It had been another fine day with Peach. I had never expected her to be so in her element with the arrangements at the reception. Michael and everyone seemed over the moon with her. It was no wonder she had wanted to call herself a wedding planner for our arrangement. She was a natural, I had asked her what she might do with the money from our arrangement and she happily discussed a wedding planning business, it all made great sense.

I began to feel even guiltier for the circumstances and how I was using her. I still couldn’t really believe we were actually married. It was not generally in my nature to mislead or manipulate anybody. I had stumbled into this through necessity as well as an unquenchable desire to be around her.

Maybe I was using the circumstances to force myself into the companionship that I had avoided for so long? But now I was in the thick of it, falling down the rabbit hole of our arrangement, it was getting harder to tell truth from fact. I knew how I felt when I looked into her eyes, that was real. But how could I tell her that? It felt cruel to do that at this point, especially when we’d decided there would be no chance of intimacy. I’d promised her the annulment. I couldn’t go back on my word.

With everything ready at the reception I had to nearly drag her away. It was easy to see where her passion lay and extracting her away from all the wedding coordinating was almost heart breaking.

It was quiet now back at the car, all the other people, employees, and vehicles had left ready for the party in a couple of hours. We were all alone, and I stood before her admiring the glow she had from the delight in her recent activities.

“So how do you think we did?” I asked.

“Hmm, you mean as a couple? Great I’m sure, though we still might not hold up if anyone was to interrogate us.”

“I’m sure we can test each other on the way back. Speaking of which, where do you want to go? I’m heading back to the estate I think, you could join me, if you’re feeling brave?”

“As daring as it might be to meet your family now, I am pretty tired and still a little hungover. I have plenty to take care of. Mundane stuff, plus I have work tomorrow. Could you drop me off at home?”

“Sure.” The sudden thought of dropping her home and not seeing her again for the rest of the evening pained me. I also realized how closely we had drifted together as we spoke, her lips were enticingly near and I had to fight the rising urge to kiss her.

Had I even kissed my bride during our drunken ceremony? I couldn’t remember. Like much from that night we had to merely make presumptions, that thought and the make believe first kiss we had discussed in the car before made me want to kiss her badly. What a fine way it would be to horribly complicate things, I had no right to do that.

“We better get going,” I quickly said.

“Yeah, I think so,” she replied, apparently shaken from the same revelry.

With Peach, or should I say my new bride, deposited safely home I headed back to mine. The family estate west of the city. It had been home for not just my entire life but for three generations of my family.

It had been built up from humble beginnings by my great grandfather in the hay day, as Las Vegas began its rapid rise. Now it was hopefully going to be my time to take over the reins, which sorely needed to happen.

There had been a slow but persistent decline in the state of the business. For years there had been a growing separation in the management ideas for the place, between my mother, father and the third most invested party, my cousin Nial. He ran the finance and legal side of the place nowadays, and he rarely masked his ambitions for more. It was easy to imagine him whispering in my parents ears to undermine me and he no doubt had some part in the contract stipulations I now faced, bringing back an old tradition for the inheritor to be engaged, that had long ago been done away with.

Since my father’s death these tensions had found new heights. My mother, who had grown even more distant in her grief, conspired with Nial over bizarre new side ventures. She never seemed to consider my involvement in the business as serious or as required. And while I networked, nurturing clients and opportunities she only saw it as a frivolous party life. I was glad I would be able to circumvent the ridiculous hurdle to my inheritance, though I had been struggling on the drive back from Peach’s about how to break the news. Maybe the best way was just to let them have it, what could they do about it? It was after all what my mom seemed to want if the contracts were anything to go by.

I found my mother and Nial talking in my father’s old office. Mom sat at the desk while my cousin lurked by the window that had a view out over the southern vineyards. They both turned slowly to watch me enter. I could feel the atmosphere of defiant expectation from the moment I entered the room.

“Ethan, I presume Michael was content with today’s deliveries?” my mother started. “I also hear you even raided the private cellar for a generous gift.”

“Perfectly happy and he sends his regards,” I replied, resisting any debate about my gift.

For the first time in my life I now knew how badly I wanted to run the business, without someone always looking over my shoulder or seconding guessing my decisions. I was not sure if it was because of the adversity my mother and cousin were presenting or my new found passion for life Peach seemed to instill in me. Either way, I was ready, and I would not be undermined any longer.

“You will also both be glad to hear that you’ll have less to concern yourselves with soon enough. It turns out your attempts to hinder my inheritance have back fired, you might even say they tempted fate. I stumbled into someone I’ve known for quite a while the very same day you happened to throw down the gauntlet, mother. And I can say you have nothing to worry about.”

“What?” Nial spun on his heel to look at my mother as she sat up at the desk. It was hard not to notice his horribly gaudy tie even at a time like this. He had a bizarre fascination with vivid orange and yellow ties, and today’s choice was suitably obnoxious.

“You heard what I said.”

Mom silently studied me with discerning eyes while Nial continued to address me.

“Oh, really? That sounds fantastically convenient,” Nial spat his words across the room with venomous sarcasm. “And who is this individual, I presume we have never heard of her? Hell, you’ve been terrified of women since your ex haven’t you? Why the sudden change of heart?”

“You’ll meet her at the reunion and her name’s Peach. And though it’s none of your business, while I have been cautious about relationships, it turns out this was just the push I needed to find happiness.”

“Peach? Come on, that sounds like a made up name. Ha! Knowing you it probably is… Where did you find her, on the strip? You think shacking up with a stripper is what your father intended? That’s not going to fly.”

“Nial, please,” my mother said, still studying me.

She was hard to read, but I was glad that she curbed Nial before I directed my own anger at his remarks. Perhaps my mother was actually happy, deep down she may have wanted to see me settled. My parents had always been a true demonstration of love and devotion, it was only in his last years she had been broken down with his illness and now her grief.

It was easy to imagine the honest intent of the inheritance stipulations, but which had perhaps then been twisted to be used as a last minute spanner in the works. Which, I still suspected was at the behest of my weaselly cousin.

“I presume this lady is more than a stripper, Ethan?” my mother asked.

“Aside from you both being rather derogatory about an honest occupation, no, she is not a dancer. She’s a wedding planner from California, I’ve known her for years. She was in town at the perfect time for me to finally make my move, and she said yes!”

I was surprised at the convincing sincerity of my explanation. Everything I’d discussed with Peach in the car about our false history was welling up inside me. I wanted it all to be true. Longed for it. Though I hardly needed all the sugary coating, my claim was good enough, it was just going to make everything smoother if there were no suspicions.

“How come I don’t believe you?” Nail said, stepping up to me.

“Nail, you can drop the senseless threats and envy. Did you think you would be taking over because of a vague stipulation, legally speaking?”

“Oh, you might be surprised of what the law can do.”

“You can believe me or not, I frankly don’t care,” I responded, turning to leave. “But don’t all congratulate me at once, by the way!”