CHAPTER 04-Lines in the sand

CHAPTER FOUR — Lines in the Sand

Jesse Ward did not usually arrive early.

He lived by a rhythm most people would find unnerving precise, efficient, never wasting time but he didn’t hurry. He moved through the world like someone who already knew exactly where everyone else would step before they stepped there.

Yet today, he stood outside Hart & Willow Books a full twenty minutes before opening.

The bookshop wasn’t impressive in size, but it had character brick walls, ivy climbing one side, a chalkboard sign out front with little sketches drawn by Evelyn’s mother. It looked like the kind of place people wandered into when they needed comfort more than literature.

Jesse didn’t need comfort.

He needed information.

He checked his watch again. 9:11 a.m.

Still early.

He never paced, so he didn’t start now. He simply waited, hands in his pockets, eyeing a delivery truck across the street and memorizing its plate number out of habit.

The truth was simple: he did not believe in coincidences. And the timing of Evelyn’s heartbreak, his family’s sudden pressure, and that blind date that wasn’t a blind date it all converged too cleanly.

Too deliberately.

When the locks finally clicked open, Evelyn’s mother appeared first. Marie Hart was small and sharp-eyed, the kind of woman who could read a stranger in one glance and still pretend she hadn’t. She halted mid-step when she saw Jesse waiting on the sidewalk.

“Mr. Ward,” she greeted cautiously. “You’re… early.”

“So are you,” he replied.

She blinked, unsure how to answer that, then gestured to him inside. “Evelyn’s not here yet. She’s picking up pastries.”

“Good,” Jesse said. “I needed to speak with you anyway.”

Marie paused halfway through switching on the lights. “About what?”

“About your family arrangement with mine.”

Her posture stiffened immediately.

Marie poured two cups of tea behind the counter, even though Jesse hadn’t asked for one. It was a move both polite and defensive, a way to keep her hands busy while she found the right words.

He didn’t drink from the cup when she placed it in front of him. He simply sat at one of the small reading tables, posture straight, gaze steady.

“So,” she started, “your mother called me last night.”

“I know.”

“She said you told her the engagement is genuine.”

“It is.”

At least, from his side.

Marie gave a dry, humorless laugh. “Mr. Ward, forgive me, but my daughter was crying over her ex-boyfriend three hours before she met you. She said she proposed marriage on impulse. And you said yes.”

“That’s correct.”

“Why?”

The word wasn’t accusing it was suspicious, protective, motherly.

Jesse answered without hesitation. “Because the proposal suited both our families’ expectations.”

Marie set her cup down harder than necessary. “Suiting expectations isn’t the same as wanting a marriage.”

“No,” Jesse agreed. “It isn’t.”

“And you’re already talking about wedding dates, lawyers, logistics… Did you even consider how overwhelmed she is?”

“I am aware,” Jesse said calmly. “But I also know Evelyn is not fragile. She’s hurt, but she’s not weak. She made a choice.”

“An emotional one.”

“Emotion does not negate intent,” he replied.

Marie pinched the bridge of her nose. “My daughter is kind. She’s trusting. And she’s not used to men who” She paused, searching for a tactful phrase. “approach marriage like a contract draft.”

Jesse didn’t flinch. “Then it is better she learns quickly what she’s agreeing to.”

Marie stared at him for a long moment, eyes narrowing.

“Tell me honestly,” she said. “Is this marriage about Evelyn? Or about whatever your family wants from ours?”

Jesse didn’t lie.

He simply didn’t answer.

Marie’s jaw tightened. “That’s what I thought.”

Before he could respond, the bell over the door jingled and Evelyn walked in, arms full of pastry boxes, hair slightly windblown, cheeks pink from the cold.

She froze when she saw Jesse sitting with her mother.

“Oh,” she said. “You’re… here early.”

Jesse stood. “Good morning.”

Marie touched her daughter’s arm gently. “Sweetheart, Jesse wanted to discuss something with me. Why don’t you set those down?”

Evelyn did, though her gaze flickered suspiciously between them.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

Marie forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “We’ll talk later.”

God help him, that was the wrong thing to say.

