Chapter Thirty-Two Euan
“Fuck.” The door to Richard’s office barely closes before he snarls the curse.
He grabs his tie and yanks it loose, shedding the last vestiges of his professionalism with it.
“I’ve lost my goddamned mind. I have never”—he locks eyes with me and emphasizes—“ never done anything like that with opposing counsel before. Especially not in a fucking public conference room!”
I arch an eyebrow at his outburst. “Is this your strange way of trying to convince me to keep you on as my attorney?”
He snorts and strides over to the cabinet along the wall. “That ship sank in the harbor.” He throws open the doors and cool air flows into the room. “You know, some lawyers keep alcohol in their offices to celebrate a win or relax after a long day. Do you know what I have?”
I sit in one of the visitor chairs and pull out my phone. Should I text Alex to let him know where to find me? Though it won’t be hard for him to figure out. Really, I just want an excuse to interrupt his conversation with Theresa. Or perhaps give him an excuse to end it early.
“Juice!”
The exclamation draws me out of my thoughts. I look up as Richard slams a collection of juice boxes on his desk. “Orange, apple, or cranberry?”
I know I shouldn’t ask. It will only encourage him to continue talking when I’d rather sit in silence. Really, the only thing we should be discussing is transferring my case to another lawyer. But the question slips out anyway: “Why juice?”
“I work with children sometimes,” he says, snatching a cranberry for himself and dropping hard onto his fancy chair.
It squeaks in protest and rocks under his sudden weight.
“My grandfather told me a ‘funny’ story about a client’s kid breaking into the liquor cabinet during a meeting and drinking a bottle of wine. Puked all over the carpet.”
“That sounds like a legal disaster.”
Richard stabs the straw into his juice box with more force than necessary.
“It was the eighties; they just laughed it off. Nowadays, you’d get disbarred for a mistake like that.
” He bites the straw and sucks up the juice with a long, loud slurp.
The tiny juice box’s insides squeeze tight as he drains it to the last drop.
Then he slams the empty box into his trash can and grabs a second one.
“Do you see? I don’t take risks with my career. ”
“Making out with opposing counsel is certainly an interesting place to start.”
This time, he doesn’t chug the juice. He just puts the straw in his mouth and nibbles on it idly while talking around it.
“It’s not usually this hard to work with her.
I’m used to clashing with her in and out of the courtroom.
Hell, I enjoy it. She’s always been my favorite opponent. But this week has been … difficult.”
Apparently, the juice doesn’t need to be fermented to encourage drunken ramblings. Sighing, I decide to join him and pick up the box he left behind.
“I don’t know how many times I watched that damned video of you and Alex getting married.
Fucker looked way too happy for a man who was supposed to be heartbroken.
” Richard sneers and slurps down another long gulp of juice.
“Especially that kiss at the end. Every time I watched it, I thought about how he was probably kissing Theresa like that a few hours before.”
My fist clenches on the box, squirting juice up through the straw to dribble over my hand. Richard doesn’t even notice the mess, too stuck in his own head.
“We watched that video together to make notes on everyone’s levels of intoxication.
Looking for hints in slurred speech, the glasses on the table.
Analyzing the representative’s expression to see if she guessed you were inebriated but moved forward with the ceremony anyway.
Over and over again, Theresa had to watch the man who was supposed to be in love with her marry a complete stranger while looking like he’d finally met the love of his life. ”
Looking like he’d finally met the love of his life.
Everything Richard says after that goes in one ear and out the other.
Phone still in hand, I scroll through my email until I find the pictures from our ceremony.
Alex tucked in snuggly against my side. My eyes locked on him like he’s the only other person in the world.
My father’s voice echoes in my head: I knew the moment I saw her, she was the one. Whenever he talks about falling in love at first sight, he always has the same soft expression as I do in the photo.
“I was going to propose to her.”
The word ‘propose’ finally draws my attention back to Richard.
His eyes are unfocused, gazing morosely at the far wall.
“Saved up for the best ring I could afford. At first, I wanted to propose after we both passed the bar—an extra celebration. But it takes months to get those results, and I was too impatient. I decided to take her out to dinner after the second day of testing. Before I could even pop the question, she dumped me.”
