Page 45 of Meant for Mayhem

“Because his parents are sleeping in the guest room.”

Another pause, then the sound of footsteps on the other end of the line. “I’m pacing. Oh my god, Shannon. Does he have multiple guest rooms?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Then where are you sleeping?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “And now you understand why I’m currently hiding in his bathroom.”

“Do his parents know you’re only kind of married? Or are we selling them on this too?”

I slid down the vanity until I was sitting on the heated floor, resting the back of my head against the cabinet. “You tell me which sounds less insane. ‘Hey Mom, I got married but only for a few months so I can lie to my team and have her and Leena travel with me,’ or ‘Surprise! I got married today, and I didn’t invite you.’”

“When you put it that way, you’re screwed. Both sound insane.”

“I’m realizing that now.”

“So, back to the bedroom. I guess that means we went with the latter avenue of Crazy Street.”

“Yep.”

“Okay, but how long are they here for? How long do we need to hold this charade?”

I laughed, rubbing a hand over my forehead. “They fly home tomorrow, so only tonight. His mom has been here helping him with Leena, and his dad came so he could fly back to Helsinki with her tomorrow. She uses a wheelchair, so it’s difficult to travel alone.”

“So you walked into your brand-new fake marriage and immediately met your in-laws. How’d that work out?”

I traced a finger through the gray veining in the marble tile. “His mom reminds me of Lori.”

“And his dad?”

“I may have implied he has an inferiority complex.”

Stevie groaned. “Shannon.”

“In my defense⁠—”

“No.”

I smiled. “He does.”

“You’d known him for, what, an hour?”

“Closer to five minutes.”

“Unbelievable.”

“I’m a bitch, not a liar, right?”

She let out a sharp laugh. “So, now you’re hiding in your husband’s bathroom because you can’t go back out there and face this big, scary, slightly stupid thing you’ve done.”

My smile slipped, and I rested my forehead against my knees. “This whole time, I’ve been telling myself this marriage was just paperwork and not that much different from helping with Lori. But Stevie… I’m going to have to act married in front of other people.”

“So you’re not freaking out because your husband is a total hottie waiting in bed for you right now.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “That is an entirely separate issue.”

Stevie’s laugh echoed through the speaker. “I knew it.”