Legally Wedded (Legally in Love Book 3)

by Griffith, Jennifer

  “Are you ready to let your baby play in the waves right now?” Josh scooped Morgan up, as effortlessly as if she hadn’t gained a single pound with the pregnancy, and took her laughing into the waves, where he reenacted the kiss that Tory had captured last fall, and Morgan thanked her lucky stars that her mother ever wrote that book. Sand might not be such a bad thing after all.

  THE END

  Author’s Note

  I’ve got five kids, and the oldest was in the process of applying for college as I began writing Legally Wedded. I had to write this book to channel my nervous energy somewhere productive because the whole process freaked me out entirely—especially the paying-for-college part. Holy smokes! How do people even manage those enormous sums? The scarier part is that four more of my kids are coming up through the ranks. Who is going to pay their tuition? Maybe a bazillion people will fall in love with this book and buy it.

  That said, I must point out emphatically that I don’t advocate fraudulent behavior. If my kids tried this stunt to pay for college, I’d probably be the first to march them to jail. However, I’m hoping that the consequences Josh and Morgan have to face in this book are enough of a cautionary tale to prove to any reader in a similar financial bind that faking a marriage to get free money is not a good idea.

  The fact that things worked out for their happily ever after, both for their finances and for their love? Fiction! Pure and simple! Girls, do not try to snare a husband this way. It won’t work. Love ya, but it’s true.

  Also, there’s a three-day waiting period to get married once a marriage license is obtained in Oregon. Josh and Morgan would have probably chickened out in real life.

  Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed this bit of reading fluff. I’m always the first to admit my writing will not change your life. It’s just meant to be a little escape with a cup of cocoa on a chilly afternoon curled up on the sofa. We all need a little escape from life’s pressures, so escapist fiction is my goal, and I hope Legally Wedded was a fun escape for you. If it was, please write a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads! Books need reviews!

  Acknowledgements

  I need to thank, first of all, Gary, my husband for being my content adviser as well as the person I bounced all my ideas off for this book. He was the first pair of eyes on all the text, and he helped me see how to make things work. Plus, if I know anything about romantic love, it’s because of him.

  Next, I need to thank some men who have no idea they were involved in the process of this book. Some high school friends of mine made a recording of their a capella repertoire, and I found an old tape of it just as I commenced writing this text. Luckily, I also traded my old Suburban in for an even older one—with a cassette player. Then, as I did my writing, I had some of these great songs going through my head. Many thanks to Brad Ransom, Tyler Castleton, Greg Chandler, Jason Rich, Tim Rawlings, Troy Hobbs, and whoever else was part of The Music Men for the great tunes that drove this book.

  Oregon Coast 101’s website provided great websites for the research for the setting, which is a fictional town and college, but which is based on a beautiful area I’d love to really visit not just virtually someday.

  My friends on Facebook were a hilarious and excellent resource when it came to thinking up names for the vegan diner. The FB Brain Trust rules! Thank you!

  Another huge thank you to my critique partners and editors, Donna Hatch and Cynthia Anaya (C.J. Anaya), for their great feedback and expertise. They are also amazing writers, and I’m sure you’d enjoy their books. Check them out!

  To my kind and generous line editors, Brittany Gardner and Paula Bothwell, my undying gratitude. They caught errors and glitches my brain never could see. I also thank my ANWA writers group for their constant support and encouragement. Every book I ever start would likely die on the vine without their reminders that it’s okay to keep going.

  Finally, a giant thank you to all the readers of my kind of escapist fiction, who like to take an afternoon and just go worry about someone else’s romantic problems for a while, get a laugh or two, and melt into a silly book. I can’t thank you enough for being so kind as to read this and my other books. You make it fun and fulfilling to have this hobby.

  About the Author

  Jennifer Griffith is the author of nearly a dozen traditionally- and self-published books and novellas, as well as countless newspaper and magazine articles that have been published locally and as far as Meridian Magazine and The Chicago Tribune. Her novel Big in Japan was included among the “Top Ten Books of 2012” for ksl.com, and has been optioned for film. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops, including Salt Lake ComiCon.

  Legally Wedded is the third in the Legally in Love series, after Attractive Nuisance, and Asked and Answered.