He grimaces and explains, “I forgot her birthday. Again. And she thought the dinner was to make up for it, but I was so caught up in the stress of the test and my own plans that it completely slipped my mind.” Sluuuuurp.
“God, I really fucked it up. If I could do it all again … maybe we’d be married right now. ”
Seeing a man like Richard mourning his past mistakes while drinking—even if it is just juice—makes something click into place.
I don’t want to lose Alex. The memories of that drunk night are hazy, but right from the beginning, there was something about him that made me grab on and not let go.
After spending the week with him, that feeling only has grown more intense.
The marriage is our strongest bond right now.
What if we keep it—nurture it, rather than try to rip it out at the roots?
Because of Richard and Theresa’s behavior, we’re back to square one with the annulment. We can wait a little longer before finding new representation. A few months, at least.
I hear footsteps outside the office, and then Alex’s voice. Maybe there was something in that juice, because I feel giddy, almost drunk as I lurch to my feet. I need to talk to him—now. Ask him if he wants to stay married, just for a little longer.
Richard is slumped over his desk, fiddling with one of his empty juice boxes, still rambling about his failed love. He doesn’t even notice me slipping out of the door.
Alex is standing in the hallway, phone to his ear.
His brow furrows when he sees me. “Yes, he’s here with me.
Can you give me a minute?” Then he gestures for me to follow to the parking lot.
Once we’ve both settled in his car, he says, “I’ll put you on speaker.
” He sets the phone on the center console and presses a button. “Can you hear us?”
“Loud and clear!” a feminine voice chirps. “As I was saying, this is Stephanie Belhart. We spoke on Monday?”
“The County Clerk,” Alex says, exchanging another confused look with me, as if I might know why she’s calling.
“Right! Well, I’ve been conducting a deep dive into the documentation for your wedding, and I have great news! Normally, this would actually be terrible news, so I’m glad to be delivering it to a couple who will appreciate it,” she confides.
As her energy rises, my heart slowly drops.
“Your officiant had their ordination revoked last month. It turns out, you aren’t the first drunk couple this minister has married.
After the second, the ministry revoked their ordination.
Unfortunately, because it was so recent, they still have their certificate, which was enough for Virtual Vows. Luckily, I discovered the issue!”
“What does that mean?” Alex asks, something in his voice that sounds uncomfortably like hope.
“It means the wedding was never valid!” Stephanie doesn’t give us time to react before exclaiming, “Congratulations! You aren’t married!” Then she laughs and adds, “Never thought I’d say that to anyone.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, but not before I see the smile spreading across Alex’s face.
“Really? So we don’t have to worry about an annulment?”
“Really! No annulment, and there’s nothing else you need to do!
” Now that she’s delivered the news, her excitement tones down.
“This is the first time anyone’s ever been happy about a marriage invalidation.
Usually, there are tears and anxiety, and we have to review their options.
It’s so nice to be the bearer of good news for once. ”
“Honestly, it came at the perfect time,” Alex assures her.
He thanks her again for the good news before hanging up.
When I finally look at him, he’s smiling wider than ever, eyes bright with joy.
“This is great! Now we don’t have to worry about all the legal shit!
How about we go out to dinner to celebrate not being married? ”
All the wild hopes I’d so recently built up for our marriage are sufficiently squashed under his genuine relief. Of course he’s relieved—it’s the logical reaction to finding out a drunken mistake won’t chase you for a lifetime. But I feel like I just smashed into the brick wall of reality.
One of these days you’re going to crash, and I’m worried you won’t survive.
Calder was right in one sense. Whether I meant to or not, I’ve been steadily falling in love with Alex, bit by bit, with every part of himself he shared with me.
One happy week with a man and I rushed straight to ‘let’s stay married.
’ I didn’t even wait to see if Alex was sitting in the passenger seat, coming along for the ride.
I force myself to smile, to share in his joy even if I can’t feel it yet. Maybe one day I’ll find relief in the way things ended, but right now I’m trying to hold on to the last night we have together before we return to being strangers. “Sounds great. Anywhere specific you want to go?”
For once, he knows the answer immediately. “There’s a new Asian fusion place on the other side of town.” He continues chattering about the restaurant and its menu as he starts the car and navigates through the downtown traffic.
I watch him the whole drive, unable to pull my eyes away from him for even a moment.
Because I know tonight might be the last time I see him like this.