“You can’t keep him!” he said. “He’s mine.”
“Isn’t possession nine-tenths of the law?” Emily demanded.
He stared at her incredulously. “Have you been watching TV again?”
“Don’t make fun of me. I’m serious.” She leaned forward. “I…just realized I’m kind of used to having Dog around.”
“What are you saying, exactly? Are we in a custody battle?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“I’m a very good lawyer,” he warned, “and I’m sick of being a long-distance pet almost-owner.”
“Then we’re at an impasse,” she declared.
That’s when it hit him: the answer to this predicament. “Emily,” he said, “I don’t want to put Dog through the trauma of a custody battle. There’s only one fair way out of this mess.”
“And that would be…?”
“You’ll have to marry me.”