“Have a seat,” I said once we were all up in my loft. “Can I get you anything?”
“No,” Reardon said, his tone curt, which was something I’d never heard from my normally good-humored friend. “Dillon called me on his way home.”
“Rear,” Jazzy began, but he stopped her from continuing.
“Let me talk first, Jaz, then you can go.”
She nodded, her face full of worry.
“You’ve both come to me with legal issues, so for the sake of argument, I am talking to you now as your lawyer and nothing else…”
He looked pointedly at both of us, waiting for us to indicate we understood. “Without going into detail, I want to start by asking if you are legally married.”
“Yes, we got married in Vegas,” I replied.
Reardon closed his eyes.
“And what are you planning to tell everyone? Are you both coming to camp?”
“Yes,” Jasmine said, standing and moving to her cousin. “We’re going to tell them that we’re in love. We started seeing each other and snuck off to Vegas to get some alone time and while we were there we got married.”
He opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Good. That’s all they ever need to know. So, you’ll have to keep that story going for the next five to seven years at least. Never give them cause to doubt and put them in the position where they may have to lie to the authorities.”
“We wouldn’t,” Jasmine assured him.
I nodded in agreement.
“They’re going to be surprised, and a few, probably Dillon and Rena, will be skeptical, so you’re going to have to sell it.”
“We understand.”
“Good,” Reardon said, running his hand through his short blond hair. “I hope you both know what you’re doing. Benny’s teething, so I need to get home, but I’ll see you tomorrow. I just wanted to get over here and make sure we understood each other before camp. We’ll talk more once we get there.”
I walked him to the door, hoping this wasn’t going to ruin the friendship we had.
“I just want you to know, I’d never do anything to hurt her,” I told him before he walked out.
“I know, man, and I know how you feel about her. This was a messed-up way to go about getting closer to her, but maybe it will work in your favor. Just make sure you’re guarding your heart as well. I don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”
“Thanks, brother, and sorry if we’ve put you in a rough spot.”
“Don’t worry about me, you two have enough on your plate,” he said, clapping his hand on my shoulder and walking out the door.
I closed the door behind him, then turned and leaned against it.
“Shit,” Jasmine muttered.
I lifted my gaze from the floor and saw her still standing in the same spot.
“This is going to be harder than I thought,” she said, chewing on her lower lip. “Were we complete idiots? Is this a mistake?”
I crossed the room until I was standing in front of her.
“It’s not too late,” I told her, my voice soft but firm. “If you’ve changed your mind we could get an annulment. The ink’s barely dry, so there’d be no problem. We could call it off now, and you could go to camp tomorrow and tell everyone it was a drunken, foolish mistake. They’d buy it.”
Even as I said the words, giving her an out, I prayed she wouldn’t take me up on it.
“But, then I wouldn’t get the house and you’d have to move back to Australia,” she said, still worrying her lip. “And, I’m sorry about your parents. I didn’t know that … what you said at dinner, that there’s nothing left for you there. I don’t want you to have to leave.”
Hope filled my heart as I asked, “So, we’re gonna stay married?”
Jasmine thought about it for a moment. “I’m still in if you are.”
I couldn’t stop from grinning when I replied, “All in.”
She gave me a small smile and said, “That’s it then. Let’s grab your stuff and head to my place."
I walked over to my bed, grabbed my duffel bag, and said, “I’m ready.”
“That’s all you’re taking?”
“Well, yeah, we’re just going to camp for the week, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then, yup, got all I need right here.” I lifted my bag as evidence and Jasmine shook her head, so I asked, “Why, how much are you taking?”
Jasmine laughed and said, “You’re about to get a behind-the-scenes look at women, even more so once we move in together. Are you ready for it?”
“Hell yeah!” I cried, wondering what mystical things I’d learn.
Jazzy shook her head.
“I don’t think it’ll be like what you’re thinking. There will be no pillow fights, lounging around in sexy lingerie while eating a banana, or a magical skin care routine.”
As I followed her out the door, I asked, “Can I put in a request for the lingerie banana thing?”
“I’ll show you where you can put your banana,” she retorted, looking at me over her shoulder, grinning like a shot fox.
“Crikey!” I exclaimed, thickening my accent, then followed her laughter down the stairs.
So far, married life suited me just fine.