A Promise for Her Love Read Free Page B

announcement. The gentle thud of Christmas music playing downstairs reminded her of the real reason for her terror. What if the rest of Rick's family treated her the exact same way? As if she was a wealth-sucking leper?
    Tucking locks of hair, tangled from burying her face in a pillow, she rose from the bed. She picked up her cell from the chest style dresser and then leaned a hip against the wooden edge. Names scrolled across the screen until she found the one she wanted.
    Her friend answered on the third ring. "Enjoying Christmas paradise?" Trisha asked cheerfully.
    "Not exactly," she answered, trying not to break down into tears. "He wants me... he asked me to..." She took a deep, soothing breath and tried to get the words out again. "He asked me to sign a prenup."
    "Oh, sweetie." Trisha's heavy sigh crackled across the line. "Are you really surprised?"
    "I was, yes. I mean, I thought he knew me well enough to know I wasn't marrying him because of money."
    "He does, and it's not him."
    She swiped away a stray tear and shook her head in frustration. "I know. He told me they'd pretty much fire him if I didn't sign it, and he married me. They have to protect the company’s wealth. So stupid."
    "I agree completely, but I think they still look at marriage as a business transaction rather than one of love."
    "I guess some still are," Caylie replied softly. "But ours won't be."
    "Have you looked at it?"
    Her attention shifted to the oversized blue folder on the bed. "I read some. I couldn't stomach much. They base my worth on years and kids, and if I contribute anything to the family or the company."
    "I think all that sounds rather fair. Seriously Caylie, it's just a piece of paper. It only has as much power as you want it to."
    Trisha's reasoning began to penetrate the fog of hurt. "I-I just don't think I can bring myself to sign the stupid thing."
    "Can you bring yourself to lose him? Would that be worth it?"
    "No, of course not."
    "How long do you have?"
    "They just need my signature before the wedding."
    "Good, plenty of time for you to get comfortable with the idea. Until then, be sure to read that thing front and back. You want my brother to look it over for you?"
    "Maybe. But doesn't he do criminal law?"
    "I think legal talk is legal talk. I can ask him."
    "Okay, thanks."
    "Try and at least enjoy your first Christmas with your hottie, soon-to-be-husband, all right?"
    "I will."
    "Promise?"
    Caylie rolled her eyes and gave an annoyed sigh. "Yes."
    After making plans on when to get together for lunch, they said their goodbyes. Caylie pressed the phone to her mouth in thought, her focus still on the folder.
    In two months, all the debt Caylie still owed from her parents, and what she'd racked up trying to survive while handling that load, would become Rick's debt as well. She would still manage it on her own, and while nothing was in collections, some were getting close. Especially with the cutbacks the school had to make.
    The car accident that had killed her parents had left her with a mound of medical bills. What the lawsuit hadn't taken had just barely covered funeral costs. Her job as a special needs teacher at the gifted school barely fed her and Kyle. On his eighteenth birthday, she'd lost the financial support from the government. Without Rick, she didn't know what they would have done. Kyle was finishing his last year in school and couldn't be expected to support himself yet.
    Knowing Rick could write a check and all her money woes would vanish aggravated her more than she cared to admit. For five years she'd done the best she could, and in less than five seconds, Rick would manage to do what she hadn’t.
    Deep inside, Caylie knew this was why Ms. Marshall didn't even bother to give her the time of day. To Rick's mother, Caylie was nothing more than a poor girl using her son.
    A knock on the door drew her out of the depressing reverie. These were things she'd need to get over or they'd tear her and Rick apart.