Evelyn immediately tensed. “No. We’ll talk now.”

Marie opened her mouth, but Jesse stepped in not unkindly, but firmly.

“I came early today to be clear about expectations,” he said. “Yours, and your family’s.”

Evelyn looked between both adults, clearly confused. “Expectations about what?”

“About the engagement,” Jesse answered.

Evelyn set her shoulders. “Okay. And what about it?”

Jesse studied her face carefully. The reddened eyes from last night were gone. Her posture was steadier. Her tone wasn’t hesitant.

He hadn’t expected that.

“I wanted to ensure you understand the seriousness of what you agreed to,” he said. “If you intend to marry me, you need to know what that requires.”

“And if I don’t?” she asked quietly.

“Then we end it now,” Jesse said. “Cleanly. Without further pressure from either family.”

Marie exhaled in visible relief.

Evelyn didn’t.

She swallowed, staring at him with a mixture he couldn’t decipher fear, hurt, determination. Maybe all of them.

“You’re giving me an out,” she said.

“Yes.”

“And if I take it…?”

“Then you take it,” he said simply. “I’m not here to trap you.”

Evelyn looked down at her hands. A day ago, those same hands had been shaking first with heartbreak, then with humiliation, then with the reckless courage that led her to propose marriage to a stranger.

Today they were steady.

She let out a slow breath and looked Jesse directly in the eye.

“I don’t want to back out.”

Marie nearly choked. “Evelyn!”

“No, Mom.” Evelyn shook her head, voice firm. “I know what I’m doing. I wanted honesty. I wanted someone who wouldn’t lie to me, or cheat on me, or smile while breaking my heart. Jesse doesn’t… pretend. He doesn’t put on an act.” She turned back to him. “You’ve been blunt since the start. You haven’t hidden why this works for you. And maybe that’s not romantic, but it’s real.”

Marie stared at her daughter, stunned into silence.

Jesse didn’t move.

Evelyn continued, “But that goes both ways. If I’m agreeing to this, then I need to know something too.”

“What is that?” Jesse asked.

“Are you marrying me because my family benefits you somehow?”

She didn’t raise her voice. But the question hit like a hammer.

Marie stiffened. Jesse remained expressionless.

Evelyn held his gaze. “I’m not stupid. I know something’s going on. So tell me.”

For the first time since she met him, Jesse hesitated.

Just a second.

But she saw it.

“My family,” he said slowly, “has obligations. Public ones. Political ones.”

“So this is about image?” Evelyn pressed. “Or alliances? Or”

“It’s complicated.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Jesse looked at her fully now. “No. It isn’t.”

Silence closed around them.

It wasn’t hostile, just heavy full of truths that hadn’t been spoken yet.

Finally, Jesse said, “If you want complete transparency, you’ll have it. But not here. Not in front of your mother. And not while you’re still recovering from yesterday.”

Evelyn drew in a breath, clearly frustrated by the half-truths but she nodded.

Marie looked between them with a mixture of worry and resignation. “Evelyn, sweetheart… please take time to think before you”

“I did think,” Evelyn said softly. “All night.”

Jesse watched her, analyzing. Measuring.

She didn’t look impulsive now. If anything, she looked resolute.

He hadn’t accounted for that.

Marie sighed, defeated. “I only want you safe.”

“I know, Mom,” Evelyn said, touching her hand. “And I will be. Because I’m not walking into this blind.”

Then she turned back to Jesse.

“When do I get the full truth?” she asked.

Jesse answered without any hesitation this time.

“Tonight.”

Evelyn nodded. “Then I’ll be ready.”

And for the first time since he walked in that morning, something very small, almost imperceptible shifted behind Jesse’s expression.

Respect.

Maybe even caution.

He inclined his head. “Then tonight it is.”

Evelyn exhaled slowly, grounding herself. Marie rubbed her temples like she was witnessing a storm forming.

And Jesse knew one thing with absolute certainty as he stepped toward the door:

This marriage would not be simple.

Not for Evelyn.

Not for him.

Not for the families waiting behind them like shadowy puppeteers.

And tonight… she would learn why.