“What am I supposed to do with this?” Rusty asked.
“Your father’s tying up loose ends before he runs for parliament. You need to sort this out as quickly and quietly as you can. There’s a plane ticket and a blank cheque.” Larry nodded to the folder. “As well as divorce papers. Pay him off, get him to agree that you don’t owe him anything.”
“What? Why?” Rusty asked. He was used to being told what to do, but it was never anything like this.
“Because you’re an adult and you can mop up your own messes now,” Larry said. “This is for your own good. He could pop up at any time and take half of everything you have, everything you’ve built for yourself. It’s for your protection as much as your father’s.”
Rusty doubted that was the motivation, but he couldn’t deny that it was true. Blake hadn’t seemed like the type who’d do that, but Rusty didn’t know himthatwell.
Just well enough to marry him, apparently.
He really hadn’t thought it was serious. How serious could a ceremony performed by an Elvis impersonatorbe? He hadn’t even given a proper address.
Which… was probably why this was the first time he was seeing a non-novelty marriage certificate.
Larry was right. In the same way a stopped clock was right twice a day, but still. He wasright.
That was almost the worst part of all this.
“This flight is for this afternoon,” Blake said, checking the confirmation details.
“Sooner’s better than later. You could be back home by the weekend if you leave today.”
Rusty shook his head. “No. I need to go home first.” He slid the flight papers back across the table. “Tomorrow afternoon, from Melbourne,” he said.
“Is that really necessary?” Larry asked.
“You want me to make a scene?” Rusty threatened. He didn’t have a lot of leverage here, but his father’s public appearance was important. To Larry and Rusty’s dad, at least.
“No.” Larry pursed his lips. “Fine. But youwillsort this out. Quietly.”
“Quiet as a church mouse,” Rusty promised. “But you tell dad he owes me.”
Larry glared at him, and Rusty knew he was overextending his hand, but his father was in the habit of erring on the side of caution. He could get away with this.
“Got anything in mind?” Larry asked.
Success.
“I’ll keep this one in the bank,” Rusty said, standing. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
It was anything but a pleasure, but that seemed like the kind of thing to say. It made Larry’s eyelid twitch, which was what Rusty wanted to see.
“I’m so glad you’re reuniting me with my long-lost husband,” he added as he pushed his chair back in. “I remember him having a fantastic arse.”
Larry glared at him again. “Yeah, well… take care of this before it comes back to bite you in yours.”
“Glad we could catch up, Larry,” Rusty called as he headed back into the reception area, winking at the receptionist again.
The thought of facing Blake again after all this time made his stomach knot up with nerves, but he wasn’t going to let anyone else see that. The one thing he couldn’t afford around his father was weakness.
Hopefully, Blake wouldn’t hate him too much when he turned back up.
