The Dating Plan(24)
“It’s not just for me,” Liam explained, pulling his hand out of his pocket. “I need a wife to preserve my family legacy.”
“So you want to breed her? Good to know. That takes Margie and Joan out of the running. They’re both in their sixties.”
He dropped to one knee and held out a blue velvet box. “I want you. Marry me, Daisy.”
Of all the things she’d expected him to say, “Marry me” did not even make the top thousand. For a long moment, all she could do was stand and stare.
“I think you have me confused with someone who would even want to be in the same room as you, much less wed you after such a romantic proposal.” She moved to leave and Liam held up his hand.
“Daisy. Wait. I’ve handled this wrong. Let me explain.”
“You have two minutes, and only because Tyler needs time to get his pitch deck together.”
“My family owns a whiskey distillery in Napa.” Liam pushed to his feet, still holding out the velvet box. “It was handed down from father to son for three hundred years until my father turned his back on tradition to focus on his dream of building cars. My grandfather continued to run the distillery until . . .” Liam’s voice caught, broke. His head dropped and his hand went to his forehead. “He passed away two weeks ago.”
Daisy’s throat tightened when his blue eyes glistened. She’d never seen Liam so emotional. Or so open. “I’m so sorry, Liam. I know you didn’t have much family.”
“He left the distillery to me in a trust on the condition that I marry before my next birthday,” he continued, clearing his throat. “Family meant everything to him and he told me before he died that he was worried that I’d wind up alone. His lawyers are administering the trust. If I don’t marry by that time, the distillery goes to my brother, who intends to knock it down and sell the land to save his business.”
“I’m sure you can find someone to marry you,” Daisy said, trying not to be too harsh in light of his circumstances. “You’re not hard to look at. Actually, Rochelle is single. I think you two would make a great match.”
“There’s a catch.”
Daisy groaned. “There always is.”
“I have to stay married for a year to show the marriage is legitimate,” Liam said. “I don’t want to involve friends or exes or lead anyone on because I have no interest in a real marriage, and our arrangement will be over when the year is up. I also don’t want to marry someone I don’t know and can’t trust. There’s a lot of money at stake, and at the end of the day, I can’t risk a stranger turning around and demanding fifty percent because we’re in a no-fault divorce state. That’s why I need you.”
“You should write that on a greeting card,” she said dryly. “I can barely contain myself.”
“But that’s why it’s perfect,” he said. “You don’t like me, and I have no interest in a relationship, so there would be no expectations either way. Except for a few events to establish the legitimacy of the marriage, we could continue to lead separate lives. No one will know.”
“I’ll know,” Daisy said. “Every time I look at you, I’ll wonder if you’re just going to disappear again. You were part of the family, and then you were gone, like you didn’t care about us at all.”
“I did care.” He paced in front of her, irritating her even more because now she caught a glimpse of his tight ass and the strong thighs that carried him across the room and back.
“It wasn’t easy to leave. I thought I was doing the right thing for me and for your family.”
Ah yes, her family. They now thought she and Liam were together. And here he was with a fake marriage proposal that would save her from matchmaking aunties and boring blind dates. Superstitious Lakshmi Auntie would call that karma. Or she might assume that Daisy had seen a fox when she’d woken up in the morning, which signified a productive and fruitful day.
“There has to be something you want,” Liam pleaded “Something I can offer you.”
“Your head on a spike?” She’d always envied Liam’s relaxed attitude, his impulsiveness and disregard for rules. He was chaos. She was order. Even if she agreed to his crazy plan, it would never work. They’d destroy each other before they could say “I do.”
? 10 ?
SWEAT beaded on Liam’s brow. He’d spent the weekend thinking through the options. Aside from the fact that Brendan would see through the ruse, there were significant emotional and financial risks involved in marrying a stranger. Daisy was his only hope. Maybe he shouldn’t have winged the proposal, but planning just wasn’t his style.
“I could pay you.” He regretted the words as soon as they dropped from his lips.
Daisy’s face shuttered, and for a moment he thought she’d throw something at him. Lucky for him, the coffee hadn’t arrived.
“I’m not a hooker, Liam.”
“Jesus Christ. I don’t think you’re a hooker.”
“And just for your information,” she continued. “I don’t need to sell myself to get sex. Lots of guys want to have sex with me. For free. I don’t even let them pay for my dinner. That’s how free it is.”