Husband for Hire

“I’ll get prints made,” Gavin said after a while.

“Okay.” She felt married. She shouldn’t, since they’d only hit the highlights of a normal ceremony, and they didn’t have a license. The usual steps of courtship, marriage proposal and real ceremony hadn’t happened, either….

Yet she felt married.

She sneaked a look at the ring on her finger.

“They’re on loan,” he said, starting the engine of the low, sleek sports car he seemed too comfortable with for it to be a rental. Another surprise.

“The rings are gorgeous.” Since he’d caught her looking, she held out her hand to better admire the band. “You really did think of everything.”

“Can I let you in on a secret?” he asked, smiling and angling toward her.

“I’m good at keeping secrets.”

“I found a wedding site online and followed their checklist.”

She found that incredibly sweet. Tempted to lay her hand along his hair and kiss him, she just smiled instead.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“My appetite has returned.” On cue, her stomach growled. She pressed a hand to it and laughed.

“We’re a little overdressed for the casinos.” He pulled out of the parking lot and headed south.

“Does anyone care about such things? We might stand out a bit, but I wouldn’t mind grabbing a bite to eat then feeding a slot machine. I feel lucky today.”

They left their wedding flowers in the car, but even the restaurant hostess seemed to recognize them as newlyweds and gave them a quiet corner booth. She took their drink orders before giving them a wink and walking away.

Becca wondered if she should stake Gavin some cash. Julia would’ve told him what his wages would be for the following weekend, but he’d also spent funds Becca needed, and wanted, to reimburse.

This was different, however. This would be a cash transaction.

Their server placed glasses of iced tea in front of them, and then took their orders for minestrone soup and BLT sandwiches.

“Do you gamble?” Becca asked Gavin when they were alone again.

“Rarely. I’ll be happy to stay with you while you play. Unless you’d rather be alone?”

“That would look strange, wouldn’t it, since we’re supposed to be newlyweds?” She sipped her tea. “So, I think I’ll set a limit of fifty dollars to lose.”

“Do you always lose?”

“I’ve only played a few times, mostly during bachelorette parties. I can’t remember ever going home with more than I had. How about you?”

“I tend to win, mostly,” he said with a shrug. “But I play blackjack not slots.”

Becca ran a finger along the drops of condensation on her glass. They’d talked about their childhoods on the drive up earlier, but she realized she’d talked a lot more than he had. Had that been a planned maneuver on his part?

“You said that you had sisters, Gavin. Older or younger?”

He pulled out his cell phone and brought up a photo with two women and a baby. “Dixie’s three years younger than me and Shana is five years younger. Dix recently got married. She and her husband are on their honeymoon.”

“And Shana?”

“She gets a lot of jobs through At Your Service. That’s her daughter, Emma, who’s about nine months old now.”

“Were you close as children?”

He tucked his phone back in his pocket. “Dix and I were when we were really young. Shana always marched to her own drummer. But all three of us had a kind of bond because our parents didn’t really parent. As siblings, we looked out for each other, and yet I can’t say we were close. Not like you and your brothers.”

“Your parents just let you raise yourselves?” She couldn’t imagine that. Hers had always been there for her—then her brothers had followed suit.

“Sort of. On one hand, they were extremely strict. They set down rules and expected us to follow them, but then they left us alone. If we got caught doing something we shouldn’t be doing, the punishment was swift and harsh. I learned not to get caught.”

Their lunch was served, the aroma enticing.

“I always got caught,” she said with a sigh. “Always. If my parents didn’t catch me, one of my brothers did. The freedom when I went away to college was heady. I stayed up too late, waited until the day before a paper was due before I wrote it and partied a lot. But by my sophomore year I’d seen the value in moderation. To a degree, anyway.” She grinned. She had loved the college environment. “Did you go to college?”

“Yes. But I was a nose-to-the-grindstone student. Plus I was always working. Between jobs, scholarships and grants, I graduated debt free.”

“That’s a big accomplishment. What’s your degree in?”

“Biology, with a minor in biochemistry.”

“That’s a tough curriculum.”

He shrugged. Gavin steered the conversation to how good the food was, but Becca recognized a diversion when she heard one.