“We’re going to celebrate over lunch, right?”Teri asked.“I need to properly gaze at my new daughter-in-law.”
“Absolutely,” Archer said, pulling out his phone.“I’ll have the car pick us up.I made reservations across town.”
“Will we all fit?”I asked, counting heads.“Maybe Zoey and Mia and I can—”
“Babe.”Nash pressed a kiss to my head.“We have a third row SUV too.We’ll fit.And all the cars have boosters now, just in case Mia comes along.”
I smiled as I realized I wasn’t the only one thinking ahead about these things.Nash—and his brother—were used to shouldering the planning, the prep, the details.God, it was a relief.
“Thank you.”I pushed onto my tip toes to give him a kiss.
“Car’s outside,” Archer announced a moment later as we headed for the main doors.“I can’t wait until you see the restaurant I picked—”
His voice faded as he pushed open the doors and the shouting began.It took a few moments for the scene to register in my brain.All I could make sense of were the cameras and the crowd of people rushing toward us up the stairs.
"Shit," Nash muttered."Paparazzi."
Nash guided me and Mia behind him, while Trojan and Archer formed a protective barrier between me and Mia and the oncoming people.
“Back up,” Trojan barked as he led us through the fray.“Keep your distance.”
Despite his commands, cameras were clicking and questions were flying through the air.
"Clara!How does it feel to be Mrs.Nightingale?"
"When did you guys get engaged?"
"Is this a shotgun wedding?"
Nash's arm came around me protectively, shielding both me and Mia as Trojan and Archer cleared a path toward the waiting car.Zoey stuck close to my other side, glaring at any photographer who got too close, and Teri was Archer’s shadow.
"Well that was a rush," I said once we were all safely inside the car.
"Someone inside must have leaked," Nash said."Son of a bitch."
I looked out the window as we drove away, leaving the small group of photographers behind.Safe inside the car, the group looked small.But when they’d been ambushing us, it had felt like hundreds of people.
One thing was certain though.The photos were taken.Our secret City Hall wedding was now public knowledge.
“Are you okay, Mom?”Archer asked in the backseat.
Nash and I turned to look back there.Teri’s brows furrowed, and she had her eyes pinched shut.
“Just had a little dizzy spell,” she said.“Must have been from the excitement.”
“Have you been to the doctor like we said you should?”Nash asked.
“I’m fine.”Teri drew a deep breath then offered a smile.“See?”
“You’ve been getting dizzy a lot lately,” Archer said.“You need to go to the doctor.”
“I promise I’m okay,” Teri said, patting Archer’s hand.“Let’s focus on what’s important today, which is Nash and Clara.”
We tried to resume the happier mood from earlier.Archer had made reservations at a small Italian restaurant in the West Village—the kind of place that didn't take reservations for anyone, except apparently the Nightingales.We were tucked in a private back room with exposed brick and soft lighting.Trojan lingered near the threshold, scanning the main dining room for potential threats.We started off the lunch the only way fitting: with a toast.
"To the happy couple," Archer said, raising his champagne glass."May this marriage be exactly what you both wished and prayed for.”
Something about his words made my chest tight.I’d wished and prayed for a man like Nash when I was younger.And now I had him.Only until December 31st.