  Jennifer and her husband Gary are the parents of five college-bound children, and they live in Arizona where Gary is a judge and Jennifer writes fluffy, escapist fiction meant to be read on a couch with a cup of lemonade or hot cocoa, depending on the weather.

  Preview of Attractive Nuisance

  Book 1 in the Legally in Love Series

  If you enjoyed Asked & Answered, you may also enjoy Attractive Nuisance, book 1 in the Legally in Love series. They’re stand-alone novels, so it doesn’t matter which order you read them in. Here’s a snippet and a link. http://amzn.to/1Lwp3PQ

  CHAPTER ONE

  Threatening and Intimidating

  Camilla Sweeten had immersed herself so deeply in the details of the case on her desk— what should’ve been an open-and-shut conviction of a local chronic burglar— that when Sheldon tapped her on the shoulder she jumped six inches in her seat and came bouncing down on her desk chair, rolling it over his open-toed shoes.

  “Ouch! Gah! Remind me to never startle you.” He hopped a little, holding his foot. “And to quit taking podiatric advice from my father-in-law.” The Birkenstocks had been a recent addition to Sheldon’s casual Friday. Not a welcome one, if anyone was asking Camilla, which they weren’t.

  “Sorry.” Camilla spun in her office chair. It rolled nicely on the mat in her cubicle, making a deep plastic-on-plastic hum. “You okay?”

  “Falcon wants to see you.” Sheldon quit hopping and let the foot down again. The fear must have shown on Camilla’s face because he patted her shoulder. “Hey, you know he’s not going to bite you in half, don’t you? He’s just a boss, not a monster.”

  Right. Her hair fell out of its bun.

  “And don’t forget. You’re his favorite.”

  The monster’s pet. How comforting. “Right now?” she asked, but Sheldon gave her a what-do-you-think grunt, and she steeled her knees. It was true. Falcon did like her. Just because Falcon Torres was a fierce old bird living up to his name toward everyone on the wrong side of the law, and was so tough he could sneeze with his eyes open, it didn’t mean Camilla should be afraid of the Yavapai County Attorney.

  Oh, but he could rip her head off and fire her in three seconds flat. Fate’s prankster minions turned up the volume on the clock’s second hand as she slouched toward the boss’s lair.

  Sheldon hollered after her. “You going to ask him about the promotion? You should.”

  Sheldon. The Jokester. Like Camilla would dare— no matter how much she dreamed of it. But no. She was too young. Too new to the staff. She’d have to work here longer than Sheldon to aim for that.

  His voice floated over the cubicle walls. “Come on. Be brave. You’re the hardest working person in this office. Self excluded, of course.” Ah, yet another joke. Everyone knew Sheldon put in his forty hours and made a beeline for home and hearth and his lovely wife Lydia, who made delicious dinners that included Camilla on Sundays. “I’m serious. That deputy spot is coming open, and you’ve got to speak up if you want it.” Now he and his Birkenstocks were shuffling alongside her toward Falcon’s office. “It never ceases to amaze me how you can be so tenacious in the courtroom against the criminals and so much of a scared animal about your own life. It’s a
disconnect.”

  “You’re all kinds of encouraging right now, Sheldon. Keep up the cheerleading.”

  “Oh, you know what I mean.”

  She did, but she sped her gait, hoping to leave the sandaled man in her dust.

  “Good luck, Camilla.”

  She’d need it.

  With her heart pounding so hard it might be bouncing her lapel, she threw her hair back up in its bun and pushed open Mr. Torres’s creaky door. “Excuse me?”

  “Camilla! Good, good!” He jumped to his feet and came to escort her into his office. Why the warm welcome? Usually he only gave her a passing nod. Oh, no. There’d been rumblings of budget cuts. This could be the “You’re Fired” warm welcome. But she’d tried so hard to do everything right. She’d dug in and made every case her own. She’d put away sixteen criminals in the past quarter, and even if there were staff reductions and she was low on the totem pole—

  She sat down, her guts a slosh of heat and fear.

