Page 45 of The Loophole
Eventually, he took a half-step back and looked up at me. I searched his eyes. I wanted to say something, but words failed me.
Then someone called, “Hello, you two,” bringing the outside world back into focus. When I looked around, my brother was nowhere to be seen. Instead, my grandfather and my great uncle were walking toward us.
I tried to gauge their reactions as I introduced Embry. Both of them were polite and cheerful, but they also seemed a bit guarded. Did they suspect the marriage was a sham? Maybe not. I was so worried about pulling this off that it might have been coloring my perception.
Embry clutched his dog to his chest and held my hand when we went inside. My family was gathered in the living room, which featured a huge, rustic fireplace and a twelve-foot Christmas tree that almost reached the beamed ceiling. It had to be overwhelming for him when I introduced ten people at once, and I knew he was nervous. Despite that, he kept a smile on his face and was his usual charming self.
I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting. Obviously, my grandfather had given them a heads up before we arrived, but nobody blinked an eye at the fact that I’d married a man. Maybe they were taking their cue from Granddad and Uncle Charles, and those two weren’t making a big deal of it. Really though, I didn’t care how my family felt about this, as long as they were polite to Embry.
The only person who openly had a problem with this was Fallon—not because I’d married a guy, but because I’d gotten married in general. He sat in a corner, drinking too much, glaring at me, and grinding his teeth while everyone generally ignored him. He was often in a bad mood, so the family knew to leave him alone and let him stew.
Two members of the kitchen staff arrived with a rolling cart loaded with bottles of champagne and glassware. Uncle Charles told us way too much about the vintage as the flutes were filled and passed around. Then Granddad stood up and raised his glass in a toast. “To my grandson and his new husband. May you enjoy a lifetime of happiness.”
Everyone toasted us—except Fallon, who let a humorless laugh slip. When our grandfather turned a sharp glare on him, he muttered, “This is ridiculous.”
Granddad snapped, “We talked about this, Fallon. If you can’t be happy for your brother, no one is forcing you to stay.”
I took that to mean my brother had already gone to him with his suspicions, and apparently Granddad had shut him down. Not that I expected Fallon to give up. If he really believed I was trying to get away with something, he’d hold on to this like a rabid dog with a bone.
Embry and I chatted with everyone for a few minutes, and then I said, “If you’ll please excuse us, we want to rest up after that drive. We hit all kinds of traffic leaving San Francisco, and getting here took twice as long as usual.”
“Of course,” Uncle Charles said. “I instructed my staff to put your things in the Sunset Room. If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask.”
I thanked him, and as we started to leave the room my grandfather called, “We’ll see you both at six sharp for cocktail hour, out on the terrace.”
As soon as we got to our room, I locked the door behind us, and Embry turned Dusty loose. Both of us kicked off our shoes, and he filled the dog’s travel water bowl while I collapsed face-down on the bed. I hadn’t realized how tense I was until I finally got the chance to relax.
A minute later, Embry climbed onto the bed, hugging the bulging tote bag he’d brought along. “I already forgot everyone’sname,” he said, “aside from your grandpa and great uncle, who seem nice, and your brother, who’s even worse than I thought he’d be.”
“Yeah, Fallon was in fine form. I’m not sure why he thinks the money might go to him if I forfeit it. I can’t see Granddad agreeing to that.”
“So, he already got his inheritance?”
“Yup.”
“Did he have to get married first?”
“No. He got it automatically when he turned thirty.”
“How is that fair?”
“Granddad wanted something specific from me. I guess Fallon was already living up to expectations.”
“I never liked the fact that your grandfather put that condition on your inheritance,” Embry muttered. “It bothers me even more now.”
“Well, as I’ve said before, it’s always been my choice to accept it or reject it.”
“You have a good attitude about it, but I’m going to go ahead and be cranky for you.”
As he started to unpack the tote bag, I rolled on my side so I was facing him and asked, “What do we have here?”
“I made us a survival kit, with a side of holiday cheer.” He pulled out a tiny plastic Christmas tree, turned on its lights, and put it on the nightstand. “We’re both under a lot of pressure with trying to convince your family this is a real marriage, so we’ll probably end up hiding in our room a lot over the next few days. Not only will we want time to destress, but the less time we spend with them, the less chances of saying or doing something to trip ourselves up.”
“Very true. So, what did you bring?”
“I packed snacks, playing cards, board games, that sort of thing.”
“Great idea.” I sat up and leaned against the headboard, and he handed me a plastic storage container. It was full of star-shaped sandwich cookies, covered in sprinkles. “When did you bake these?”