The Wedding Wager Read Online Free

stomped out in fury. He chose his words carefully. He did not want Megan to hurl epithets and flee.
    “I have a complicated family situation,” he began. “My parents are not in Guatemala. They are very much here in the States. And there is a hundred-year-old legal arrangement governing my inheritance. I need your help to guarantee that I meet those legal requirements. In exchange, I will pay you handsomely, cover all housing and transportation, and when everything is secure, there will be a large bonus in it for you.”
    Megan tilted her head to one side and narrowed her gaze. “Are you sure there’s no sex involved?”
    “I’ve had a legal contract drawn up for you examine, if we get that far. The no sex part is written into the contract. You will not be forced or coerced to do anything you do not want to do.”
    “You were right. It’s not what I would expect from a job as personal secretary.” She tilted her head to the other side. “On the other hand, if you have lawyers involved, the chances of you being a serial killer are much reduced. They tend to work alone.”
    Kevin smiled again. “We seem to have a rapport,” he said. “That is encouraging.”
    Megan shook a finger back and forth in the air and said, “We have repartee,” she said. “That’s not quite rapport.”
    “But it’s a beginning. Is it enough to do business together?”
    Megan’s brows knit together and she leaned forward, hands clasped. “Let me see if I understand you. You want me to learn a ton of stuff about your family, then deal with your parents and your kid brother.”
    “I have a teenage sister, too. Do you know much about teenage girls?”
    “I spent several years as one,” said Megan. “My advice to your sister is to age as quickly as possible.”
    Kevin nodded and replied in a serious tone, “I’ll pass that on to her.”
    “You also want me to help you jump through legal hoops so you can receive your inheritance.”
    “Correct.”
    “I’m not a lawyer,” said Megan. “I have no background whatsoever in law.”
    “Not necessary.”
    “Then how on earth could I help you with legal rigamarole?”
    Kevin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His fingers drummed the surface of the desk. “I need to be legally married before my twenty-fifth birthday.”
    Megan blinked at him. “You want me to plan your wedding?”
    “Not exactly.”
    Megan leaned back in her chair and pinned Kevin with a sideways glance. “Just what do you want me to do?”
    Kevin braced himself for another fiery exit, then said flat out, “I need you to agree to marry me until my inheritance is secured. Once that happens, and a decent amount of time passes, we can arrange a discreet divorce. You will receive a handsome settlement, and I will have control of what is rightfully mine.”
    Megan sat quietly for several seconds. Then she stood up and slung her purse over her shoulder.
    Kevin thought, Here it comes. She’s going to stomp out, just like the others.
    But instead, Megan asked, “May I use your restroom?”
    “Oh. Of course. It’s that door by the Picasso.”
    Megan retreated to the bathroom.
    Kevin plopped backward in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. At least she hadn’t walked out. Yet.
    He waited five minutes. Seven. Ten.
    He got up and began to pace. Then he stopped and stared out the windows. Megan was right. How could anyone get any real work done in here with that view beckoning?
    A soft click behind him announced Megan’s return. He whirled in time to see her take her seat. She was holding a paper towel on which she had written some notes.
    Megan cleared her throat. “First of all, that is a Picasso print, not an original. I’m sure you know that, but I just wanted you to know that I do, too.”
    Kevin nodded. “Okay.”
    “As I said before, I know nothing about the law, but isn’t it illegal to marry someone for personal gain?”
    Kevin shrugged. “No. If you want to get nit-picky, women do it all