Page 58 of Something Borrowed

“How can we stay ahead of this?”

I bite the inside of my cheek, staring at my phone while I think.

Staying ahead of this is exactly what we need to do.

My thoughts are churning, looking for a solution.

The same idea keeps popping up in my mind. An idea I have had a few times over the past two days, but I kept pushing aside.

Maybe it’s what we need to do.

“Red? What are you thinking? I know that look.”

I turn towards my beautiful wife and grin.

“We give ourselves up.” I say, nodding enthusiastically and squeezing her leg.

“Give ourselves up?” she already looks like she doesn’t like this idea. “No, that’s a terrible idea, Rufino.” She pulls her legs off my lap and sits up dead straight. Her shoulders tense and her body rigid with stress.

“It’s the perfect idea, my love. We do itboldly. We announce our marriage in an exclusive interview - let the world see we are together, and we are in love. If we make a public scene about it, then your father can’t go overboard with his retaliation because that will also be in the public eye.”

She narrows her eyes at me and tilts her head to the side.

“Oh. Wow. That’s actually brilliant.” She says, scrunching her nose as she considers the full plan. “It might just work.”

Grab her face in my hands and kiss her hard. She laughs when I pull away.

“I better make some phone calls then. The sooner we do this the better.”

Choosing to face my battles one at a time I ignore my brother’s messages and open my contacts to find the man I really need to talk to.

Jake Blanch.

The phone rings one before he answers.

“Red, my man. Tell me you have something juicy for me.” He laughs that loud rolling laughter I’m accustomed to.

“The most juicy story you’ll get all month.”

“That’s a big promise. This month has been rather exciting already. Big mafia boss’s daughter got herself kidnapped, and that’s the main talk of the town - can you top that?”

I chuckle. “Oh, I can top it alright. In fact I can blow it right out of the water. I’m sending you an address. Come over this afternoon. I’ll give you an exclusive.”

“Hang on a second -A’Vara- that’s the girl you were caught hooking up with. Is this about her? Do you know what happened to her?” the puzzle pieces click in his mind and rich excitement floods from him.

“I’ll see you this afternoon. Bring your photographer.”

The photograph they take of us is stunning.

Verity is wearing a long, flowing white dress symbolic of our announcement. We stand together in front of the massive stone and steel archway that curves over the pool. A dramatic piece of architecture that looks bold and strong.

Verity is leaning against me with her hand on my chest, kissing me. The stance is very similar to the first photograph that was ever released of us in the media. Of course, that was a purposeful choice. A deliberate jab at those who questioned the authenticity of our relationship.

The article hits the afternoon print and splashes across the front page of every media site. Our images flood social media, and in no time at all, my phone is ringing off the hook.

My brothers are even angrier than before.

I suck it up, the consequences of putting the news out there are inevitable, I answer Masaccio’s call, standing outside on the patio watching the wind ripple across the turquoise surface of our pool.

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