Page 13 of The Loophole

Yolanda raised her glass to toast Vee’s threat, and I muttered, “Heard.”

After that, his friends practically interviewed me while we finished off four bottles of wine. When I noticed Embry wasn’t drinking any, I retrieved an orange San Pellegrino soda from the refrigerator. He seemed happy when I handed it to him.

Finally, JoJo produced a yellow legal pad from her large handbag, and we wrote out the terms of our agreement. The gist of it was that we succeeded or failed as a team. If I didn’t get my inheritance because nobody believed we were a real couple, then Embry didn’t get his money either—aside from his monthly thousand-dollar stipend, which would remain in effect for twelve months or until we were found out, whichever came first.

We both signed the paper, followed by all of his friends, who listed themselves as witnesses. Embry seemed embarrassed, but I thought it was a good idea. I wanted us to go into this with clear expectations, especially where money was concerned.

Then I brought up what might be an uncomfortable subject. “Speaking of paperwork, I asked my lawyer to draw up a prenuptial agreement a few weeks ago, when I finally resigned myself to playing my grandfather’s game. I’ll have him add yourname, and I’ll bring a copy for you to sign next time I see you. It’s nothing personal. I just?—”

“No, of course,” Embry interrupted. “We know for a fact this is ending in divorce, or annulment, or whatever. You’d have to be nuts not to protect your assets.”

“Thanks for understanding.” I’d thought that might be awkward, so it was nice that he took it in stride. “Now, let’s talk about the wedding ceremony.”

Embry perked up at that. “I did some research this afternoon. At first, I thought we should get married at City Hall, but it’s booked for the next few weeks. I guess it’s in demand because it’s such a beautiful, historic building.” He took a sip of soda and added, “Getting married locally might be a bad idea anyway, since your grandfather would probably expect us to invite him to the ceremony—assuming he lives here in San Francisco.”

“He lives close by, in Marin County. You’re right, he’d definitely expect an invitation, but I don’t think we’d be ready to try to sell him on our relationship.”

Embry nodded. “Exactly.”

“Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t even want to tell him about you for the next couple of weeks. As soon as I do, he’ll want to meet you, and we need some time to get to know each other and get our stories straight.”

“Right. So, maybe we should ‘spontaneously’ run off to Las Vegas and elope. That way, we wouldn’t be expected to include him.”

I asked him, “Are you sure you want to go that far?” The real question was whether he was okay with the idea of traveling with me, since we barely knew each other.

“We’re trying to make this seem authentic, and it’s what I would do if I was really getting married. There are all sorts of fun, themed wedding venues, like Elvis, of course. That’s aclassic. But you can also have a vampire-themed wedding, or gangsters, or disco, or a bunch of other ones.”

“Pick whatever sounds best to you.”

Hal, who was curled up in a club chair with the dog on his lap, chimed in with, “Is your grandfather really going to buy it if you show him pictures of yourself and Embry getting married under a disco ball, while dressed in bell bottoms and platform shoes?”

“The marriage license we’ll end up with is undeniably real, so the rest probably doesn’t matter all that much.” After mulling it over for a few moments, I added, “Actually, since I’m trying to get him to believe I ran off and married not just a man but someone I barely know, the wacky Vegas wedding thing fits. Maybe as a whole, it’ll come across as a massive midlife crisis or something.”

Hal nodded. “In a way, it makes sense.”

Embry glanced at me hopefully. “I’ve never been to Las Vegas, so it might be fun to spend an extra day there and see the sights. What do you think?”

“Sure. How about if we go this Friday and come back on Sunday?” I was willing to agree to just about anything at this point, as long as we kept moving forward.

He flashed me a big smile. “Perfect.”

I turned to his friends and told them, “If any of you want to come along for moral support, I’ll pay for your airfare and a hotel room.” I figured that would make Embry more comfortable than travelling alone with me.

“I’m in,” Vee said.

Hal nodded. “Me, too.”

Both couples had plans, so they declined. “We’ll watch Dusty, though,” JoJo said.

Embry asked me, “Are you going to bring some friends along?”

“Oh. Um, no. Best to keep this simple.” I wouldn’t have minded telling Embry I didn’t have any close friends, only acquaintances and colleagues. But I didn’t want to admit it to everyone else.

“Okay. Then I guess we’re set.”

“I’ll book the flight and hotel this afternoon,” I said, “and I’ll text you with the details.”

“Thanks, Bryson.” Embry stood up, and Hal handed him his dog. “I guess that’s everything, so we should let you get back to your day.” His friends said goodbye before starting to head for the door, but Embry hung back and told them, “I’ll meet you outside in a minute.”

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