Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 119548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
Fred paused. “Why? What’s her final wish?”
“She only told us one, but it was horrifying. Truly. I don’t think I’ll ever recover from it.”
“Deli, are you sure you’re a manager at a pub and not secretly an actress?”
“She wants to see us all married, Fred.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. “That’s on-brand for Nana, though. Lucy got married, what? Two years ago?”
“About that, yeah.”
“And your mum is dating that guy. What’s his name? Jerry?”
I laughed. “Jeff.”
“Yeah, Jeff.” Fred propped his feet up on the coffee table. “And you’re… probably the entire reason Nana said that.”
That was rude.
Yes, it was true, but it was still rude.
“You could at least pretend to be nice to me,” I mumbled. “Like I said, I’m having a crisis.”
“Yes, but the crisis is of your own making, Deli. You can tell me it’s because Nana took your words the wrong way, but you should know better than to speak before you think when she’s around. No doubt you said something along the lines of perhaps you did have a boyfriend, but you just weren’t telling her about him.” He rested his chin on the top of my head. “Am I right?”
What a brat.
I pouted. “Shut up. Shouldn’t we solve the problem of my non-existent fake lover first?”
“I like how you said ‘we’ just then. What exactly do you expect me to do about it?”
“I don’t know. You have hot, rich, single friends, don’t you? Would they like to pretend to date me for a few months?” I asked. “I’m a great cook. I can serve a fake boyfriend a killer spaghetti with a side of regret.”
“I thought that was your signature dish.”
“It is when I make it for you, dickhead.”
Fred’s shoulders shook. “Are you missing the part where Nana wants you to get married? Do you think she’s going to accept a mere relationship? She’s going to want to watch you walk down the aisle and you know it.”
Shit.
He was right.
“Okay, but she can’t force me to get married. I implied I had a secret boyfriend, but I didn’t say it was a serious relationship,” I reasoned. “She can’t just trot me down the aisle as she pleases. I’m not a princess in the sixteen-hundreds where my marriage is politically necessary to stop some foreign country invading us.”
“You’re being dramatic.” He prodded my side, making me squirm. “But does she know that? She probably doesn’t care. After all, it’s not like she’ll have to deal with the marriage part when she’s dead.”
He was right, but… “I’m still not going to marry some random guy just to divorce him in a few months. One, I don’t have the money to pay anyone off for that kind of arrangement. I’m not a billionaire heir in a Korean drama.” Much to my chagrin. “And two, this is Nana we’re talking about. She’d force me to get married tomorrow as her ‘final wish’ then stick it out for another five years just to piss me off.”
Fred chuckled. “That’s exactly the kind of thing Nana would do.”
I pulled my jumper up around my chin, snuggling into the soft fabric. “I know she means well. She just wants to see me happy, and she wants to know that there’ll be someone there for me when she’s gone. That doesn’t mean I can just get married on a whim to some guy just to make her happy.”
“Deli, you don’t have to get married to some guy just like that.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Why don’t you marry me?”
I froze.
That crazy arsehole.
Marry him?
What the heck did he mean by that?
I jerked my head up, leaning back, and stared at him. He looked back at me with the most nonchalant expression on his face, as if he hadn’t just asked me to fucking marry him.
“Did you just propose to me?” I asked. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I wouldn’t call that a proposal,” he replied slowly, scratching his chin with one long finger. “But it solves your problem, doesn’t it?”
“Jesus, Fred. You say it like you’re offering to wash my dirty car for me.” I shuffled back on the sofa, putting some distance between us. “I can’t marry you.”
“Why not? Face it, Deli, you’re deep in the shit right now. Nana is like a dog with a bone when she gets an idea in her head, and right now, she’s adamant that you have a secret boyfriend.” He rested his arm across the back of the sofa. “You might be able to get away with it if not for one thing.”
“What?”
“I’m the only guy you spend any time with.”
I pressed my lips together. “That’s not true.”
“Si doesn’t count. He’s your boss, and he’s twenty years older than you.”
“He’s single.”
“Then marry Si.”
I shuddered. “Don’t say such things. His daughter is only five years younger than me.”
“Exactly. How are you going to convince your grandmother that you have a secret boyfriend when everyone knows you haven’t been on a date in over a year?”