"Um…Aidan, we need to go over a few details." Devlin interrupted my moment of shock. He headed back to the mahogany desk.
"There’s more?" I asked, incredulously, turning to look at Devlin.
"Well, it’s more just the fine details to your grandfather’s conditions." Devlin looked over the top of a folder he held in his hands. "You know that your grandfather was a stickler for details." Devlin grinned.
"Yeah, I know." I growled. Where sadness, worry and shock had knotted in my stomach, anger grew.
"Like grandson like grandfather?" Devlin’s attempt at humor only helped to fuel the anger.
"Let’s get this over with," I groaned. "Apparently, I’ll have to go out and propose to someone tonight."
Devlin began to read the specifics of my conditions.
"Well, as you know, you need to be married within a year from tomorrow." He looked up, meeting my eyes as I rolled them. "Okay, well it must be a valid marriage. Meaning, it must be equally joined into as well as consummated and monogamous. Infidelity will immediately violate the terms." He cleared his throat. "The…um…marriage has to last no less than four years."
For a moment I thought my eyes might pop out of my head.
"Four years?" I shouted. Viola placed her hand on my arm in an attempt to calm me.
Devlin cleared his throat again.
"The infidelity goes for both you and your spouse." He took a deep breath. "Now, for the terms of the child. Your heir should be conceived within the first year of marriage. Your heir is to be a biological child, unless it is impossible, and must be given the Iverson name." Devlin looked up, again.
"Is that it?" I grumbled.
He shook his head and I sighed.
"Living arrangements are as follows: You will live in the same house with your spouse and child during the four years of marriage and reside in the same bedroom for at least three nights a week."
"Jesus Christ, did we want to regulate how many times I am supposed to fuck her too? Did he pick her out already?" My anger seething, I gripped the side of my chair to the point where I thought I could snap it at any moment. I was ready to launch my fury on Devlin.
"No, no, none of that," he breathed. "I told you, your grandfather was all about the specifics."
"Yeah," I growled. "Is that it? Can I go?"
"Aidan, if you have any questions then now —"
"Oh, I don’t have any questions, Devlin! It's pretty clear what a ridiculous arrangement he made." I shot him a nasty glare.
"Aidan it’s not Devlin’s fault, so control yourself," Viola spoke softly and rubbed my arm.
Standing abruptly, I left the room with a slam of the large oak door behind me.
Chapter Three
First Date(s)
Aidan
"Holy shit! Are you kidding me?" Dixon practically fell out of the old ratty recliner he loved. Though, I wasn't sure if it was from shock or amusement. Either way, it annoyed me.
"Yeah, I’m fucking joking." With an exaggerated roll of my eyes, I put the beer bottle to my lips.
It hadn’t taken long for Oscar, James and Dixon to start their unfunny jokes about my predicament. Everyone had an opinion, a suggestion or a snarky comment. My family was desperate for me to not fuck all their lives up, so that meant that everyone had someone ‘great’ they wanted me to meet and now even my friends were trying to help.
"Well I could set you up with a friend of mine, she is single and she’s cute. She lives—"
"Look, I don’t even know what I am going to do. Seriously, how am I going to make this work?" When I heard James snort, I looked at him. "What?"
"Oh come on you big fucking baby! So you have to get married, big fucking deal. It’s not hard to find someone who will marry you, just go back through your little black book and pick your favorite ex. Problem solved." He shrugged and took a drink of his beer.
"He has a point," Oz offered up from the other side of me.
"So you don’t think that I should attempt to find someone that I could actually stay with?" They all bursted into hysterics. "What?"
"Did you just really try to put you and a serious long term relationship in the same sentence?" Oz barked out in laughter.
I punched his shoulder.
"Screw you," I growled.
"Oh come on, Aidan. We’ll help you out. Let’s see, Oz help me with the ex girlfriend list." I was about to object but then we heard the door of Dixon’s apartment. We all turned as Lilli walked in.
She was in a pair of baggy jeans, a large sweatshirt and her hair was in a high ponytail. She must have realized that we were all looking at her ‘cause she slowed her pace and looked over to us.
"Umm…hi," she waved "Just ignore me, I’ll be out of the way in a second." She smiled, went to the fridge and then disappeared down the hallway.
"She’s ridiculously hot." James stared after her, leaning off the couch to look.
"Quit ogling my roommate asshole!" Dixon threw a pillow at him and we all started laughing, even James.
"Claire?" Oz shouted. We all looked at him.
"What?" Dixon wore a perplexed expression.