Once Upon a Marriage

“Did he gamble a lot?” he asked. His tone of voice had changed. As though he was working again. Making note of things of which he had to be aware.

And Marie’s heart softened even more. He wasn’t just keeping Liam safe from bodily harm. He cared about his client.

And so she was quick to reassure him. “For a little bit, he did,” she said. “During our first year of college. But it was only to get back at his father. Because he knew the old man would disapprove. I told him that was the wrong reason to do anything. But I understood. Gabi was just so disappointed in him for risking so much money—no matter the reason.”

“He played high stakes?”

“Only after he won. Which he did a lot.”

“And since then?”

“I’m pretty sure this is the first time Liam’s gambled since his freshman year. He grew up hearing about what gambling did to his father. Knew how hard Walter had to fight to beat his addiction. Saw him build an empire from nothing. And then, as you know, he finds out a couple of months ago that his father had made himself vulnerable to blackmail because he’d returned to gambling and had used company funds to cover his debts.”

Money that Walter had paid back before it was ever discovered missing. Money that was, technically, his to use as it had been a hardship fund that he’d financed with his own money and could terminate at any time.

But he’d left himself vulnerable. Making him ripe to cut a deal with his corporate attorney—who knew about the gambling—when Walter found out the other man had been running an illegal Ponzi scheme. In the end, Walter pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in exchange for his testimony against George Costas.

A small roar came from the high-top table in front of them, and Marie grinned as Gabi turned around and gave her a thumbs-up.

“I can’t believe that’s Gabi up there,” Marie said. Smiling. “You should have seen her even six months ago. Always so serious. Like her responsibilities didn’t leave any time for fun.”

Which in some ways was exactly as it had been. With a low-income single mother and two younger brothers at home, Gabi had been sending money even from college. She’d worked full-time, and still kept up a class load that allowed her to finish her undergraduate degree in the four years that her scholarship had lasted.

Her family, mother and both brothers, had moved down South a few years ago, but Gabi still sent them money.

“I saw her three months ago and she was that way,” Elliott reminded her. “And I remember their wedding.”

Marie and Elliott had been their witnesses at the courthouse for a five-minute ceremony. Because Liam had been adamant that there would be no press, and no Walter, trying to interfere. He was taking no chances on making Gabi his legal wife as soon as humanly possible.

Then they’d all gone out to lunch and then back to work.

“And you were at the shop when they got back from their honeymoon, too,” Marie remembered. Liam had surprised Gabi with a three-day trip to Hawaii. As happy as Marie had been for her friends, she’d felt Gabi’s sudden loss sharply.

“You saved me that weekend,” she said to Elliott.

“Me?” His glance was completely personal again as he watched her. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You listened to me jabber.”

“I told you before. I like listening to you. And you don’t jabber. The things you say are interesting. Worth listening to.”

He’d been hanging around the shop a lot back then. With the whole Connelly Investments thing going down. And anytime she’d been free, she’d sat with him. And after work, too, not wanting to go up to her apartment alone. She’d told him about meeting Gabi. And then Liam. About the years they’d all shared.

About the time she and Gabi had had car trouble in Denver and Liam had called his dad, who’d reluctantly rescued them. About the way Liam had always come to their rescue when guys were being jerks.

The table cheered again. This time it was Liam who turned around and grinned at her. Did it make her a bad person that she was envious of them? Her two best friends in the world?

“You should get married.”

Had he read her mind? Marie stared at Elliott. Wished she had something stronger than diet soda. “That’s not something I can make happen on my own.”

Heart pounding, she watched people pass. A few were obviously drunk. Most were laughing. Having the times of their lives.

As she’d been doing all day long. With Elliott at her side. Pretending that he was really hers. That they were really a couple.

In some ways it had been the very best day of her life.

“There’s a chapel right down the hall,” he said to her, looking drunk, though she knew him to be completely sober. “I happen to know exactly how to get there and know, too, that they’re open twenty-four hours a day.”