Susa giggles. “True story.”
Benchley Evans isnothappy with Carter.
As in, atall.
He’s even less happy that Susa eloped without a prenup, and that she refuses to put a postnup in place.
To add insult to injury, Carter tells Benchley that Susa plans to run for office eventually…and all three of us have changed our voter affiliation to Independent.
I’m honestly shocked the man didn’t stroke out right there.
When Benchley tries to bribe me to give him dirt on Carter, I’m not sure if I earn his respect when I politely decline the six-figure cash amount, or if Benchley’s more aggravated than ever that he won’t be able to pry Susa from Carter.
But life settles down, and I’m happy.
Weare happy.
Carter’s absolutely right that this is the best time of our lives right now, and I plan on enjoying it to the fullest.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Time passes…
On the wall of the New Tampa house, prominently displayed in the living room, hangs an eight-by-ten picture, which is surrounded by a mosaic of smaller framed pictures also taken on that day. The featured picture is three of us, in our green caps and gowns, grinning as we throw the USF Bulls horns at the camera, which is being held by Dad.
There are other pictures from that day, of Dad, Katie, and their kids with me and us. Katie is very pregnant with their fourth child, and my little sister Dawn is only two. There are also pictures with Benchley and Michelle Evans, and with Parker and Charlotte Wilson. Plus a few of the Wilson brothers and their significant others who made it, too.
Another series of pictures, set in a collage frame, with us in black caps and gowns, taken three years later upon our graduation from Stetson.
A picture of the three of us, taken for us by a waitress, of us all grinning and happily drunk at the tap house the evening after we received our notices that we’d all passed the bar exam on our first try.
Yes, we took an Uber that night, duh.
My heavy day collar was replaced by a stainless steel necklace that simply looks like a slightly heavier patterned chain. Susa has a matching one she wears, or a bracelet she wears on her right wrist, if her outfit would make the necklace look out of place.
Carter wears a bracelet of the same patterned chain on his left wrist.
Even if we weren’t doing that, I’d still feel connected to both of them by the tattoos we all wear.
Our families have accepted that we’re inseparable. Any family function invitations automatically include all three of us. Juggling three family holidays—because I’ve missed enough holidays with Dad and Carter and Susa refuse to allow me to miss any more—is tricky, but we manage it with Susa usually doing that task because she’s the most diplomatic.
Benchley still hates Carter. More than once, Benchley has privately told me he wishes I’d married Susa, but it’s not like that’s a state secret or anything. Although the fact that he openly told me he’d foot the bill for Susa’s divorce if I could steal her from Carter shocked me.
Of course I immediately reported that to Carter, who laughed his ass off at it.
So did Susa.
Finding jobs isn’t a problem, either. We let Susa take point on that, because Senator Benchley’s daughter is a hot commodity. We pretty much end up the subject of a desperate bidding war between four of the state’s top firms to hire the three of us.
I leave that final decision up to Carter and Susa. I don’t care where we work, as long as we’re together.
As Carter himself said, fuck merits. I want a job, financial security. I never want to return to those feelings of desperation where I had to crawl on my belly over broken glass to appease Mom so my pittance of an allowance would continue.
Over the next year, we settle into our jobs at the law firm we chose to work for. We work out of their main office in a high-rise building in downtown Tampa. None of us mind that we have three smaller, windowless offices tucked away in the bowels of the floor, situated right next to each other, because we’re together.
Carter, no shocker, is amazing in depositions and trials. Civil, not criminal, because Carter is a mastermind when it comes to seeing the big picture and has easily proven himself many times over. Juries love him, opposing counsel loathes him. Add in the man’s memory, and he’s practically lethal when it comes to thinking on his feet.
Susa is quickly making a name for herself tackling state-level cases that involve complicated political wrangling.
