the restaurant. I follow behind the rest of the party as they rush toward the buffet, feeling a little guilty about my late arrival; I didn’t realize they’d be waiting for me to start eating.
“Underwhelming?” I hear Jesse’s quiet, skeptical tone drawl from beside me as I load bacon and eggs onto my plate.
I offer him the barest of smirks before returning my attention to the buffet. “Not very memorable?”
“Touché.”
* * *
“We should probably head back so we can check out,” Slater announces once we’re done with breakfast. “Is everyone all packed?”
“Uh…mostly,” I mutter, thinking of all the clothes that seem to have exploded from my duffel bag the second I set it down in my room on Friday night.
After everyone starts to clear away from the table, I follow after Chance, catching him just before he exits the restaurant.
“Hey, man, I need to talk to you.” I hesitate, taking a moment to glance around at my surroundings to check for anyone within hearing distance before leaning closer to Chance and murmuring, “Under the veil of confidentiality.”
Chance looks at me like I’m an idiot. “Veil? What ‘veil’? Dude, I’m not a priest.”
I let out an aggravated breath. “You know what I mean. I need to talk as my lawyer. You can’t tell anyone.”
Chance shrugs. “Okay, but that means I can charge you for it.”
I wave the comment away. “Charge whatever you want, I don’t care. Just don’t tell anyone.”
As we exit the restaurant and start walking through the indoor streets of the hotel, past boutique stores and cafes, I can’t help noticing the starting point of the canal approaching out of the corner of my eye, the sight filling my gut with tension.
“Relax, Web. I can’t break confidentiality, I could be disbarred.” He studies me with a scrutinizing look. “But I’m curious about what this secret is that you went to the trouble of hiring a lawyer so you could share it with someone.”
I roll my eyes. “I didn’t hire you just to share the secret. Trust me, if I didn’t have to tell you, I wouldn’t. But I need legal help.”
Chance stops in his tracks and spins to face me, eyes wide. “You didn’t actually kill someone did you? Web, I’m not a defense lawyer.”
“What? No, of course not. Why would you even ask that?”
Chance shrugs and resumes walking. “It was a working theory when no one could find you last night.”
I shake my head in bemusement and follow after Chance again. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing as complicated as a murder trial. I just need an annulment.”
Chance stops dead again and this time I slam right into him, just barely managing to right myself before we both go toppling over. When I regain my focus on Chance’s face, I see him staring at me, completely slack-jawed.
“You got married?”
I wince at the decibel that question was asked. “Yes, but if you could remember you’re my lawyer and ask questions so they won’t be overheard by people in Australia that’d be great.”
He blinks at me several times, still completely shocked and, might I say, showing none of the professionalism I’d expect from my lawyer. “You, Webster Goode, got married in Las Vegas?”
I let out an aggravated sigh. “It doesn’t matter how many times you say it, man. It won’t stop being true.”
Chance just shakes his head, running a hand through his tousled dark hair. “Wow. Okay. So…you married one of your cousins? Was it Tansie? Sounds like the kind of thing she’d do…”
It’s my turn to look stupefied now. “What? My cousin? Why the hell would you think that?”
“You said you wanted an annulment,” Chance says, as though that explains everything.
“Well, yeah, but not because I married my cousin.” I can’t help from screwing my face up in dismay. Being married to someone who loathes me isn’t the ideal situation, but at least there’s the knowledge that it could always be worse.
Chance nods his acceptance of this. “Okay then. Were they underage?”
“No, they’re the same age as I am,” I say, growing alarmed at these questions. “Jesus, Chance. Is this what you actually think of me?”
Chance lets out a soft little chuckle, shaking his head. “There are only certain circumstances under which a marriage is eligible to be annulled. So, if you were both of sound mind and neither one was already married, underage, or related…”
“I guess playing chicken doesn’t count?” I ask, a sinking feeling in my gut.
Chance stares at me blankly. “What?”
I decide it’s time to come clean about