I laugh. High-pitched. Nervous. Acan you believe it?burst of relief now that the truth is out there. “Accidentally, yes.”
“And that’s why you hid from me today.” He sounds so disappointed, it hurts me all over again.
“I’m sorry.”
A muscle tics on his jaw. “Stop saying that.”
“I don’t know what else to say. I wish I could make this go away on my own, but I can’t.”
“How long have you known?”
“A few days. I got a certificate in the mail, which I thought had to be a mistake, so I went to the clerk’s office over on the coast yesterday and got a copy of the marriage license. That was, uh, filed with all the others. I told them it was a mistake. They suggested I get a lawyer.”
CHAPTER 9
JEFF
Molly is shaking like a leaf as I stare between her and the marriage license and then back to her.
We’remarried. For real.
And she needs a lawyer.
“You don’t want to be married,” I say.
She looks confused. Rightly so. What a dumb fucking thing to say. Of course she doesn’t want to be married to me. She doesn’t even fucking know me.
“I’ll pay for whatever lawyer you need.” I nod curtly, then stand up.
“You’re not mad?”
I stare down at her. I’m furious, but not for the reasons she fears. And I can’t give her an honest explanation for my reaction, either.
But she needssomereassurance. She’s had this terrifying knowledge that she got tricked into being my wife, for days now, and she couldn’t share it with anyone.
“It’s going to be all right, Molly. I’m sorry that you’ve been worried about this all alone. I’ll make sure it’s taken care of. And if you need anything…”
She shakes her head. “I don’t.”
Disappointment grips me by the throat. No, of course she doesn’t. All she needs is for this accident to be corrected for.
Nodding, I move to the office door and open it. Then I pause again and glance back at her. “Can I ask you something, in confidence?”
She blinks in surprise. Her eyes are the most remarkable shade of blue. It’s a real shame I don’t have the right to gaze into them endlessly. “Of course.”
“Did Helen have something to do with the filing of the marriage licenses?”
Molly’s eyes go wide. “No.No. She got our signatures, but after that, it was supposed to be copied by someone else in Fan Services. I was…” She trails off. “I was on the field, so I’m not sure how it happened that this license was included with the others. Or how my name ended up on it. It should have read Captain Citrus.”
I frown. “So do a hundred people have a copy ofourwedding license as a souvenir?”
She shakes her head, her face falling. “I tracked that down. They covered my name and signature with a cartoon signature and name.”
“So nobody knows this happened.”
She takes a deep breath. “Justyou, me, and a poor woman in the county clerk’s office who had to deal with me yesterday.”
The tight band of tension around my chest eases a little. “All right. No more tears, okay? I’ll take it from here.”
