Arranged •{ONC 2020}•

《 Chapter Ten 》

"A little after nine." Jamison looked around the room, his eyes coming to rest on the wedding picture. He whistled, "Gee, you really went for it, huh?"

"Shut up. Get out of our room," Ashlynn seethed. She was already in a bad mood because of how close Wesley was, and now she had to deal with this clown.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Jamison sniggered, making his way back to the door. "Don't take too long; your breakfast is getting cold. Plus," he stuck his head through the crack, "I'm about to wake the kids up. Mason just discovered bacon, so if you want any, you're going to have to beat him to the kitchen!"

The door closed behind him. Wesley immediately released Ashlynn and she scrambled away from him. She glared at the spot where Jamison had just been standing. "That jerk."

"Is he always like this?" Wesley mumbled, still half asleep.

"High energy and obnoxious? Yes." Ashlynn sat up and stretched her arms. "He's only eight years older than me, but he acts more like a five-year old."

Wesley grunted, averting his eyes from her exposed midriff. "He's not that bad."

"I feel bad for Lucy. She's got four kids to look after, not three. Which reminds me..." Ashlynn threw back the covers—which conveniently landed on Wesley—and padded over to her dresser.

He pushed the blankets off his face and spluttered, "What?"

"Bacon." The look she gave him was so serious he would've thought she was talking about something life or death. And, well, when it came to bacon, he understood her solemnity.

Clean clothes in hand, she skittered into the bathroom and slammed the door with a bang that rattled the picture frames. A few seconds later, Wesley heard the shower turn on.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he sat up in bed. "You're really going to take a shower when there's bacon at stake?"

"Shut up!" she yelled. "I feel gross."

He was probably to blame for that. The least he could do was go downstairs and try to save her a piece. He changed out of his sleep clothes into loungewear and called to Ashlynn through the door, "I'm going down."

"You better save me some bacon, or else I'll kick yours!"

"I will," he chuckled. When she wasn't mad at him, Ashlynn was actually pretty fun.

He pushed that thought out of his head as quickly as all the other ones that popped up uninvited. That kind of thinking was dangerous. He was, however, thinking about how easily they had bought Aunt Leah's lie. That lady was sneaky, he'd give her that.

The wonderful smell of bacon wafted up the staircase. Wesley followed his nose to the kitchen, where a heaping plate of bacon sat on the counter. Unconsciously licking his lips, he grabbed a plate to serve himself, but Jamison came up behind him.

"So," he said casually, slipping his arm around Wesley's shoulder. "You're the lucky guy who married my cousin, huh?"

"The one and only." Wesley ignored the tongs and shoveled the glorious bacon onto his plate.

"How come I never saw you at the funeral?"

Wesley responded the way Aunt Leah had instructed him to. "I was out of town and didn't make it back in time."

"Is that so..." Jamison leaned against him. "How did you two get together? I thought she hated your guts."

Wesley winced. "We talked; we worked through it." He paused and added with a laugh, "I sure hope she doesn't hate me anymore. She's stuck with me now." It was partially true—partially.

"Or maybe you're stuck with her, or at the least, her money." Jamison smiled at the tension that spread through Wesley's shoulders. He found a tender spot.

"I didn't marry her for her money," Wesley responded shortly, his building agitation evident. And that was the truth; he really didn't marry her for the money.

"Well, forgive me for saying this, but it really looks that way. You haven't talked in fifteen years, and suddenly the two of you up and marry?" Jamison leaned a little closer. "You didn't knock up my cousin, did you?"

"What's your deal, man?" Wesley growled, pushing Jamison's arm off his shoulders.

"Relax, I'm just making sure my cousin doesn't get screwed over. She's never had a steady boyfriend, let alone a husband. And, the two of you have a rocky history." Jamison stepped back and leaned against the counter behind them. The way he rubbed his nose and smiled didn't escape Wesley's attention.

"I love her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her." Wesley added a few more pieces of bacon to his plate and straightened to look Jamison dead in the eye. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Jamison held his gaze for a few moments before shifting his focus to the entryway. "Morning, Ash. How long have you been there?"

Ashlynn was leaning against the wall, her hair still dripping from her shower. She could feel the embarrassment staining her face red from Wesley's words. "I just got here. Quit harassing Wes."

"Ah, I'm just being the overprotective relative." Jamison grinned mischievously, the same grin his mother made. "You know, I warned you about the kids eating all the bacon, but maybe I should be more concerned about your husband."

Wesley pushed the plate towards Ashlynn. "I got enough so we could share."

She stepped forward and grabbed a piece. With a wink, she took a bite and said, "Don't worry about him, James. I've got him trained."

"So, he's your dog now?" Jamison chuckled, and added quietly so only Wesley would hear, "Kinky."

Without missing a beat, Wesley shot back, grinning slyly, "You have no idea."

Jamison burst out laughing while Ashlynn looked at them in confusion. "Did I miss something?"

"Evidently not," he said when he could breathe again. Holding his stomach, he looked at Wesley. "That would have been really slick if your ears didn't catch fire afterwards. But you're alright, kid."

Wesley smiled. Looks like he won over the cousin.

Jamison clapped him on the back as he passed. "But you've still got a way to go, Wes." Whistling, he waltzed out of the kitchen, leaving Wesley and Ashlynn alone.

"What was that all about?"

"You really don't want to know," Wesley said hurriedly, averting his gaze. "He's going to be harder to convince than I thought."

"That's why we practiced, remember?" she snatched another piece of bacon from his plate. "Come on, the rest of the family is in the dining room."

Wesley's eyes followed her as she left the kitchen. He picked up their plate of bacon and trailed after her, a sigh leaving his lips.

Today was going to be a long day.

《♡》

Hello! Emi here!

I'm pleased to announce that this chapter gets me to the 20k mark for Round Three of the ONC 2020 contest! I'm so thankful for all the support I've received thus far, and I'm ecstatic to be able to participate in the final round! 

But, as I'm sure you can tell, my story isn't over yet. So, while this marks the end of the contest part, I still have a lot more to share with you! Ambassadors, you are more than welcome to continue reading--in fact, I hope you do lol

On a side note, I dedicated this chapter to Katxerie  because of her support and hilarious comments! Love you, Kat ❤❤❤

I'll be spamming you guys with updates the next few days, so see you soon!