Page 9 of Yours, Forever

"Documents are signed." Daniel put away his phone. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and watched Max closely.

Ale, on the other hand, leaned back and stared at my husband with a smirk on her face.

Max continued to watch out the window. "All right. What would you like to know?"

"I'm going to ask this one more time, just in case the shock is playing tricks on me. Are we really married?" I asked.

"Yes. We got a license and got married properly with one of my lawyers as a witness. It's now past ten days, and the officiant has submitted all the documents. A marriage in Vegas is legal everywhere, even if we're not there anymore."

I rubbed my lips together and stared at his back. The suit he wore fit him perfectly; the blue fabric was cut in that way that made someone's back look wide and their hips narrow.

It wasn't all an illusion. I remembered how he looked with just a towel covering him. I hadn't been drunk at the time… but I certainly wasn't aware that we'd gotten married the night before, because of what alcohol did to my brain.

I ran my fingers along the shaved side on my head. "If I was drunk, how can it be legally binding?"

Max held his hands behind his back. "We were both utterly drunk by the end of the night but, according to the lawyer that chaperoned us, we weren't drunk at the licensing bureau. They don’t give licenses to people they suspect to be under the influence, and we didn't look suspicious. Afterwards, we went for more drinks. It wasn't until later into the night that we went to the chapel and went through with it."

Ale spoke up. "If you have the license, the officiants don't care anymore? How can you get married, if you were drunk at the time? It must have been obvious by then."

Max's index finger tapped against his other hand in a rhythmic, slightly exasperated pattern. "We—I—we were generous with tips at the chapel, if you get my meaning."

"And then?" Daniel added.

"My lawyers have investigators on it, trying to put all the missing pieces together. We don't know yet for sure where we met, or how things unfolded after the lawyer left with the paperwork. I suspect we went for even more drinks, considering that both of us lost our memory of the night."

"But why?!" Ale exclaimed. "This doesn't sound like something you would do, Eva. Not even with a few drinks in you. A souvenir wedding?! You're not someone to do something like this for funsies."

I didn't look at Ale, and kept my eyes on Max. She was right, I would never do that.

First things first; I had a more pressing question than figuring out why I'd marry Random Guy.

"Can I divorce you?" I asked.

Max turned and gazed at us. If I wasn't mistaken, a hint of hurt danced in his eyes. "If you want to divorce me right away, yes. Absolutely. We can't be sure of our sobriety when we made these decisions... but I hope you won't want to divorce me, when you hear that our marriage is a business deal. Being married benefits us both."

No record scratch filled my mind. His words restarted my brain into a familiar burr—a calculating machine shifting gears.

I sat up. "What do you mean, a business deal?"

"That sounds much more like you," Daniel commented. "Depending on the terms, of course."

The abacus in my brain reached the same conclusion. My heart's drumming quieted down. The idea that there could be a rational explanation for everything coated my panic in a soothing balm.

I frowned at Max and waited for his reply.

"The terms are good, I think." Max scratched his jaw. "Three million dollars invested into your business plus a two million signing bonus for the owner, my wife, as a wedding gift. In our prenup, I also promised to invest into local businesses, and my lawyers tell me I also promised to donate money to the Town itself."

If the idea of a marriage of convenience didn't short circuit my brain, the numbers and conditions he cited almost did. My heart skipped a beat, two, as I attempted to process his words. With all that money, I was set for life. My business would thrive, whether I could make the town flourish again or not. I could hire more people to help around the café and I could extend my hours, maybe even get my weekends back forever. I wouldn't have to depend on increasing the foot traffic. Considering how close I was to the point of no return with my debt, this really sounded like the business deal of a lifetime.

That, plus new investments to the Town? To local businesses? I could see all my dreams turning into a reality. The vision of that future filled my mind, wide and free from chains. Butterflies skipped my stomach and took flight right in my chest. I could see my past self reaching the same conclusions. Drinking to take the final step, but being confident in the decision. Then drinking afterwards because, as logical as the decision may seem, it was bold. So bold. And so, so good.

Ale didn't seem to know who to look at of the three of us.

Max approached us and sat on the armchair beside the sofa.

"Invest... in the town?" Daniel croaked.

Max nodded. "Yes, unless Eva divorces me before I get to my goals, of course."