18| Rings

                                    

                                          
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Rings
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Chapter 18: Rings (Logan's POV)
"Am I late?" Zarah asked, strolling into the room, drawing attention to herself. 
"Yes, you are," Nick huffed at her. 
"Not really," she shrugged before turning to me, "you told me eleven thirty." 
"It's past eleven thirty, mia cara," Mr. Romano sighed. 
Her eyes fell to my wrist before she grabbed my hand and lifted it up, checking the time on my watch. "No. It's eleven twenty-nine in the morning. I'm a minute early." She dropped my hand and walked over to take a seat beside her father. 
"I'm surprised you showed up at all," Nick snickered. 
"Oh, were you betting on me backing out of this?" she questioned, glancing between all three of us. 
"Yes," Nick said. 
"No," her father replied a beat later with a forced scoff. 
She lifted a sharp brow at me. 
"I can't say I wasn't hoping you would," I responded. 
Her gaze narrowed as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. 
When I woke up this morning, Zarah was gone without leaving a trace of herself. I had to give her a call when she was at work to let her know later that her father wanted to meet us once I had a contract ready that we discussed. 
"Logan has drawn up all the necessary paperwork quickly so we can get on with this," Mr. Romano said, grabbing a file and handing it to her. 
She took it and leaned back, crossing one knee over the other as she read through each page. 
I glanced at her attire, taking in the cropped black full-sleeve t-shirt she wore with match black flared-out pants. Instead of wearing her hair down, she had it pulled back into a sleek bun with gold hoops accenting her ears. Oh, and good old converse. 
"We need a contract for the marriage?" she questioned, glancing at me. 
When her father made no move to explain, I sighed softly in annoyance. "It's not a real marriage so there has to be some paperwork to make that clear. The contract your father signs with me doesn't entail any information about the wedding, that's restricted to me investigating you and finding the people that are coming after you." 
"Really? I didn't know you were a self-proclaimed private investigator," she smiled in wit. 
"Zarah," Nick groaned softly. 
"This contract," I continued, "is my guarantee to you." 
"And what exactly are you guaranteeing?" she asked as she resumed reading through it leisurely.