Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem



Josiah was utterly gobsmacked. This was Tarquin's girlfriend?

But... although she was drop-dead gorgeous, flawless really, she didn't sport a single piece of bling or designer gear. Normally, with a guy like Tarquin, you'd expect his girlfriend to be dripping in brand names and jewels, right? Even if she was going for the understated look, this was taking it to an extreme.

Josiah began to doubt Elysia's story. He hesitated before saying, “Just give me a moment." He turned to find Tarquin. He didn't dare let her meet Tarquin without checking first. What if she was just some overzealous fan who'd somehow got wind he was here and decided to pretend to be his girlfriend to meet her idol? That would surely annoy Tarquin, wouldn't it? And worse, what if she was an assassin sent by one of Tarquin's enemies? Maybe she looked harmless on the outside but was hiding something sinister.

Feeling particularly cautious today, Josiah decided it was best to check with Tarquin first.

The whole girlfriend concept seemed totally alien to Tarquin! When told his girlfriend was here to see him, he was as surprised as anyone, "Her name?"

Josiah blinked in confusion. "?"

Did Tarquin have so many girlfriends he couldn't keep track, or was it that he had none, which is why he didn't know his own girlfriend's name? "She says her name is Elysia."

Tarquin: "?!"

In the next second, his eyes narrowed slightly. This silly woman, she was probably worried the cops wouldn't let her see him, so she cooked up this girlfriend story. Tarquin's mood suddenly lifted, "Let her in then."

Though Josiah was still puzzled, he let her through.

Inside the visitation room, it was just Elysia and Tarquin. Once out of the cops' sight, Elysia exhaled dramatically, “Scared me half to death.” Tarquin, with a smirk, "You've done nothing wrong, what's there to be scared of?"

"I lied to the cops. I was afraid they wouldn't let me in, so I said I was your girlfriend. Imagine how awkward it would be if they found out. Awkwardness aside, what if they decided to detain me for a couple of days?"

"...So you risked all that to see me!"

"Yeah!"

"And you came all this way, wanting to see me?"

Elysia steadied herself, muttering, "Don't flatter yourself. It's not because I care about you. I'm here on behalf of Elijah and Evan. Elijah is really worried about you. I came to check on you for him. As for Evan... if he hadn't insisted on going home last night, you wouldn't have had to drive him, and none of this would have happened. As Evan's guardian, I feel somewhat responsible, so I came to check on you."

Tarquin: "..."

He drove Evan home, and that's when this mess started? Thinking it over, he realized the kids must have spun Elysia a tale. This naive woman, she believed it.

He didn't expose the kids' fibs, instead asking about Elijah, "Is he doing okay?"

"He's pretty worried about you. But don't you worry about him. With me, Elliot, Evan, and Emmett around, we won't let anything happen to him." After saying this, she finally took a good look at Tarquin, surprised, "Why aren't you in a jumpsuit?"novelbin

Tarquin replied, "I'm a suspect, not a convict. Why should I be in a jumpsuit?"

"But how come you're still so well-groomed? You shouldn't be!"

Tarquin raised an eyebrow, "And how should I be?"

"You should be a mess! Where are your dark circles and stubble?"

Elysia figured, with all this trouble, he must be stressed and sleepless. There had to be dark circles! There had to be stubble! There had to be a lack of vitality!

But looking at him now, still in his sharp suit, clean and cheerful, in excellent spirits, he didn't seem like someone entangled in a crisis at all! This was totally different from what she had imagined.