“If I decide to ditch a wedding, it’s not going to be for sushi. It’s going to be for a big, fat burger with greasy fries and a milkshake.”
“No, it’s got to be fried mozzarella sticks,” Miles interjects. “Those are so much better than fries.”
His teasing puts me at ease, and I grin at him. “After the wedding, let’s celebrate with mozzarella sticks.”
“Solid plan. Shall we?” He holds out his arm to me and winks.
I suck in a breath and grin up at him. “We shall.” I hook my arm through his, and we walk into the side room. Margaret and Ainsley are busy chatting away, which doesn’t surprise me. Neither one of them knows a stranger.
In no time at all, we become Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
Really, it’s not a bad last name. Lucy Granger. It has a nice ring to it.
Speaking of rings, I glance down at the one now on my ring finger. It’s a beautiful, oval-cut diamond ring.
While Ainsley and Margaret sign the guest book, I lean over to whisper to Miles, “Please tell me this ring is fake.”
Miles bends down to whisper back, “It’s not.” His cheek brushes against my forehead as he straightens.
“It’s not?” I squeak.
He leans close. “Lucy, you’re the only person in the world I would do a pretend marriage with. I want you to have something nice.”
Well, dang it. Now he’s going to make me cry. I look up at him as I fight a sneaky lip quiver. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said or done for me.”
“You may kiss the bride!” the judge says with a bright smile.
I look up at Miles with wide eyes. I forgot about this part of the ceremony. Miles’ eyes sparkle as he turns to face me.
Before I know what he’s about, he grabs me in his arms, dipping me backwards. Reflexively, I wrap my arms around his neck. His face is so close to mine that his nose brushes my cheek. Just as quickly, he stands me back up, and I realize he made it look like he dipped me and kissed me at the same time. The man should try acting—he’s got a talent for it.
Miles’s eyes warm, and then he wraps an arm around my shoulders, planting a warm kiss on the top of my head.
This is getting dangerous. If he’s not careful, I’ll want to keep him.
“I just love seeing young love,” the judge says warmly as Ainsley and Margaret hand him the paper. “I hope you two have a long, happy life together.”
Miles smiles at him and steps forward to shake his hand. “Thank you. And thank you for doing the wedding ceremony for us. We really appreciate it.”
I echo his sentiments, and then we’re on our way out of the building. Margaret is hot on our heels, blowing giant bubbles at us.
“They’re going to think you’re trying to mop these floors,” Miles mumbles over his shoulder as we reach the large foyer of the courthouse.
“I’ve never been a maid of honor before. I plan on getting it right,” Margaret says as she dunks the wand back into the bottle of bubbles and pulls it out to blow again.Thbbbbbt.
Ainsley is shaking with laughter as she watches Margaret, and I watch as she gets sucked into the orbit the rest of us are happy to be a part of—Margaret’s circle.
NINETEEN
Lucy
“I guess the whole point of getting married is that we can tell people we’re married, right?” Miles asks me as we walk into the house. He holds the door open for Ainsley and me.
He stops next to me, and we slip off our shoes. I stare at him for a minute, then realize he’s talking aboutus.
“Yes, we are married.” The words feel funny, coming out of my mouth. The mozzarella sticks nearly made me forget. “Oh, yeah, we should probably tell everyone. Since that’s the whole point of us getting married.”
Ainsley dashes down the hall. “Wait for me! I have to use the bathroom first!”
