Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
“We have to do it,” I say, turning to look at my dad. He’s sitting there open-mouthed. “This is the only way to make things right, Dad. The only way for you to get away from all this clean.”
“He’s old enough to be your – to be me!” Dad explodes instead.
“Dad, that’s not relevant,” I say, rolling my eyes. Hunter’s age has never been an issue to me, not in the slightest. In fact, I’m glad to have met an older man who can take care of me and make me feel safe.
“He’s twice your age, and you’ve only known him for a few days,” Dad insists anyway. “This is ridiculous. Put – put her down! Get away from my daughter!”
“Dad,” I say as coolly as I can. “You’re dating a stripper half your age and buying her gifts you can’t afford, so maybe you don’t have a leg to stand on right now.”
Dad opens his mouth several times but closes it again each time. He can’t say a thing, and he knows it.
“There’s just one thing left,” Hunter says, looking at dad as well. “When we put this into motion, there’s no going back. We’ll get the loan from the gang, and then you invite them to the wedding as a measure of surety against the loan – tell them that it’s a way to make sure you won’t go back on it. You can even promise them the chance to steal the wedding car or walk off with our jewelry if you need to. It doesn’t matter – the police will be there at the fake ceremony to take them away. But you need to decide, Frank. Are we doing this, or not?”
There’s a long pause.
“Let’s have a wedding,” he says with resignation.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Hunter
I watch as the police snap a pair of handcuffs on the last member of the gang – the one who tried to run from them – with a sense of deep satisfaction.
“That’s it,” I say, holding Jenna’s hand tightly. I have her beside me and slightly behind, ensuring she can’t be in danger. “They’re done. Your Dad did well.”
“He did?” Jenna asks, nudging me. “Don’t you mean you did? It was all your plan.”
“Well, he did go to them and pretend that it was real,” I say. “That was dangerous. You should give him a little credit, you know.”
Jenna sighs. “I just hope it sticks this time. You’ve rescued him from his debts, but he still has nothing. Once he gets another job, I’m scared he’ll go right back to his old habits and start gambling again.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” I say, kissing the back of her hand. “We’ll make sure he has the help he needs. If he chooses not to take it, there’s little we can do.”
“I know,” Jenna sighs. She takes a deep breath. All of the criminals and our guests – the undercover policemen – are filing out to the waiting armored vans, leaving us on our own. Even Frank is going off with them to give his witness statement. “You must think my family is insane. I’m sorry you had to put up with all of this.”
“I don’t think that,” I promise her. “Remember, neither of my parents is around anymore. Your dad might have his problems, but he’s here. I appreciate that for you.”
“What do we do now?” Jenna asks, stirring restlessly.
“Well,” I say, turning to face her. She’s stunning in her white dress, rented at short notice for the occasion. “I have an idea.”
“What’s that?” she asks, and when my face turns serious, I know she sees it.
“We could do this for real,” I say, and squeeze her hands. “Maybe not right now, but in a few months’ time, when we have the chance to arrange everything properly.”
“Are you… are you asking me…?”
I don’t miss the chance to do it properly. This was a fake wedding, but we needed to make it look real in case we had to go all the way through with it to wait for the big bosses of the gang to arrive. I drop to one knee, pulling the fake ring out of my pocket. “Jenna,” I tell her. “I may have only known you for a short time, but I don’t want to wait any longer. I love you. You are the one big truth of my life. Let’s make this official. Please, be my wife. Marry me for real?”
Jenna’s hand covers her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. There’s a brief moment when I actually feel my heart skip a beat, thinking she might not respond as I expected. But then she nods wordlessly, tears spilling over and down her face.
“Yes,” she gasps at last as she manages to hold her hand out, and I slip the ring onto my fiancée’s finger.