  “Well. That’s a nice suit you’re wearing. Green is your color.” Falcon Torres noticed what was someone’s color? Revelations abound. She would’ve thanked him, but she couldn’t speak. “So. I brought you in this afternoon to talk to you about a very sensitive subject. After I mention it, I hope you won’t take it personally. I really want to preserve our friendship.”

  Friendship. Yup. The breakup speech. She’d heard it before. Well, not often herself, and not since undergrad when Burns Pilsington let her down easy, but she’d seen it on TV enough. Falcon’s version emerged as the “work breakup” speech. Her spine couldn’t hold her up, and she slumped in the leather wingback chair. But, wait. Maybe she had a shot at redeeming herself—

  “Before you say any more, Mr. Torres.” She slid to the edge of the seat, heart pumping. “I would like a chance to tell you that I’m getting a lot closer on the case against Neddington. He’s been sheer Teflon in the past, but this time I’m sure we’ve got some things that will stick.”

  Torres shook his head— not like he was going to argue, but more like he needed to mentally change the subject. “Right. Good work, Camilla. That’s very good. I have full faith in the team on this one. Now—” he cleared his throat. “About what I wanted to discuss with you.”

  The team. He had faith in the team. But she was just a single, lone member of the greater team. She was so gone. And she had all those law school loans left. And her car to pay off— the new one, the car of her dreams that she should never have bought but did anyway because she thought she had a steady paycheck. Sick bile bubbled inside her. For once, Sheldon was right. She had to speak up for herself!

  “At least give me a chance to defend myself, sir.” Quick. Think of the elements of her case. She was a hard worker. She stayed longer hours than her colleagues. She shut those criminals behind bars. She—

  “Cool your jets, Sweeten. You’re getting all worked up over something, and I have no idea what. It’s sensitive, I know, but I want to ask you a favor.”

  The supercharged air in the room must have touched a wooden surface. Klunk. It all went neutral again. “A favor?” She wasn’t fired? Oh, hallelujah. “Sure. Anything.” Well, almost.

  “I’ve got this buddy. We were fraternity brothers in college. Heh-heh.” Falcon chuckled and got one of those faraway, reliving-youthful-antics looks in his eyes. It made his eyebrows seem less furry. “Yeah. Good guy. But he got in touch with me and needs some help.”

  “Right. Legal help.” And Falcon couldn’t do it without compromising his ethics, since this guy was a longtime pal. Wow. “I’m honored.” Camilla sat tall in the chair. He chose her!

  He shook his head. “Uh, no. Not legal help. It’s a little more… personal.”

  Oh, dear. Camilla backed away. Rumblings of doom sent tremors from the distance. She’d heard it before…

  “See, my buddy has this son.”

  Bam! The set-up! Oh, snap. Far worse than getting fired!

  Falcon was going on. “And overall, he’s been a good kid, you see. He just needs a little direction. A good girl and he’ll be fine. I know it. So what I was wondering was…”

  Five thousand beetles crawled beneath Camilla’s skin. She had to clench her jaw to still them. Oh, this could go sideways for so many reasons. And the consequences, if worst fears were realized, and they often were when a set-up was concerned, could actually end up being her job, especially if her boss’s best pal’s ne’er-do-well son was involved.

  “—for dinner this Saturday night. Uh, heh-heh. I guess that’s tomorrow now, isn’t it?” Falcon Torres’s brow, against all odds, looked sheepish. The meanest old bird in the world, with that look in his eyes— it should have melted her resolve.

  But Camilla was stronger than that. She was playing the long game.

  “Oh, thank you so much for thinking of me, Mr. Torres. I appreciate it more than you know.” How could she possibly sound gracious without lying? Well, she couldn’t. But sounding sincere was part of a lawyer’s repertoire. “I wish I could, but I can’t possibly.”

  It was her standard answer. She’d used it a hundred times in the last couple of years to fend off the dreaded set-up from Aunt June, from the lady at church, from even Sheldon (who luckily learned fast). This answer had everything: it was clear, kind, and final.

  Unless you were Falcon Torres, and Camilla’s boss.

  “I won’t take no for an answer.”

  Camilla’s jaw dropped. What? But a minute ago he was all about preserving their friendship. She scrambled for an excuse. “If only I had a way to help you out, I would, sir. But it’s out of the question. Now, about Neddington.”

