A Wedding Changes Everything (Hickory Ridge Book 4) by Isabelle Grace

Author:Isabelle Grace [Grace, Isabelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rosewood Books
Published: 2023-06-20T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Damn him for being right.

Again.

At least regarding Sophie.

For the two of them? Not so much.

Why?

Because that was not the kind of relationship they’d agreed on. Or even wanted. They were friends. With benefits, yes, but that was more to meet their carnal needs than anything else. They certainly didn’t need to be pronounced husband and wife for that to continue.

Plus, Frankie had vowed a long time ago never to depend on anyone for anything.

Especially a man.

If Frankie quit working and married Holden, she'd renege on the promise she’d made to always take care of herself. Considering her only other source of income besides bartending was as Holden's part-time bookkeeper, she'd be nothing more than a kept woman. That might be the life her mother and sister sought, but it was far from what Frankie wanted.

Or needed.

But what choice did she have? She wasn't an idiot. She realized her paltry existence wouldn't hold a candle to the money and power a US Senator could exercise over the law. The fact that she understood better than anyone else what Sophie needed wouldn't make a damned bit of difference.

Sadly, wealth, power, and greed ruled the world. And Frankie possessed none of the three. Nor did she aspire to. All she wanted was for Sophie to be loved and cared for like she deserved. To make her niece a priority. Give her a fighting chance.

Despite how badly she wished otherwise, Frankie grudgingly accepted she had to surrender the battle to win the war for Sophie's sake. Sighing in what she considered abject defeat, Frankie lifted her gaze and met Holden's.

He hadn't pressed her during her internal debate. Instead, he patiently remained quiet, allowing her to sort everything out in her own way and time. Frankie didn't doubt for one minute he would have sat in the restaurant's parking lot all night if it meant she would eventually accept that marrying him gave her the best chance of retaining custody of Sophie.

With no other viable or legal choices, she said the only thing she could. "Okay."

Holden's right eyebrow inched upward. "Okay?" he repeated as a question.

Frankie nodded. "Okay. I'll marry you," she clarified reluctantly. "But I have a few conditions."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." His beautiful eyes smiled at her. "Go ahead. Lay 'em on me."

If she didn't know better, Frankie could have sworn she saw relief wash over Holden's handsome face. Clearly her imagination was running amok, because why on God's green earth would Holden Blackwood ever be relieved she’d agreed to marry him?

It made no kind of sense.

But what about this entire situation did?

Frankie sucked in a deep breath and rattled off her stipulations. "First, this will only be a temporary arrangement. Once the judge makes the ruling on Sophie's custody, I'll file for a divorce. That way, you won't be saddled with us any longer than absolutely necessary if I’m awarded custody. Second, I have to work. I understand it can't be at Tully's but marrying me is enough of a sacrifice.

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