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I nodded. “Hugo assured us that the law can’t punish you for marrying the wrong person. Even if we divorce down on the road, it’s nothing unusual.”
“Even if?” Cade asked, an eyebrow raised.
I’d wondered when he’d start talking. He’d probably been in shock. Now I was in for a treat.
“So, in this grand plan of yours, is there an outcome thatdoesn’tinvolve you divorcing?” he continued.
“Well, I was just saying, for the sake of explanation.”Shit.
He flashed me a knowing smile. “Right. That’s Allison, the hot chick you told me about?” he asked Gabe and Maddox.
This time, I was the one at a loss for words. I hadn’t realized my brothers had had conversations about me behind my back.
Gran wasn’t saying much. In fact, half the family still seemed to be mute.
I cleared my throat. “Well, now you all know. I mean, Spencer and Penny don’t, but—”
“What don’t we know?” Penny asked from behind me.
I looked over my shoulder. She and Spencer were walking hand in hand from the direction of the hotel.
“Our brother is getting married to Allison to help her gain custody of the twins,” Maddox informed them.
Spencer’s eyes bulged. Penny’s mouth hung open. She looked at Spencer and then whispered, “I don’t know how to react.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why? I mean, there’s got to be another way to do this, right? People fight for custody all the time.”
“True, but Hugo told us it’s best not to gear up for a fight. I mean, Sophie and Bobarethe twins’ grandparents, after all.”
“So it’s better to go ahead with this charade?” Gran asked. The disapproval on her face threw me a bit.
“Gran,” I said carefully, “I’m not sharing this with the family to ask for anyone’s permission or blessing. I’d be grateful if you could support my decision, but we’re going to do it anyway.”
Gran closed her eyes, pressing her lips together. “You will always have my support, Nick.”
“We just want to make sure that this isn’t something that can bite you in the ass,” Jake said.
“It won’t,” I assured them. “One important thing, though: no one except the family can know that this isn’t real, just in case Bob and Sophie do start digging around. I’ll tell everyone that I fell for Allison madly and we decided on a whim to get married. I’m impulsive anyway, so that fits me. Bob and Sophie might attend the event at city hall. If they do, then we’ll double down on making sure they believe us.”
“Fair enough,” Maddox said.
“Now, why don’t we check why that food isn’t coming. In the meantime,” I said, looking straight at Ben, “how about chasing your Uncle Nick out to that big tree right there?”
Ben grinned. “I’ll be the first one here.” He broke into a run, laughing the whole time.
I ran behind him close enough that in case he stumbled or something, I could quickly reach him.
He reached the huge tree first. Seconds later, I said, “Ha, would you look at that, buddy. You won.”
“I love this tree so much!”
It was definitely impressive and had been on the property forever. It was one of the reasons Cami had been so against the sale. She was attached to these old trees, and Maddox initially planned to cut them down.
“Come on, let’s go back.”
“What’s a fiancée, Uncle Nick?” he asked me.
“It’s the person you’re going to marry.”