Who said I wasn’t? The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them down. If I said it now, I could never take it back, and I wouldn’t do that to her. Not now with all of this going on. So instead, I said, “I want to do this, Tess. We’re friends, and I’ve come to care about you both so much these past three weeks, getting to know you. Neither one of you deserves what’s happening, and I want to do what I can to keep you both safe. Please, let me help.”
Doubt and fear flashed in her eyes. She picked at her nails. “And you’re sure it’ll work?”
“Yes. We just…have to be convincing,” I said, fiddling with my coffee cup. “We won’t tell anyone, not even Luke, because let’s be honest, four-year-olds can’t be trusted.” Thankfully, she laughed, so there was still hope.
“No, they can’t,” she said. “We have to at least tell the group. They’ll never buy a whirlwind wedding like this, but I know they’ll keep it secret.”
“So you’ll do it?” I couldn’t stop the pounding in my chest. But I couldn’t tell if it was hope for my sake or Luke’s. She wasn’t marrying me for me, not really. I just had to make it look that way. But I had a feeling it wouldn’t be that hard to pretend with Tess. It might even be a little too easy, if I were being honest with myself. And that was the only concern I had about this whole plan—getting lost in pretending.
I could see it; every part of her was screaming no. But then she glanced at me, and I knew the war happening behind her eyes wasn’t about me at all. It was about Luke. It was always about Luke, just as it should be.
“This is crazy,” she whispered again. Her hand trembled as she folded her napkin over and over. “But if it gives him the best chance,”—she swallowed hard and let out a shaky breath—“then I’ll do it.”
I let out a heavy breath of my own, needing to expel some of the energy bursting inside me. “Okay. I guess we’re getting married then.”
She nodded, eyes darting all over my face. “I guess so.”
“I’m sorry.What did you just say?Married?” Claire screeched. I fought a cringe, her voice kind of like nails on a chalkboard. She looked at Beau like our heads had started spinning. He shrugged, shaking his head at her, just as lost as she was. Back at the coffee shop, we had decided to tell everyone at once, so we all got together at Anna’s for dinner, and I could tell by the way Tess fidgeted in the car, she was going to tell them pretty much straight away, and she had.
“I know it’s a lot,” Tess said next to me on the loveseat. “But Levi really thinks it’ll work.”
“Yeah, I bet he does,” Emmett murmured, glaring at me from the chair across from us like he wanted to wring my neck. He probably could, too.
“Stop it, Emmett,” Tess demanded, her voice sharp.
Hearing her defend me lit something in my chest I didn’t want to name. Couldn’t for my own sanity. This was supposed to be about Luke, about protecting him and Tess. Not about me and my unspoken feelings for her.
Her voice took a softer, wavering tone when she said, “We’re doing this for Luke. You don’t know what Jeremy’s like…what he’s done.” Her voice cracked on the words, wringing her hands in her lap. I ran a hand up and down her back, a silent offer of support. “I can’t let him take my son from me, so I’m doing thiswhether you approve or not. I just need to know you won’t tell anyone because, outside of this group, it has to look real. Even to Luke.”
The protective edge in Emmett’s eyes faded some. And if I didn’t know any better, he almost looked a little hurt that she’d even said that. “Of course, I’m not gonna tell anyone, bug. I’m just surprised that’s all.”
“None of us will,” Colt added. Brittany nodded next to him.
“You’d really do this for her?” Weston asked me, almost as if he were shocked. Of all people, I expected him to understand my motives the most, having just given up his career for Savannah. Then again, no one really knew the depth of my feelings for Tess, but that was my own fault.
Tess’s stare burned into the side of my face, and it nearly undid me. The answer wasn’t simple at all. It was everything I’d been too much of a coward to admit out loud. “Yes,” I said, steadying my voice for everyone else’s sake. “For her and Luke.”
Beau leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He had a wary look in his eyes while he ran a hand over his stubble. “This sounds like a pretty big risk to your job, though.”
“Because it is,” Savannah snapped, giving me a disapproving look. “He could be disbarred if they were found out.”
“What does that mean?” Anna asked, worry pulling her brows together.
“His license to practice law could be revoked. It’s usually temporary, but it could be permanent,” Savannah replied, turning to look at me again. I knew she’d probably be the most difficult to win over. But it didn’t matter to me whether any of them approved or not; I just needed them to keep it secret. “This is reckless, Levi. There has to be another way.”
“There’s a million other ways, but this is the only one that gives Tess and Luke the certainty they need,” I said. Tess put her hand on my knee, looking up at me with a soft, thankful smile.“We’re going to sign an informed consent waiver that says I can still represent her without bias. I already talked to a friend from law school about it. Everything will work out.”
“So when is this happening?” Delilah asked. She’d been unnaturally quiet since we shared the plan, and I didn’t know whether to be thankful or scared.
Tess and I looked at each other. “Well, the courthouse opens on Monday,” I said, thinking out loud. “And we can get the license then. I think there’s a seventy-two-hour waiting period after that.”
She nodded in agreement. “So Thursday,” she said with a long breath.
A wave of anticipation hit me in a messy bundle of nerves and excitement.
Tess was going to become mywifein five days.
“Oh my God,” Savannah groaned, burying her face in her hands. “This can’t be happening.” Then she sat up quickly, like she couldn’t sit still. “Tess, this is amarriage. It’s not something to take lightly or something that can be undone easily. I don’t think you’ve thought this through.”
