Married by Mistake. Abby Gaines

      “I was wrong.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I turn thirty next month. If the will’s ruled legal, I’ll have until I turn thirty-one to find a wife. My stepmother’s not so confident we can have it overturned. She’d like me to get married, so that I win either way. She’s spent the past few months arranging accidental introductions to the daughters of her friends. She’s organizing a party for my birthday, and I know she’s planning on inviting practically every woman in Memphis. I don’t have time for this crap—I have a business to run and a lawsuit to fight. But with Eloise, my life is turning into one long bridefest.” He poured loathing into the word.

      “Hey,” Casey protested. “This sounds just like my family. If you don’t do anything you don’t want to, how come you don’t just tell Eloise to take a hike?”

      “I wish I could,” Adam said with feeling. “Before Dad died, he asked me to take care of her. I want to honor his memory, to keep my promise. But she makes it damn hard.”

      “Were she and your father close?”

      Anger flickered in his eyes, then vanished. “You could say my father died for her.” The look he gave Casey said, Don’t ask.

      Briefly, she considered asking anyway. But that might be pushing her luck—and she still didn’t understand why Adam wanted to pretend their marriage was genuine. She abandoned her position at the window to return to the couch. “So you want to beat your aunt’s lawsuit and you want to escape Eloise’s bridefest.” She spoke the word with relish, and he glared.

      “If I’m married, she’ll have to back off. No more introductions, no birthday party. Anna May and Henry will think they’ve lost the battle because I’ve already met the will’s conditions. By the time the annulment comes through and they realize they were wrong, Sam and I will have built a compelling case against the will.”

      Adam spread his hands, palms up, as if to say this was unarguable logic. “So what say we buy ourselves some time? A month is long enough for me to deter Eloise and get my legal battle under control. Is it enough for your sister and your father to sort out their problems? You can use the computer at my place to work on your book, since you’ll have nothing else to do.”

      He smiled and Casey’s danger sensors went on alert. This man was used to getting what he wanted, and she suspected he might ride roughshod over others to get it.