Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Pleasure,” he states, shaking her hand.
“Come with me.” Alice turns and walks down the hallway to her office. “Sit anywhere you like.” She waits for us to step into her office before she follows us in.
Levi puts his hand on the lower part of my back, ushering me to the two chairs that face her big mahogany desk. I sit down and look over to see Levi sitting beside me. Alice walks around the desk and sits down in the big brown chair. “Okay.” She smiles sadly at me. “The good news is we didn’t find another will, so what they have is the only one.”
“That’s good, right?” I ask and Alice nods.
“Does that mean she doesn’t need a husband?” Levi asks, and she looks at Levi.
“Like I was telling Eva,” she starts, “Cici is in the system, and even though she will gain custody of her, the State will still have visits. Eva will still have to go through all the steps in order to make it official to be her primary caretaker. Now keep in mind, there are many single parents out there, but it just looks better on paper when it’s a couple and not a single lady, who just bought a house. Her business is taking off, but still, it’s paid off.”
“Okay, so say we do this,” Levi says. “What does it entail?”
“Well, usually, after a year, things die down. So worst case, you stay married for a year,” Alice explains. “If things move faster, then you get divorced faster.”
“Does he need to move in with me?” I ask Alice.
“Obviously, the two of you have to move in with each other. So it shows you are married. It’s what married people do.”
“I have to move in with her?” Levi now asks, confused. “What about my place?”
“You can still keep your place,” Alice replies, “there isn’t any law against that.”
I don’t even hear what else Alice says, I’m more focused on Levi and wondering how he is feeling. “If you have any questions,” Alice offers and I look over to see her standing up and Levi following her.
I get up and walk out, thanking her again. “I’ll call and let you know what we decide,” I tell her as I follow Levi out.
We walk to the car and I look over at him. “You can say no,” I tell him, “I can always just get her when I’m single.”
He turns and looks at me. “You know what pisses me off the most?” He puts his hands on his hips. “If the roles were reversed and you came to me, and I asked you to marry me for whatever reason…” He looks up at the sky. “You would do it without thinking twice.”
“Well, yeah. Obviously. You need my help, I’m there.”
I wait, holding my breath as he paces back and forth in front of me, no doubt having a whole conversation in his head about this. “Fine,” he huffs. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
Chapter Six
Levi
I look over my shoulder at the door we just walked out of, my head trying to process all the information Alice just gave me. I then look back at Eva as she stands there, her face pale, her eyes a bit puffy from probably crying all night long. I look up to the sky right before I start pacing back and forth. You can’t do this, one part of my head says, while the other part of my brain tells me, you have no choice but to do this. This is insane and totally crazy. This is never going to work. You can do this, the other part of my brain says. You have to do it. She would do it for you. I stop and look over at Eva, knowing hands down if the roles were reversed, she would have already been married to me. It would have been instant, and it would have been without a second thought. I would not have to talk her into it. I would not have to have her jump through hoops. I would not have to do any of that because that’s the friend she is. “Fine,” I huff, my heart hammering in my chest so much it’s about to explode. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
“Well.” She folds her arms over her chest. “Worst thing that can happen is I’m the best wife in the world. And I have to force you to divorce me.” She winks at me, the smile on her face is so big. “Then it gets awkward and I have to tell the judge that you just don’t do it for me. And you came up short in the bedroom.”
“There is nothing short in my bedroom.” I semi-glare at her and she just shrugs her shoulders.
“So you say,” she mumbles to herself.