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“Yes. That’s the other problem,” he said. I had to give him credit. From across the distance between his phone and mine, he’d managed to inspire my guilt reflex. I had marriedthreeboys that day. Caused this poor guy some sort of marriage problem. No telling what quandaries the others had found themselves in as a result of a gamewhen we were seven.
I crossed my arms, my heart pounding hard. “What else is wrong?”
“Unfortunately, in this country, polygamy is legal. So, you’ll have to sign a release form in relation to the other two boys as well as me.”
“Yeah, fuck that.” This time I cackled with laughter. “Okay, I appreciate a joke as much as the next girl, but you’ve got to be kidding me.” I admired his dedication to it, though. To the thought that I’d been married since I was seven. I laughed and laughed until tears streamed down my face. He hadn’t responded, so I said it again. “You can’t be serious.”
I sat down on my sofa, taking my phone with me. This had to be one of those candid camera jokes.
“Their names are Silas and Viktor, and they’re being located as we speak.” Now that he’d said the names, even more memories came pouring back. The daisies we’d picked, probably illegally, from the park. The solemn expressions on our faces as we swore our vows to one another.Jesus.
“Hopefully, we four can meet once more next weekend, sign our releases, and then never see each other again,” Henryk said as if he were troubled by the whole thing.
I frowned. For a guy who was sending out free flights to his tiny little country, he was certainly in a big hurry to be rid of us.
“What’s the rush, Henryk? Getting married?”
“Unfortunately, I am.” He said it as if he had just been sentenced to life in prison.
My mouth dropped open. Well, that explained it. “Oh. Okay.” The little girl in me who vividly remembered his bright blue eyes was jealous. The grown woman realized that was silly.
“It is an arranged marriage, not a love match.” Well, that explained the dour tone. Pompous and dour still somehow managed to sound attractive.
But I got the feeling he didn’t talk to Americans very often. “Erin, I am asking you... please, come. We are happy to compensate you for your time, of course. Perhaps a vacation after our business is concluded.”
I frowned. I didn’t remember the boy in the park being rich. “That’s generous.” What if he was some super rich drug lord, luring me to his country? I’d been watching a lot of streaming TV and it seemed like everyone was involved in a cartel these days. I didn’t know Lichtenstein’s economy, but I needed to know my involvement was with someone who didn’t shoot first and snort questions later. “How can you afford that kind of thing?”
“I just can.” Vague. I was about to say no, but he added, “So please, will you come?” It was just desperate enough to convince me, He certainly didn’t sound like El Diablo.
I glanced down at the first-class ticket. Maybe he could afford it. And honestly, it was a free trip to a country I hadn’t even known existed before and looked quite wealthy. “I’ll have to speak to my boss first.”
“Of course. But that is excellent news.” Happiness—a chuckle—accompanied the words. Happiness or relief. “I look forward to meeting you again soon. My steward will send someone to meet you at the airport, and once we sign the releases, we can put all this mess behind us.”
“Okay,” I agreed, feeling strangely numb.Mess? That was a bit harsh to describe an innocent game of children. We’d been role-playing, pretending to be adults, nothing more. But I didn’t comment further and it wouldn’t have mattered if I had.
“Goodbye.” Henryk abruptly hung up, and I sat on my sofa, dumbfounded.
At least today I couldn’t say my life was boring.
