A Fine Mess Read Online Free PDF Page A

Annie’s reaction that he needed to make sure of. He wrapped both arms around her and whispered fiercely in her ear,
    “This is the only way to keep your father out of prison so you’d better make a good show of it!”
    “Married?” Maddie exclaimed, torn between confusion and pleasure. “ Tomorrow? ”
    “Yes,” Ian hurried to explain. “Annie thought we should wait but I wanted the right to be able to help you through this difficult time. And the fact is, I love your daughter and I want her for my wife.” A bald faced lie but, given the circumstances, what else could he do?
    “Now wait just a minute,” Paul started to protest, jumping to his feet.
    “D-Dad,” Annie stuttered before saying firmly, “I-it‘s okay.” Smiling a smile that left much to be desired, she said sweetly, “If you’d excuse us for a moment, I need to speak to my fiancé’ for a moment. Because you’re right, Darling . I thought we’d agreed to wait.”
     
    ~~~~
     
    “ Married? ” Annie hissed, glaring up at him from where they stood on the front porch, where she’d dragged him. Against his will, judging from the amount of resistance he’d shown. “ Married! That’s your solution to our problems?”
    “Calm down,” Ian said quietly.
    “I will not! You waltz in and calmly announce to my mother that we’re getting married tomorrow and you want me to calm down?”
    “As a matter of fact I do. Like I said before, if you want to keep your father out of prison, this is the only way.”
    “How could our getting married possibly help my father?”
    “Quite simply, it will make available to me half of an inheritance that my grandmother left me. The only way I can use it now is if I get married. It’s that or wait   until my fortieth birthday, which is another seven years away. By then I expect your father will have settled quite comfortably into his cell.” By the time he’d finished his explanation, he’d leaned down until he was almost nose to nose with Annie. “ Capisce? ”
    Annie cleared her throat and took a couple of steps away from him.
    “Actually, no I don’t understand. You’re willing to give up your freedom to help someone who stole from your father’s company? Why? You’re either the kindest person I’ve ever met, or you’re inheritance is out of this world.” Ian snorted and rested his arm against the house above her head.
    “Sorry to disappoint you but I’m not that nice. Neither is the inheritance overly large.”
    “So you’re doing this because...”
    “Because the inheritance is large enough that I can help your father, buy a home, and start my own company so that I’m free of my father. Believe me, I have no designs on you, Miss Blake,” he assured her. “However, there is one other thing you need to be aware of.
    “According to my grandmother’s will, unless I stay married for at least five years, I will forfeit the other half of the inheritance. Her way of ensuring the family name continues I suppose.” He looked directly into her eyes. “Does that pose any problems for you? If it does, tell me now, because I assure you that I have no intention of kissing the rest of the money goodbye.”
    “Actually I have several problems with this, if you want to know the truth,” Annie sighed. “One, I don’t love you.”
    “No problem there. I don’t love you either.” Even though he was being as honest as she had been, she still felt just the tiniest bit insulted.
    “Second, I’m a Christian and we don’t believe in divorce.”
    “Again, no problem,” Ian shrugged. “When the time comes, I’ll file for it so you don’t have to go against your religion.”
    Annie closed her eyes and tried to breathe normally. This couldn’t be happening. How could life go from being semi-normal this morning to absolute turmoil this evening? Wasn’t her mother’s cancer enough to deal with?
    “I wouldn’t be sleeping with you,” she pointed out after a long silence.
    “I didn’t think