The Curiosities Concerning Fate

∷ Chapter 11 ∷

MARRIAGE HAD NEVER been on Adine's mind. She'd never even considered the idea of being married. She might have, as a child, sought the perfect proposal and the wedding that followed, but nothing ever came from her fruitless daydreams.

She could not recall the intricacies of her fantasies, but they certainly did not include the overpowering scent of stale disinfectant, a man who did not seem the least bit thrilled at asking for her hand, or the fact that he was covered in blood.

"What did you say?" Adine asked for the third time that evening.

"Marry me," Sebastian reiterated, his voice bland despite the undertones of seriousness it carried.

It took her another minute before she managed to convince her befuddled mind that the entire setting was not a joke. And her first reaction to the fact was a scoff, ironically, of disbelief.

"You're actually proposing?" she asked.

"If that's how you intend to interpret it."

"How else would you interpret it otherwise? Was that not a proposal of marriage?"

He shrugged.

"A proposal is a suggestion. I am not suggesting for you to marry me. I am telling you to marry me. But if it makes you feel any better, go ahead and take it as a proposal."

"You're unbelievably preposterous," she fumed. "I can't believe I'm getting proposed to by a schmuck covered in blood."

Ignoring her insult, Sebastian said, "Get used to it. You need to accept the fact that your husband is a surgeon and surgeons tend to get their hands bloody."

"Who said I was getting married to you?" Adine retorted with a frown.

"You are marrying me. That is a fact."

"I came here to tell you not to buy over Mr Mint's, not to get into a useless argument over whether or not we are getting married."

Sebastian said nothing except to reach for his phone, dialling his attorney and leaving the device on loudspeaker between them. The dial tone rang three times in the quiet room before a click indicated the callee had answered.

"Yeah?" the modulated voice of Parker Wainwright resonated through the device.

"Parker, it's me," the detestable doctor said, and Adine instantly knew who was on the line.

"It's not done yet," Parker said.

"I wasn't asking. I wanted to know the names of the people who own the place."

Parker hummed in thought, the sound accompanied by the shuffling of papers before he said, "Benjamin and Kaye Floris."

"Great. One last thing."

"What is it?" Parker asked, sounding almost tired.

"What happens when the letter of intent pulls through?"

"What do you mean?" Parker questioned, slightly confused. "I thought you knew what you were doing."

"Just answer the question," Sebastian said, keeping his gaze locked on the girl sitting across from him.

"Well," he started, a little hesitant. "If it pulls through, you'll be the new owner and whoever currently owns it has to evacuate the premises immediately."

"And I can do whatever I want with the available space? I can turn it into a completely new franchise, or I can keep it as it is?"

"Whatever you want. But what is this about? Haven't we been through this before?"