Page 22 of Western Waves
“Think of this as your favorite movie,Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. You’re Charlie, and this is your golden ticket,” Jeff stated.
“Willy Wonka is your favorite movie.” I laughed.
“Yours, mine, potato, potahto. All I’m saying is, this is our golden ticket out of this world. So… take it. If not for me and you, do it for Kevin. It was his last wish.”
I felt a tug in my chest as he said those words. Even though the whole concept of marrying a stranger for money seemed bonkers, it was an opportunity to give Kevin what he wanted.
“I mean, I guess arranged marriage isn’t that odd. Plus, in so many of my favorite historical romance novels, that’s a leading theme,” I said, trying to make the concept seem less odd.
“Fuck yeah! There’s a whole genre about that kind of stuff. Plus, six months? That’s nothing. That’s like one semester of college without the student debt. I need you to go and pick up your phone, dial that number, and say yes to Dillon.”
“Damian.”
Jeff rolled his eyes and waved it off. “Whatever. It honestly doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you say ‘I do’ to him so you can later say ‘I do’ to me.”
This was insane. The whole concept of marrying Damian was something I did not think I’d even be considering when I woke up to attend Kevin’s funeral. The day took a drastic turn, and all I wanted to do was go to bed and then awaken to find that this was nothing more than an odd dream. To find out that Kevin was still alive and well, and that none of the heaviness of that said day had actually happened.
I rubbed my shoulder as nerves hit me. “What about us? Remember, I’d have to live with Damian for the six months’ time.”
“We’ll figure it out. You said you get two days away, so those will be our days together. Then you can have those other days staying with Dan.”
“Damian.”
“I don’t give a fuck.” He laughed. “For once in your life, Stella, stop doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Overthinking. You aren’t going to have all the answers right away. That’s not how life works. Sometimes, you just have to leap and trust it will work out in the end. So, do this. Leap. If not for you, then for your family.”
That night, we headed to bed, and I stayed up doing what Jeff asked me not to do—overthinking. He snored beside me as the room remained pitch black around me. I glanced at my phone to see it was already three in the morning.
After chewing on my nails for far too much time, I pulled out the card that Damian had given me earlier that day, put his number into my phone, and shot him a text message.
Stella:Okay, I’m in.
Damian:Who is this?
Stella:Stella.
Damian:Who the hell is Stella?
I sighed. Somehow, he managed to be just as cold via text message as in person.
Stella:Cinderstella.
Damian:Oh. Right. My favorite Disney princess.
I could feel the sarcasm flying from his message.
Stella:Shut up. I’m just saying I’m agreeing to this arrangement.
Damian:Oh.
Damian:Okay.
Staring at his text messages, I was able to envision his lifeless expressions as he replied to me. I didn’t take his short remarks personally because he didn’t know me, and I didn’t know him. There was no way it could’ve been personal at all. We were mere strangers. I had a good feeling Damian was cold to the whole world. Therefore, I shouldn’t have taken his chills to heart.
Stella:So… Next steps?