love Willa,” Bennett says warmly.
“Makes two of us,” Rooney says on a smile. “Obviously, I missed her once she moved and got busy playing here, and she missed me. The Bergmans invited me over to visit whenever Willa and Ryder were in town to make the most of their time in LA, and in the past few years, I’ve come to love them. I mean, who wouldn’t love the Bergman family?”
“And Axel?” Parker prompts.
Rooney bites her lip, a soft blush kissing her cheeks. “We actually met at Willa’s first game here. And since then, I’ve just seen Axel when he comes down every once in a while for one of those visits.”
“I’m bored,” Skyler says, hopping off her chair as she tugs on her alien mask. She skips over to Rooney and says, “Hey, E.T., want to play?”
Bennett sighs and looks at Parker. “See? See what you did to our child?”
“It’s okay,” Rooney says. Standing, she pops the last of her cinnamon roll in her mouth and dusts off her hands. “Do you want to go look for Axel’s dog, Skyler?”
“He’s not my dog,” I remind everyone.
“Oh, right,” Parker says. “The one you got up to date on his vaccinations, who you feed and bathe, who you built a mini A-frame doghouse for because he won’t come inside your place, even though it’s getting too cold for him to sleep outside, and who spends all day with you. That dog that’s definitely not yours.”
I open my mouth to answer, but first Rooney says, “Yes.” She turns toward Parker and Bennett. “That one. If it’s okay with you, I mean. I just thought we’d head that way, stay in your sightline but out of…earshot?” she says pointedly.
Bennett nods. “That’s fine. Stay with Rooney, Skyler, and no going in the water.”
Skyler gives him a thumbs-up. “It’s too cold anyway. Let’s go find this dog. I didn’t even know Uncle Ax had a dog.” She shakes her alien head. “Secret keeper.”
“He’s not—” My voice dies off because Skyler’s already on her way, holding Rooney’s hand, skipping across the clearing.
Parker and Bennett watch them walk. Then the moment Sky and Rooney are out of hearing, their heads snap my way.
“What is happening?” Parker says.
“It was a mix-up. Rooney needed a break, and Willa told her the place was hers to stay in.”
Bennett leans back in his seat, tugging at his bun. His thought pose. “Could she work, for you to marry for the inheritance? Is she available?”
“How perfect would that be?” Parker says. “Come on, why not? It’s fortuitous. Kismet. A sign.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” Bennett asks.
“Because I said so.”
Parker narrows his eyes at me. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“Nothing.”
“Experience dictates,” Bennett muses, “if you want to gauge Axel’s interest in someone, the quieter he is, the more it says.”
“There’s nothing to say, that’s why I’m quiet. She’s my brother’s girlfriend’s best friend. I have no idea if she’s available to marry me for strictly financial purposes, and I have no plans on finding out.”
I am not marrying someone—for money or not—that I’m desperately attracted to, that I’ve spent years avoiding because there’s no chance in hell anything is ever coming of that.
“I’d reconsider if I were you.” Parker drops his feet and leans forward, lowering his voice. “She’s someone you can trust, right? I can’t see Willa bothering with anyone except good people.”
I stare down at my hands, picking at a callous. “Yes.”
“Great. So there’s that going for her. She also said she loves your family, so I’m sure she’d want to do something that helps them.”
Bennett chimes in, “I agree with Park. She’s perfect. Ask her to marry you.”
I tug at my shirt collar, yanking it open another button and taking a deep breath. My throat is too tight. “I can’t. I shouldn’t. She wouldn’t want to.”
“Why not?” Parker says, watching Rooney and Skyler greet the dog, who comes loping toward them, a stick in his mouth. “I mean, sure, she may have romantic notions about marriage and not be interested, but you don’t know until you try. It’s just a business arrangement anyway. You’re not wooing her. No pressure to make it anything other than what it is.”
“But this is what you were going to help me with,” I tell Bennett, hearing how pathetically desperate I sound. “Right?”
Bennett swallows nervously. “Oh. Um. Yes. Of course! We were… Eventually. We’d find someone.”
I sigh.
“I’m sorry, okay?” Bennett says. “Parker was supposed to help me come up with a shortlist.”
“Hey.” Parker nudges his chair. “Don’t drag me into this.”
“The dog is so cute!” Skyler hollers, running toward us as he chases her, tongue lolling out of his mouth.
“How’s it going?” Rooney asks, following in their wake.
“Terrible,” I tell her, as Bennett and Parker say in unison, “Great!”
“Skyler,” Park says, shooting out of his seat and dragging Bennett with him. “Why don’t you show us what you taught Uncle Ax’s dog with that stick?”
Hustling Skyler and the pup toward the other end of the clearing, they’re gone in the blink of an eye. Now it’s only Rooney and me, alone.
I stand from my seat on the tree stump, feeling uneasy. “Did you hear all of that?”
“Hard not to,” she says. “You three have deep voices, and you weren’t very quiet.” Taking a few slow steps, she turns and leans against a tree, looking out toward the lake. “So you need someone to marry?”
“For purely financial reasons, yes.”
She nods, eyes still on the water. “It would take care of the A-frame. Fix whatever you need, take the pressure off of you, so you can pay for it quickly and keep your family in the dark.”
“Yes,” I say slowly.
“I’ll do it,” she says simply, pushing off the tree. Then she straightens the big fuzzy yellow hat and turns my way. “If you want me, that is.”
I blink at her, stunned. “Why?”
“Because I can. Because your family has been so kind to me, and now I can be kind back. Even in this small way.”
“It’s not small. It’s getting married.”
“‘For purely financial reasons,’” she repeats. “It’s not a big deal. I’m not a romantic, at least, not when it comes to marriage. I’m single and legally free to be your wife.”
Wife.
The word hits me like a body blow.
“It should be straightforward,” she says. “I’m no expert on family law, but I know enough to understand the basics of wills and conditions. There’s very little beyond demanding proof of marriage that’s enforceable for an inheritance condition in a court of law. So, like I said, it should be easy to take care of. Civil ceremony. Marriage license. Witnesses. Proof of that provided to the will’s executor. I’ll take a look at the documentation, if you like, make sure the terms are reasonable. I’m sure there’s a subsequent condition, too, like ‘after X amount of time.’”