I MARRIED A MECHANIC TO RUIN MY FATHER'S PLAN

Chapter Eight - The Proposal

The garage is louder in daylight, and Julian Callahan looks even less happy to see me. I barely make it inside his glass office before he looks up from the folder in front of him.

"No."

"I haven't asked you anything yet."

"What's wrong now?"

"My life. I..."

"This is a garage."

I stare at him.

"The place you're looking for is three blocks down the street."

"Are you always this helpful?"

"No. Sometimes I charge."

I stare at him for another second. Fine. He wants me to get to the point, I'll get to the point.

"I need a husband."

His pen stops. Somewhere outside the office, metal hits concrete. Julian finally looks at me.

"Deacon."

A voice comes from somewhere near the lifts.

"Got it, boss."

Julian's attention stays on me.

"No."

"That still wasn't the question."

"I'm saving us time."

"You don't know what I'm going to ask."

"I have a terrible feeling I do."

I grip the strap of my bag tighter. There really isn't a good way to explain this without sounding completely insane, so I stop trying to find one.

"My father made an arrangement."

The amusement disappears.

"What kind of arrangement?"

"The kind where everyone involved gets something except me."

He waits.

"He wants me married."

"That's usually how marriage works."

"To someone he chose."

That changes him. His face doesn't soften, but the sarcasm shuts off.

"You don't want him."

"No."

"Then say no."

A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. Julian tips his head, irritation finally cracking through.

"Something funny?"

"You."

"That's encouraging."

"You actually think people like my father hear no and respect it."

"I don't know your father."

"You're lucky."

He studies me for a second before putting the pen down.

"Go to a lawyer."

"I have lawyers."

"Go to a better lawyer."

"He owns better lawyers."

Julian doesn't interrupt this time, so I keep going. My father controls enough of my life that refusing him isn't as simple as walking away. Money, shares, trusts, people around me. Everything comes with strings, and Edward knows exactly which one to pull.

"And your solution is?"

I swallow. This is ridiculous and humiliating, but it is the first idea since last night that feels like mine.

"Marry me."

For two seconds the garage forgets how to be a garage. A ratchet stops clicking. Somebody near the lift coughs into his fist and fails to hide a laugh. Julian doesn't turn around, but the muscle near his temple jumps once. I can feel every man outside trying to decide whether this is a private conversation or the best thing that has happened to them all week.

"Work."

The garage comes back to life. Julian looks at me like maybe I hit my head harder than either of us realized.

"You're serious."

"Yes."

"You met me yesterday."

"Yes."

"You don't know me."

"That's helping."

His eyebrows lift, but I'm already committed now. I know the men my father would expect me to choose. I know their families, their companies, their fathers, their fathers' friends. They all want something.

"And you think I don't?"

"You didn't even know who I was."

"I still don't."

"My last name is Moon."

"Should that mean something to me?"

"My father is Edward Moon."

Julian's expression stays blank.

"Congratulations."

"You've heard of him."

"I've heard of a lot of people."

"You didn't treat me differently."

"You were standing beside a damaged car at midnight."

"You said no to ten thousand dollars without blinking."

"That was stupid money."

"That's the point. Everybody wants something from Edward. You didn't."

"You're assuming I can't be bought."

"You don't act like somebody waiting for the right offer."

"Maybe nobody's offered enough."

"Then what's your price?"

His expression changes, and I realize how that sounded about half a second too late.

"I meant what would make you consider it."

"Nothing."

"Think about it."

"I have."

"You've had thirty seconds."

"Twenty-nine seconds too many, if we're counting, which apparently we are."

I exhale hard. There has to be a way to make him understand that I'm not asking him to spend the rest of his life with me. I'm asking for twelve months.

"One year."

That finally interrupts whatever answer he was about to give me.

"Excuse me?"

"One year. Legal marriage. Separate rooms. Separate money. Separate lives unless we need to appear together. After twelve months, we divorce."

"You've planned this."

"Since three this morning."

"That explains why it's terrible."

"It isn't terrible."

"You're asking a stranger to legally attach himself to a woman whose father apparently treats people like numbers on a spreadsheet."

"He doesn't treat everyone like that."

Julian keeps looking at me until I give up.

"Fine. He does."

"And you think marrying me stops him."

"It stops Cliffard Ryanhart."

I haven't said Cliffard's name outside my family before. Hearing it here makes this whole thing feel more real. Julian's fingers stop against the folder for half a second, and I catch it.

"You've heard that name too."

"Hard not to."

His tone changes. He isn't teasing anymore.

"Edward Moon doesn't strike me as a man who walks away because somebody inconveniences him."

My fingers curl around the strap of my bag. That answer bothers me because it sounds too certain for someone who claims not to know my father.

"You said you didn't know him."

"I know the type."

"I wouldn't let him touch this place."

Julian glances through the glass toward the garage before looking back at me.

"You think you could stop him?"

"I'd try."

"That isn't enough."

"I know."

The answer hurts because he's right. I came here asking him to step into a mess that has nothing to do with him, and until now I've been so busy thinking about getting myself out that I haven't spent enough time thinking about what happens to him once Edward realizes who helped me.

"If you say no now, I'll leave."

"I thought you didn't accept no."

"I don't like it. That's different."

He waits, so I force out the part I hate admitting.

"I wouldn't be here if I had another option."

"That's usually when people make the worst decisions."

"Maybe."

"Usually."

"Fine. Probably."

Julian watches me for another second before asking the first question I'm not prepared for.

"What do I get?"

I blink, and he catches it before I can hide it.

"You didn't think about that."

"I was going to compensate you."

"No."

"I didn't mean to insult you."

"You did."

"Then tell me what you want."

Julian comes around the desk, and I forgot how big he is when there isn't a car between us.

"You came here with a plan for what you get. You know what your father loses. You even know when the marriage ends."

"Yes."

"You forgot one person."

I know exactly who he means now.

"You."

"Good."

My pulse gives one stupid jump, which is irritating enough that I ignore it.

"Fine. What do you want?"

Julian closes the blinds and locks the door, shutting out the garage and every mechanic pretending not to watch us. Then he pulls a blank sheet of paper from the printer and places it between us.

"One year?"

"Yes."

"No shared finances?"

"Yes."

"No involvement in my business?"

"Yes."

"No decisions involving my employees without me?"

"Obviously."

He writes something down.

"Nothing becomes public until both of us agree."

I frown.

"If you agree."

His gaze lifts from the paper.

"That's what I said."

No, it isn't, and we both know it. He picks up his pen again.

"Sit down."

I don't move.

"Why?"

Julian smiles, and that's new enough to make me suspicious.

"Because if we're negotiating a marriage, Lily, you're about to find out what marrying me costs."