Every so often, we’ll bring in other guys but Iain will always drop everything for a match. He is the only one who likes fighting as much as I do.
And unlike Elliot or Cal, he doesn’t get wound up about bruising his pretty face.
Giselle calls it barbaric on the occasions she catches sight of me with a broken nose or blackened eyes. My dad just shakes his head before his fleeting attention moves on to something else. Emma is the only one who ever bothers to ask how the other guy looks.
The answer: always worse.
Iain’s face is expressionless as he unwinds the tape from around his bleeding knuckles. “If you’re sure that’s what you want.”
“I want my inheritance,” I deadpan. “That’s all this is about.”
If I say it enough times, that might make it true.
“And what does the girl desperate to escape the slums think about an impending teenage pregnancy.”
The real trick to being a good fighter is accepting the pain, maybe even looking forward to it just a little bit. The guy who flinches when he should brace himself and blocks when he should lunge has already lost.
I’m not afraid to take a few hits if it gets me where I need to be.
“I’ll let you know when the topic comes up.”
A brief expression of surprise crosses Iain’s face before it returns to the perpetual mask of disinterest. “You really haven’t told her yet? That’s interesting.”
“I barely got her to say yes in the first place.” The lengths it took to get that yes from her are already a sore subject. “Don’t worry about it. Zaya will do what I want her to do eventually. She always does.”
“Getting her to play mute for a few years is one thing…” He snorts and just lets the words trail off with a shake of his head. If he ever indulged in humor, the dick would probably be laughing his ass right off. “I’m looking forward to watching this explode in your face.”
“I’m not worried.”
My best friend does laugh at me then, a single guffaw that rings off the rafters before he is back in control of himself. “You sure as fuck don’t fight like you’re not worried. I can’t remember the last time you tried to break my jaw.”
Was the stress of this really getting to me?
No. Zaya will do what I want. It just might take some time for me to figure out the best way to go about making it happen.
But the expression on Iain’s face is more mocking than ever. He looks at me like he knows exactly what I’m thinking and finds it patently hilarious.
“What do you suggest I do then? If you know so damn much.”
He seems to actually consider that for a moment. “No way you’re getting that girl to agree to a baby. Not until she finishes her degree in accounting, or whatever the fuck, and is at least five years into her first cubicle job.” His lips quirk again in what almost looks like a smile. Guy is just giddy today watching me squirm. “Probably not even then, if she has to have the kid with you.”
“I assume all these words of encouragement mean you have a suggestion.”
“More of an observation.” He watches my face for a few seconds, as if trying to decide how I’m going to react to whatever it is he plans to say next. “The only way a girl like Zaya Milbourne gets pregnant is if it’s an accident.”
“I’ve never gotten near her without a condom.”
“Condom. Safety pin.” He holds up his hands and mimes jabbing one into the other. “Works like a charm, if you trust daytime soap operas.”
My mouth opens and then closes again. It doesn’t surprise me that Iain would think of something so devious.
Or that the freak watches soap operas.
What surprises me is that I’m actually considering doing it.
Then I come to my senses. I’m a bad guy, but this would be terrible even for me. “She would never forgive me.”
“Because you care about that.”
Considering the things I’ve done, that’s a fair point. “I can’t force her to carry a baby to term, and eventually she has to for the codicil to be fulfilled. She would just end the pregnancy.”
“It’s amazing to me that you can be this obsessed with a girl and not understand her at all.” He easily dodges when I swing at his head. “Zaya’s mother abandoned her when she was still in elementary school. All she wants to be is the opposite of what everyone in town says her family name makes her. She isn’t going to get an abortion. The girl would never be able to live with herself.”
“You think I should trick her into getting pregnant on the wild assumption that she will feel compelled to carry the baby to term.”
“Essentially.” Iain’s expression changes as he turns toward the doors, moments before I hear a clatter in the hallway. “Someone’s out there.”
I shrug it off. Nobody around here is going to involve themselves in my business, much less go running back to Zaya telling stories. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“I’m not telling you to do anything, just pointing out that you only have two options.” He picks his gym bag off the ground and slings it over his shoulder. “Either tell her the truth and watch her walk away. Or make walking away from you impossible. I’m sure you’ll make the selfless decision.”
My bloody lip aches. I lick it clean as I watch him go, relishing the flash of pain from the cut.
Everything worth having comes with at least a little bit of pain.
Twenty-Five
There is only one person whose opinion of my upcoming nuptials matters
