Our hands slip apart as we simultaneously turn to see if Cecily has managed to free Coop from his predicament.
In the end, we leave the store with three rings. Mine, Georgie’s, and the one that is currently cutting off Coop’s circulation.
Chapter Thirteen
Georgie
“I must say, this is all very irregular.” Mr. Vanderman squints at us from behind his bifocals before looking back down at the large stack of papers in his hands.
He’s pretty much been saying variations of that same thing for the last twenty minutes, and every time he does, I get a little more nervous. If I can’t get my name added to the deed for the bakery, this marriage will have been for nothing. No wonder King stressed our need to make our marriage look legit.
King’s hand tightens around mine as he shifts a bit in his seat. “Uncle Bill always talked about how he wanted Georgie to have the bakery.”
“Then he should have left it to her,” Mr. Vanderman mutters to himself. He holds one sheet of paper closer to his face, hiding himself from view as he reads it.
King frowns, but there’s something in his expression that speaks of resignation. If he’s already willing to give up, we’re going to have a problem.
I sit forward. “Mr. Vanderman, Bill must have known King and I were going to end up here eventually, but he wasn’t sure when I would be coming back to Willow Cove. He probably thought it was safer if he left it to—”
“His family, Miss Carpenter.” Mr. Vanderman peers at me over the top of the paper. “I’ve noticed you haven’t applied to change your name yet.”
Of course he would point that out. I look at King, who doesn’t look back. We already had this discussion, but I don’t think the stuffy attorney will accept “it sounds funny” as a suitable reason to keep my maiden name over Kingston. I scramble for some other excuse. “Carpenter is my professional name, and the one I’m known by in the baking world. For the sake of the bakery, I thought I should keep it.”
“Hmm.” Mr. Vanderman purses his lips as he looks between us.
“Besides, she’d basically be named King George,” Coop says behind us. Honestly, I’m not sure how he and Cecily managed to end up in the room to witness this awkward conversation, but the two of them are sitting in the back of the office with opposite expressions. Coop looks like he would rather be anywhere but here, and Cecily has some mischief in her eyes that I really don’t like. She’s been looking at me like that ever since we left the tourist shop, though she’s been surprisingly mum.
“Mr. Heyes, you are here as an unnecessary witness, not to offer your opinions.” Placing the paper on the desk, Mr. Vanderman looks at each of us in turn before fixing his hard gaze on King. “Mr. Kingston, you are aware that I considered your uncle a dear friend before he departed this world, and as such I know precisely why he chose to leave his legacy to you rather than an outsider.”
I may not be a Willow Cove native, but I’ve spent enough time in this town to be more than an outsider. I’m about to say as much when King takes my hand and squeezes. I’m not sure if it’s reassurance or a warning, but I reluctantly keep my mouth shut.
“Uncle Bill wanted his bakery to thrive,” King says slowly. “He knew I wouldn’t let him down if something happened to him.”
“Exactly.”
“And I think the best thing for that bakery is for Georgie to have it.”
Mr. Vanderman purses his lips and turns his gaze to me. I don’t know what it is about him, but something about the way he looks at me feels almost painful. “I did not see you at the funeral, Miss Carpenter.”
Before I can say a word, King growls out, “That’s Mrs. Carpenter, sir. Whether you believe it or not, she’s my wife.”
She’s my wife. I’ve been reading too many romance novels because those few words send a shiver through me.
Cecily snickers. I really hope she didn’t see that shiver.
Mr. Vanderman scoffs, glancing between us before fixing his steely eyes on me once more. “Mrs. Carpenter, despite your absence over the last several years, you have certainly taken a shine to your new role in this family quickly, what with all the changes you’re making to the bakery menu. It’s not yours yet.”
Why in the world is this guy so against scribbling my name onto a piece of paper? My goodness, it’s like he’s angry on King’s behalf for the way I left. “What does a menu have to do with my marriage?” I ask sharply. “The people of Willow Cove have been requesting all of that stuff, so it’s not like—”
“And I have heard you will be employing Mr. Billingsley to make extensive renovations,” Mr. Vanderman continues.
King’s hand tightens around mine.
“I don’t know if I would call them extensive,” I argue. I haven’t even met with Beck yet. “But the place does need updating if we want it to—”
“Now that you are married, I don’t see why you cannot carry on as you are doing without bothering with the arduous process of changing ownership.”
My stomach drops. I knew he was going to be hesitant, based on what King said the day before we got married, but if he thinks I should be content to do everything in my husband’s name, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to last long. Yes, I can revive the bakery without being the owner, but I can’t spend the rest of my life having to ask permission to do anything. I won’t be able to go start my own bakery somewhere else without King needing to come with me to sign all the paperwork because everything will be in his name, including the profits I would use as a down payment. Never mind my independence; I can’t ask that of King.
He deserves more than that.
Besides, the last time I trusted my livelihood to someone else’s name, it left me with nothing. Lane left me with nothing. King isn’t that kind of man, but that wound is going to be raw for a long time.
“With all due respect,” I say carefully, “that sounds incredibly old-fashioned and misogynistic, Mr. Vanderman.”
He sniffs. “I don’t see how—”
“You’re expecting me to put my blood, sweat, and tears into my husband’s business so he can enjoy the benefits. So his net worth can increase. You are aware that, even when married, we have our own credit scores and financial histories. We are individual people regardless of our marital status. King is too busy with his own business to have to be at my beck and call while I try to rescue Bill’s legacy from falling to ruin under King’s hand.”
I grimace and send an apologetic look at King, only to find him with a little smile as he looks back at me.
“She’s right,” he says. “The place has been falling apart ever since Uncle Bill passed, and I’m no good at baking. I don’t even want…” His words fall off for a second before he chokes out the last few words. “Don’t want the bakery.” That was a lie.
I know he’s holding on to the last bit of his family, and I hope I can make all the changes I need to without him feeling like he’s lost the last of the Kingstons. Even when I go somewhere else to start my own thing, I won’t abandon Kingston’s Bakery. It’ll live on in Willow Cove forever, just with someone else in the kitchen.
“Hmm.” Mr. Vanderman glances between us, his expression more irritated than thoughtful. “Well, I confess I am still wary of this arrangement. Your marriage, so quickly settled, has raised a good number of questions.”
