“And you said yes?”Lex blurted out.“You?Married?”
“It’s not going to be a marriage,” I explained with a laugh.“Fuck, you’re acting like I’m going to the electric chair instead of signing a marriage license.”
“It’s so sudden, that’s all.”Spencer was the first to extend a hand.“Warn a guy next time you’re going to drop news like that.Jesus.”
“If it’s what you want, congratulations.”Travis shook my hand but still looked pretty damned stunned.“Here you are, the last single man in the group, but you’re the first to get married.”
“Hey!”Lex clasped my hand, grinning.“I guess this is your bachelor party.One last night as a single man before you tie the knot tomorrow.”
I laughed off the offer.“Right.That would be a lot of fun, the three of you, with women at home.”Things had changed almost overnight.Years of friendship spent as single men who practically owned LA, then all at once, the three of them found their partners.Unlike me, the three of them were open to the idea of relationships, domesticity.The very idea made me antsy.
Spencer frowned.“That’s true.And I promised Hannah a visit to Disneyland in the morning.”
I grimaced at the idea of being surrounded by screaming, overstimulated children.“Listen to you.Saying no to a night out because you’re taking your kid to Disneyland.”
“Hey, maybe marriage will be good for you.”Obviously, Lex was busting my balls, grinning at Travis before continuing.“You’ll settle down, maybe start a family.If these two can raise kids and somehow keep them alive…” he jerked a thumb toward our friends, “… I bet you could do it too.”
“It’s all Penny,” Travis admitted with a smirk.“She and Sofia have pretty much teamed up on me at this point.I’m fighting for my life.”From the way he smiled, I got the feeling he didn’t mind.
“There’s nothing in the contract about children.Believe me, I would’ve had something to say about it if there was.I’ll marry this girl, but I’m not fucking around with parenthood.No offense to those of you who enjoy it.”It was one thing to go against my marriage beliefs since Mirabella was an adult and responsible for herself, but I wasn’t going to fuck up a kid’s life.I had no desire to be responsible for another person, and that wasn’t going to change.
I had visited a doctor that morning to have a battery of tests run as per the contract.The fact that Alessandro wanted confirmation of fertility left me lifting an eyebrow, but he swore it was all a matter of making sure the option was there in case Mira ever decided she wanted children.He still operated under the illusion that we would live as a true married couple, start a family, the whole thing.I was more than willing to give him what he wanted as far as it got me what I wanted, but there were limits.He was not going to make decisions for me.
“Besides,” I added, signaling a passing server for another drink.“It’s not like I would have time to play daddy.I’m doubling my portfolio of properties thanks to this marriage.There wouldn’t be time for any of that.”
“So you can still do whatever you want,” Lex concluded.
“Right.I already told her one-on-one that I don’t expect us to be a married couple.Roommates, that’s all.She’ll still be Vice President.She’s an asset, maybe the best one I have.”She was my shortcut to understanding all the working pieces, how they fit together, not to mention her memory for what had and hadn’t worked in the past.I’d save time by picking her brain.
“How does she feel about this?”Travis asked.“She’s got to be pissed at her dad for not naming her his successor.”
“That’s between them.”How could I worry about her?Once my name was on the marriage license along with Mira’s, we would sign the transfer papers.It would take a hell of a lot longer than the license, but it would feel much more gratifying.Soon,so soon.
“Is there a prenup?”Spencer asked.
“Of course, but I doubt I have to worry about that.She knows the only way to stick around and run those properties is through our marriage.We divorce, she forfeits that privilege.It’s all worked out in the contract,” I concluded with a wave of my hand.“I can’t wait to get started.”
“You know, once the women find out you’re married, they’re going to want to meet her.”Lex’s lips twitched.“I might not even tell Summer.I don’t feel like having her hound me until I come up with a reason to drop by.”
“It’s not like that,” I insisted.“Roommates.Let’s not make this any more than it is.”
“Mira Rinaldi?”I hadn’t noticed Spencer pulling out his phone.Now, he whistled, handing it to Lex.“She’s hot.You could’ve done a lot worse.”
“Wow, lucky prick.”When I raised an eyebrow, Travis shrugged, leaning over to get a better look.“Hey, I’m a one-woman man, but that doesn’t mean I’ve gone blind.Don’t play up the roommate thing too much,” he warned.“You don’t want to take the option of a quickie off the table.”
“Something tells me she would rather die celibate than let me touch her.Which is fine,” I concluded, even if I had given a little too much thought along those lines since meeting up with her.It had to be that attitude of hers that got to me.Her body was one thing.It was the stuff wet dreams were made of, but it was the light in her eyes that drew me in when I shook her hand.A moth to a flame.
One thing was obvious.She would make a much better ally than an enemy.Bringing lust into it would only destroy everything I’d worked for.If not immediately, down the line.
“To the happy couple?”Spencer shook his head, laughing as he raised his glass.“So fucking strange.It’s going to take time to get used to this.”
As if it was any easier for me.I’d had a little time, though, and it wasn’t like I didn’t go through ten levels of hellish self-doubt before Dante set me straight.
“I’m guessing there’s no big wedding in the works?”Lex asked after our toast.
I shook my head.“We’ll meet at City Hall at eleven thirty and go out for lunch afterward.I would invite you guys, but…” The fact was, my own mother hadn’t been invited.There didn’t seem to be a point in worsening the charade.She’d get over it once I explained.I’d find a way to make it up to her.
“I won’t take it personally that we’re not getting invites,” Travis joked.“But we better get invited to the next wedding.That’s all I’m saying.”
