Page 32 of Unrequited Sloth

“I paid two-thirds.”

Bobby earned more than Alex, so he felt it was right that he paid a higher proportion of the bills.

“Okay, so we have grounds there if you wanted to pursue it.”

“Could I have this conversation with the guy who isn’t Daniel Harper, the shit hot lawyer?”

Daniel smiled. “Of course. Are you staying with one of your brothers?”

“I was in a hotel, but I’m staying with Gabriel now.”

“The brother you’ve been accused of having an affair with?”

Bobby snorted. He had a point, but he would not turn down staying somewhere that felt safe. It had only been a couple of nights, and he already felt settled in a way he hadn’t since he’d left home at eighteen. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but the fact he’d never felt the same in Alex’s flat spoke volumes for how things might have ended up if the wedding had gone ahead.

“I see your point, but my brothers all have flatmates. My friends knew about Dillon and Alex, and Gabriel looked after me when it all blew up in Vegas.”

“Looked after you, how?” asked Daniel with a smirk.

Bobby laughed, but also felt his face heating. He wasn’t sure why, but if he was going to be accused of sleeping with a guy, then there’d be no one better than Gabriel.

“Nothing like that. If Alex found out about the fake wedding, she’d lose her mind.”

“What?”

“Neither of us remembers it, but after it all came out about Dillon and Alex, I went out with Gabriel. We must have gotten wasted, as we woke up wearing wedding rings.”

“Are you serious?”

“It was harmless fun. It’s not legally binding.”

“Who told you that?”

“A friend got married in Vegas, but they still had to do the legal ceremony in the UK. We didn’t have a licence or anything. Here you have to register your intention to marry at least two weeks before the ceremony in the UK.”

“That’s all true, but if the wedding was done under Nevada law, it’s legally binding and recognised in the UK.”

“What?” Bobby was dumbfounded.

“Do you have any paperwork? Was there a certificate or anything?”

“I chucked it away. It didn’t look like a marriage certificate here.”

“Can you remember anything about it?”

Bobby shook his head and then remembered something. “It said we’d chosen Mensah-Kavanagh as our married surname.”

He couldn’t help but smile, unsure why. Could Daniel be right? Was he legally married to Gabriel? What would that mean for them?

“Do you know Gabriel’s full name and his date of birth?” asked Daniel.

Bobby nodded.

“Let me look into this for you. Hopefully, it’s like you said, and if you were so drunk that neither of you remembers it, it may just have been ceremonial.”

“No offence, boss, but you’re a bit out of my budget.”

Daniel laughed. “Don’t be a smart arse. Give me a day, and we’ll talk tomorrow. Do you need some time off to deal with all this?”