Carter snickers. “Not yet. We’ve taken a detour and need to change the toasts to a new marriage.” He steals the glass of scotch from Keats’s hand and takes a decent swallow.
My mother doesn’t understand. “But it’s Oliver’s birthday.”
“And your son is deranged and married my sister without any of us knowing.” Liam glares at my mother whose smile wilts.
“Huh?”
Hailey steps next to me and swoops up my hand to hold. “If we want to look at the law then you’re my mother-in-law now.” She smiles weakly at her.
My mother begins to grasp the situation, her eyes traveling between me and my wife. “Married?”
I blow out a deep breath and look up to the sky for a second. “Yes. Now everyone knows the fact. You heard us, and we don’t need to keep repeating it.”
“I was supposed to set you up with the James’s daughter next week!” My mother sounds inconvenienced, but then she looks to Hailey and her smile returns with her hand on her heart. “But my son is no longer a bachelor.” She pretends to pray to thank some spiritual force for her wish having come true.
Carter glances to her strangely. “Your son deceived us all and has a wife,” he says dryly.
Her sour face scowls at me. “Oh, don’t you worry, young man, we will be discussing this tomorrow.” But then she retraces her line of sight to my wife and her smile returns. “Welcome to the family. I knew you looked different the other week. I just thought you were pregnant or something.”
“Is she pregnant?” Liam screeches in horror and points to his sister.
Hailey holds her hands up, eager to stop this chaos. “No. I’m not pregnant.” She mocks her brother. “We’re married and that’s that.”
If she’s holding down under these hurricane-force winds, then so am I.
“Accept it,” I demand to Liam.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I mean, maybe.” It’s apparent that he is still digesting the news and calming. “I guess if I was okay with you and her together then marriage is just, well... you’re my brother-in-law now. It’s just fast.” He’s coming around, I can tell.
My brother? He’s growing irritated. He stares coldly at me before his gaze drops to our hands where we don’t let go of one another. “Marriage. Seriously, playing with her emotions because sometimes you’re going too fast you forget to use yourbrain.” He snaps his eyes to me. “Who even woke up suggesting that a quickie wedding while nobody even knew you two were together was a great idea?”
Hailey attempts to open her mouth but only a scratchy sound escapes from her throat.
“Does it matter?”
My brother tilts his head to the side to examine me. “Ah, it’s my brother who lives in a fantasy where marriage can be taken lightly.”
“Should we intervene?” I hear Keats ask Esme from the side as they look on.
I throw him a glance. “Don’t. If my brother would like to voice his views, then by all means, let him.” I drive my sight back to Carter and give him a pointed look.
“You’re a coward. At least let your wife know the real reason you asked her to marry you, and don’t give me some bullshit about necessity. You’ve had strong feelings for her for God knows how long.”
Hailey touches my arm, encouraging me to give up. “Just leave it. I think he needs the news to sink in.”
Carter takes another drink and sets the glass down. “No, Hailey, it’s perfectly sunk and anchored into my brain that you two should confront reality before you decide that signing divorce papers is the only way, only to regret it later.”
“Yeah, I’m sensing this isn’t about my sister anymore,” I hear Liam comment to Keats.
I drop Hailey’s hand, and my palms face forward in front of Liam’s chest. “Take it down a notch. It’s not like we woke up in Vegas with no recollection of the ceremony. We were sober and well aware of what we were doing.”
“You both have no clue what you are doing. Zero to a hundred in the span of fuck knows how long. Are you telling me that you two are so in love that it couldn’t wait to, I don’t know…let all of your friends and family know that you are even together first? Because up until fifteen minutes ago, you two had some secret marriage that you hid behind. Trust me, you two might want to have a little more honesty with everyone, most of all yourselves.”
“Wait. You two aren’t even living together.” Keats still seems to be trying to adjust to the news. He lifts a shoulder. “Meh. To each their own.” He cooly takes another sip from his drink.
