Page 140 of Something True


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Somehow, I wasn't so sure. But whatever the favor was, I didn't want it to be for nothing. I said, "And he's ready to get started?"

Joel nodded. "Don't you know it. And as far as the legal fees, if he sees a good case, we'll work something out."

I tensed. "Like another favor?"

"Sure, why not?"

"No." I tried to laugh. "No more favors, okay?"

"Alright, so we'll pay him," Joel said. "Not a big deal. We've got that money, right?"

"In the safe deposit box? But that's your money."

"No. It'sourmoney, like I keep telling you."

In the end, we agreed that we'd give the lawyer the paperwork and take it from there.

Across from us, Jake said, "Hey Joel."

Joel turned to look. "Yeah?"

"Maybe you should marry her now. You know, like tonight."

I had to laugh. "Why tonight?"

"Because," Jake told me, "if you end up loaded, you won't want to slum it with a guy like him."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up."

Next me, Joel said, "You know. Hedoeshave a point."

When I turned to look, his eyes were filled with mischief. Still, I gave him a playful shove. "Oh, stop it," I told him. "Maybeyou'rethe one who's slumming it."

At this, his brothers laughed. I turned and tried, unsuccessfully, to glare at them. "Hey, you never know."

When I turned back to Joel, something in his expression had softened. He leaned his head close to mine and said, "Hey,Iknow what I have. And if I could, I'd marry you tonight."

I felt a giant smile spread across my face. "Well, it's kind of late tonight, but I'm free next Saturday."

Now, Joel was grinning, too. "You serious?"

I gave it some thought.Was I? Yes, definitely.But I didn't want to push him into anything, especially if he was just kidding around. I said, "That depends. Are you?"

"Hell yeah." But then, his expression turned serious. "But if you want to do the big wedding thing, I'm up for that, too. Whatever you want."

I gave it some thought. Crazy or not, I didn't want a big wedding. All my life, I'd been the center of attention. A lot of that attention has been unwanted, especially where the media was concerned.

If I hadmyway, I'd get married in a private ceremony, right here on the estate, with Aunt Gina and only a few of my closest friends – and of course, anyone Joel wanted to invite.

In my own jumbled way, I tried to tell him this without sounding like a total babbling idiot.

When I finished, Joel was smiling again. He turned to his brothers and said, "Got any plans for next Saturday?"