When he notices us, he smiles, eyes twinkling, and gets up to greet us. “How good to see you.” He shakes hands with Bryce, clasping his shoulder with the other hand. “How’s your grandmother?”
“Doing well, thank you.” Then Bryce mouths,I’m Bryce.
The gesture surprises me. Although Bryce and Josh are twins, they look totally different if you spend more than a minute studying them. There’s an air about them, a kind of electrical charge that makes them unique to each other.
The judge laughs. “Thanks for taking pity on an old man.” He turns to me. “And who is this beautiful young lady?”
“This is Fiona, my fiancée.”
“How lovely.” He extends a hand. “Nice to meet you.”
I pump his hand. “The pleasure’s mine.”
“So, what’s the occasion?”
Bryce hands him the marriage license. “We’re getting married.”
“Well! Congratulations!” Judge Mansfield looks back and forth between us. “What a lovely surprise.”
“I’d like you to marry us, if you have the time,” Bryce says.
“No fancy ceremony?” The judge’s curious eyes flick to me, gauging my reaction, but I merely paste on my perfect good-girl smile.
“That’ll come later,” Bryce responds, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer.
I respond by looping my arms around his waist, letting his body heat seep into me. “We want to make it official as soon as possible.”
“In that case, it’ll be my pleasure.” The judge smiles and clasps Bryce’s shoulder in a fatherly gesture. “I can’t believe it. It feels like it was only yesterday when you were a tiny little baby I bounced on my knee. Look at you now. Taller than me and wanting to start a family of your own.”
“There’s no baby yet,” I add quickly.
“Maybe not now, but there will be one soon. You know Catalina is looking forward to one. Marrying into the Huxley family is like gaining the biggest ally you can have, the kind that will always watch your back and keep you safe. You’re a lucky woman,” the judge says to me.
“Thank you.” I try to sound joyful, but can’t hide the wistfulness. He’s describing the kind of family I’d love to have, but won’t. That will be for some future woman Bryce falls in love with and marries. When his family finds out what happened between me and Bryce, they’ll never forgive me. Actually, they might already know. Josh and Ares have to be aware of our ugly college breakup, and might have told them already.
Still, I manage to maintain a smile as the judge asks his assistant and clerk to come in to be our witnesses, then starts the civil ceremony.
“Do you, Bryce Huxley, take Fiona Oberman as your lawfully wedded wife, and offer her your love, strength, support, loyalty and faith as long as you shall live?”
Bryce raises his chin. “I do.”
Anxiety knots my gut. Bryce doesn’t believe in the vow, but he says “I do” with such conviction that it makes my heart ache with longing.
Judge Mansfield nods and turns to me. “Do you, Fiona Oberman, take Bryce Huxley as your lawfully wedded husband, and offer him your love, strength, support, loyalty and faith as long as you shall live?”
Inhaling shakily, I look at the judge, then at Bryce. The question feels like an indictment about how I’ve treated Bryce before. I haven’t given him any of those. But at the same time, I’m getting a two-year-long chance to close the old chapter and start a new one, one where I redeem myself for my past.
“I do,” I whisper.
Bryce’s shoulders relax a bit.Was he nervous that I’d reject him?I reach out and squeeze his hand to let him know turning away from him was the last thing on my mind. Smiling a little, he pulls out another velvet box bearing the Sebastian Jewelry logo. Inside are matching wedding bands. He slides the smaller one on my finger.
I stare at the simple, elegant platinum band. Something beneath my feet seems to shift, telling me my life is about to change in a big way.
Giving Bryce a tremulous smile, I gently push the bigger band alonghis finger. In my head, I hear something closing—like a door shutting off a line of retreat, forcing me to walk forward.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The judge beams. “You may kiss the bride.”
I freeze at the declaration. I was so focused on the change in my marital status that I totally forgot about the kiss at the end of the ceremony. Bryce turns to me. His eyes are expectant, but he doesn’t make the move to kiss me.
