They Toasted the Happy Couple, So I Bought the Groom novel · Chapter 10 of 32
Chapter 10: Sunday Dinner
My father's text came at noon on Sunday.
"Dinner. Six. Bring a number."
He wanted to buy me out.
He'd never once in my life invited me to dinner without a reason, and this was the most honest reason he'd ever had.
I wore grey and drove up the valley with the windows down.
Briarwood looked the way it always looked in July. The long lawn, the stone, the pond with no swans on it now.
Somebody had taken the wedding tent down. You could still see the square of yellow grass where it had stood.
The housekeeper opened the door before I knocked.
She'd been with us since I was eleven. She'd braided my hair for my mother's funeral.
"Miss Iris," she said, and squeezed my hand hard, once, and let go.
The dining room was set for five.
My father at the head. Berenice at his left. Marigold at his right, in blush silk, her hair up.
Clive beside her.
He looked like he hadn't slept since the photo. He probably hadn't.
He didn't look at me when I sat down across from him.
"Iris," my father said. "Sit. Eat. We'll talk after."
The housekeeper brought the roast.
Marigold talked about the honeymoon they were taking in August, Santorini, a villa with its own pool.
"Clive's never been to Greece," she said. "Have you, babe?"
"No."
"He's never been anywhere. I'm going to show him everything."
My father carved.
Berenice ate very little and drank her water and watched Clive.
When the plates were cleared my father folded his hands.
"Here's my offer," he said to me. "Eighty cents on the dollar for all six notes. You turn a nice profit, you resign the seat, and we never discuss this year again."
Keep reading free with an account. Start They Toasted the Happy Couple, So I Bought the Groom from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 9 · All chapters · Chapter 11 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend