2: 2
Dean panicked at once.
"Ceci! We only needed one thing for the wedding, a place to live, and this is the apartment we finally settled on after half a month of looking!"
"If we hand it over to them now, where are we ever going to find another one this perfect?"
I closed my hand gently over his and gave him a small shake of the head.
"Trust me. When have I ever let you down?"
Dean paused.
He looked into my steady eyes, and even though the reluctance was written all over his face, he chose to believe me.
"Fine."
"We're the ones who were going to live in it anyway. If you say we don't want it, then we don't want it."
Seeing that we really were giving it up, Ida grinned so wide it nearly split her face.
"Now you're being smart, cousin. The most important thing in life is knowing your place."
"Someday when I'm living in a mansion and driving a luxury car, I promise I won't forget how you stepped aside for me today."
As she said it, she dug a fifty out of her bag and shoved it into my hand.
"Take it."
"Consider it me buying you two a drink."
The contempt and the insult in her eyes were barely hidden.
But I wasn't angry. I smiled and tucked the money away.
After all, the two and a half million she was paying was nothing more than a ticket to open my treasure box for me.
And now she was throwing in fifty dollars on top.
A sucker like that, I'd welcome a few more.
"Thank you, cousin. I won't say no to the money."
My reaction froze the smile on Ida's face in an instant.
She'd been waiting to watch me flare up in humiliation, and instead her fist had landed in a pile of cotton.
"Broke loser," she muttered under her breath.
That only made me smile wider.
A moment ago I'd caught a glimpse of the text popping up on her phone.
To scrape together that two and a half million, my aunt and Fergus's parents had each mortgaged a property.
They were all counting on the gold and cash in the walls to turn their lives around.
When that hope came to nothing, when someone was hounding her to pay it back, let's see if she could still spit out a line like that.
The thought decided me. I took Dean's hand, ready to go.
But we'd barely taken two steps when Fergus sidestepped into our path.
"Hold on. You're not leaving until we've signed the contract."
Dean's face darkened.
"Says who?"
Fergus folded his arms and let out a cold laugh.
"Says who? Says us, keeping an eye on you two, obviously."
"Who's to say you aren't just pretending to back off, waiting for us to let our guard down so you can quietly go sign with the landlord?"
Dean actually laughed, he was so furious.
"The landlord's almost here, the agent's standing right there. What are we going to do, fly back and steal the place out from under you?"
But Fergus wouldn't give an inch.
"Hard to say."
"A second ago you had to have it, and now all of a sudden you don't. Who's going to believe that?"
"What if it's all an act?"
Ida jumped in at once, nodding smugly.
"That's my man, thinking of everything."
She looked at me, guarded all over.
"Cousin, you've loved snatching things away from me since we were kids."
"Today, until that contract's signed, don't even think about leaving."
Then she turned to the agent and threatened him outright.
"Keep them here. If they walk out, we're not buying the place either."
The agent was caught in the middle, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Miss Fox, Mr. James, why don't... the two of you sit for a bit?"
"The landlord's on his way anyhow. It won't take long."
Dean's face went livid, and he'd already pulled out his phone to call the police.
"Stealing our apartment is one thing, and now you're holding us here against our will?"
"You really think there's no one who can rein you two in?"
But I reached over and pressed my hand down on his phone, smiling softly.
"Let it go, Dean."
"Since they're so worried..."
"...then we'll keep them company and wait."
I raised my eyes to Ida, and a slow, knowing smile curved at the corner of my mouth.
After all, I was looking forward to the moment she signed for this apartment too.
