He blinked. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I mean, we probably need them for the ceremony, but if you want to keep it a secret, maybe we should keep them in a box?”
My left hand was still frozen, so I couldn’t pull it out to envision what a ring might look like on it, but I could picture it in my head. And I could picture one on Nash’s hand too. Gold, subtle, sweet.
I licked my lips. “Alright. So…when?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, his food seemingly forgotten. “I’ve got a few days off coming up at the end of the month, and some PTO I can burn.”
My stomach flipped. “Do we need that long?”
“Well, if you want anything like a honeymoon… If anyone from work ever asks, we need it to look real. The honeymoon will help sell it.”
Oh god. A honeymoon? I hadn’t even considered that could be a thing. But he had touched me. And I’d wanted to touch him. I just didn’t realize he might want to do that again.
I swallowed past a lump in my throat. “Yeah. That could be…nice. But won’t the guys ask questions?”
“I don’t want to lie to them,” he said slowly. “Maybe we just rent a little spot by the water for a few days. No one will question it.”
That was fine by me. I was an easy man to please. I didn’t need a lot. A bit of attention and time to tell me that I was doing a good job and you’d have me for life.
“We need time to get a marriage license,” he added, sounding a little lost in his thoughts. “We can go down to the courthouse soon. Aw, hell. We need witnesses.”
I’d forgotten about that. My stomach ached. My entire life, I thought it would be Creek standing beside me when I got married, but then again, I’d never pictured getting married like this either.
It was all wrong. Even if some part of me felt like this was also all right.
“I could ask Dax.”
Nash coughed. “Honey, that man is Dayton’s brother.”
“But he’s also my friend, and I think if I asked him to keep it a secret, he would,” I told him. I trusted Dax.
Nash rubbed his chin, then nodded. “Alright. You ask him then. I’ll put some feelers out at work and see if any of the guys would be willing to do this without spilling the beans.” He sat back and bit his lip. “Maybe Kaelan.”
“So.” I let out a short puff of air. “We’re really doing this?”
Nash looked over at me. “Unless you’re changing your mind?”
I wasn’t. I shook my head, then my hand crept out into the space between us, and after a beat, Nash tangled our fingers together. It felt nice.
No, it felt better than nice.
It felt like it was meant to be.
“Then we’re getting married,” Nash said.
Oh god. We were getting married.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NASH
I was getting married.
Ever since same-sex marriage had become legal, I’d entertained the occasional daydream about what my wedding would be like. Who I would marry, who’d be my best man, what kind of party we’d throw.
In all the scenarios I considered, I’d never expected it to be such a small affair. And I sure as hell hadn’t thought I’d get married without my brothers by my side. As much as I wanted this, the bitter tinge of betrayal was heavy on my tongue. Would they ever forgive me for this if they found out?
Forest’s hand was trembling in mine as we made our way inside the courthouse. He looked amazing in a slim-fit dark-blue suit with a crisp white shirt and a baby-blue tie. The suit hugged his figure in all the right places, especially around his ass. I had a hard time keeping my eyes off him.