  “I don’t give a rip about Neddington. He’s going to fry.”

  What? In the electric chair? Yes, Arizona still had capital punishment, but, “He’s a burglar, sir.”

  “You know what I meant. We aren’t going to let him off. I told you I had full faith in the team, and up until a minute ago, that included you, Sweeten.”

  Cold water splashed in her face. She spluttered. “Wait. You’re going to fire me?”

  “Did I say that? No. But I’m thinking about it. I’m thinking about firing everybody.” He harrumphed and pulled a cigar out of a box on his desk. He didn’t light it. Arizona had passed a Clean Air Act years ago. But he shoved it between his teeth and chawed down. “Come on, Sweeten. I think a date with you is what this kid needs. It’s not like I’m asking you to marry the guy. A date. And no, your job does not depend on it. Come on, I prosecute things like sexual harassment for a living here. I’m not an idiot.” The presence of the tobacco looked like it made him wind down a bit. “Fine. Okay. Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t have asked.” He sat back in his chair, and Camilla got up to leave.

  Now probably wasn’t the best time to throw her hat into the ring for the deputy county attorney job. She headed for the door.

  “But I’m not changing my opinion here. You have a chance to make a difference in a young man’s life, and you’re letting it pass you by. You’re letting life pass you by, Sweeten.”

  Camilla stopped in her tracks. She wasn’t sure if she’d heard right. Did Falcon Torres actually verbalize those last words, or had Camilla’s mind conjured them up in her boss’s voice? They did hang in the air, but she couldn’t be sure.

  “Have a good weekend, sir.” She clicked his door shut behind her and went back to the Neddington file.

  You should read the rest of this! It’s fun! Click this link!

  Or… dun, dun, dun! Book Two in the Legally in Love Series, Asked and Answered, is available now.

  Here’s a preview of Carson and Becca’s mixed up courtship in court.

  ASKED AND ANSWERED

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Pretrial Hearing”

  A drip trickled down Becca Goldfinch’s neck, but Xanthe the hairdresser swiped at it quickly with a towel, relieving Becca from the creepy crawlies.

  “I’m telling you, dear. You can’t be too careful.” Xanthe unfolded anot
her square of aluminum foil and placed a parcel of Becca’s hair on it. “When there are red flags, you have to slow down.”

  “What kinds of red flags?” The looming answer tugged and repelled her at once. It struck at the very heart of her worries. She needed to know—yet dreaded what might follow. Because it might mean losing Carson.

  “I don’t mean, like, is he warm or cool toned, introverted or extroverted.” Xanthe painted color paste onto the section of Becca’s hair. “More like are you truly compatible?”

  Or does he resonate to certain types of crystals? Uh, no. By day, Becca sat in serious honors classes at the University of Arizona, so hokey new age stuff wasn’t happening in her decision. Even if she was a freshman. Even if she’d already gone online and done all those tests—typed in both names and found out that, based on the letters in Rebecca Goldfinch and Carson Huxley, they were fifty-two-point-five percent compatible. Becca Huxley worked, and that was what really mattered, right?

  “He’s a Virgo, and I’m a Scorpio.” Becca floated a trial balloon to test Xanthe’s credibility here. If something came out next about long walks on the beach, this conversation was over. And Becca would be left to her own indecision and anguish.

  Xanthe rolled her eyes and hummed. “Nnnno. I don’t go in for that horoscope stuff. I’m talking about real psychology here. Before I went to hair school I got a masters in psychology at University of Arizona.”

  “How come you didn’t get a job in your field?” Chemical sulfur drifted up to Becca’s nose.

  Xanthe’s arm dropped to her side. “Doing what? I can use my psych skills much easier and earn more money doing hair.” She set to work again on the hair coloring project. “I get to talk to people all day, genuine people, people who would never schedule a session with a counselor, and help them. I’m picking up the slack for the psychology industry. Doing the world a favor.” She folded a piece of aluminum around the final piece of hair to highlight, then handed Becca a magazine and led her to a chair with a blow dryer helmet attached. “It’s a way to use my gifts and not have to sit behind a desk all day. All that sitting? It’ll kill ya dead—and young.”