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Grayson smiled widely. “Then I’ve done my job. All you need to do is sign these.” He pointed at each line and we signed the contracts, including the prenup. The divorce papers would be signed in one year’s time. Everything was going to be perfect. I was sure of it.
Chapter Six
Soren
Just as he’d said he would, Levi managed to pull everything together in time for us to hold the wedding with less than twenty-four hours’ notice. We met at the courthouse at lunchtime to pick up our marriage certificate and while we were there, we agreed we’d go with whatever standard vows the officiant had rather than trying to write our own. Levi dropped me back off at the theater after that, where I dug through my closet until I found something reasonably dressy to wear, a charcoal suit, breathing a sigh of relief I hadn’t given all of my nice clothes to a thrift shop before I’d left Kansas. For a minute, I’d worried I would show up to my own wedding in jeans and a t-shirt, the same thing I wore to work.
A few minutes after five, Levi texted me to say he was in the parking lot, ready to pick me up. I gave myself one last look in the mirror. Good enough, I figured before grabbing the rings and dashing down the stairs. When I flung the rear door of the theater open, I nearly ran into Levi, who stood on the other side, fist raised to knock.
He moved his hand to rub the back of his neck. “Sorry, I didn’t know if you saw my text and I didn’t know if you’d hear me knock, so I was standing here debating it when you showed up.”
He wore a navy blue suit that offset his light blue eyes and reddish-brown hair, which was pulled back in a man-bun. The suit complemented his body in all the right ways, emphasizing how strong and muscular he looked. He looked good. Really good. I mean, for a guy I was about to marry. Nothing more. My mouth went dry and I swallowed hard, licking my lips as my eyes widened. We were really going through with it.
Levi cleared his throat and his brows dipped in concern. “You okay? You look a little pale.”
“I, uh—no, I’m fine. Sorry. Let’s get the show on the road.” I shook my head to clear the unwelcome thoughts away.
The car ride to the park was filled with a tense, charged silence between us. Levi drummed the steering wheel with his thumbs as the radio blared music. I turned to him a few times with the intention of saying something, anything to break the weird silence, but every time I opened my mouth, Levi would glance in my direction and my stomach would flip and twist with nerves.
It wasn’t long until we arrived at the park, and Levi stopped in the lot near the nature center. We walked around to the back of the nature center and just as he’d said there would be, a petite woman with a flower crown and a flowing skirt waited for us. In her hands was a small binder stuffed with papers.
The moment she caught sight of us, her face lit up and she hurried forward. “You two must be the grooms.”
Levi nodded and smiled warmly. His smile did something to my gut and I swallowed again before turning my attention to the woman.
“I’m Levi,” he said, shaking her hand. “Misti?”
“That’s me.” She smiled brightly and turned to me, taking my hand in her smaller one. “And you’re Soren.”
I forced myself to smile, pushing the nerves away. You need the help and you need the money. It’s only for a year. You can do anything for a year. I repeated the words in my mind over and over as I greeted Misti. “I sure am. You must be our officiant.”
Misti beamed and opened her binder. “Let’s come up with a plan.”
It didn’t take long for us to cobble together a short wedding ceremony, with a declaration, vows, and an exchanging of rings. We agreed we didn’t want too much weight put on the love part, but wanted to really emphasize the partnership aspect of marriage, which Misti was more than happy to help with. Once the order of the events was solidified, Misti stepped away to make some notes in her book and left Levi and me alone to have one final unmarried conversation.
“I have a confession,” Levi blurted the second Misti was out of earshot.
My eyebrows rose. “What? You’re leaving me for another man?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Wouldn’t that be something? No, it’s about our witnesses.”
“Okay…”
“I didn’t tell my friends what we were doing tonight. I told my parents, so they wouldn’t feel cheated out of attending my wedding if they decided they couldn’t make it or something, but I didn’t tell the guys.”
“Oh? Why not?”
He shrugged and looked away. “I didn’t mind at least sort of lying to my folks about you. I told them we’d been dating and we felt like this was the right decision. But I didn’t want to lie to the guys outright. I knew they’d probably see right through it. I’m one of the quiet ones, but I’m not so quiet that I could get away with hiding a whole boyfriend for that long.”
I nodded slowly. “So what did you tell them?”
“Nothing,” he said quietly. “Just told them to be here in nice clothes at six.”
A laugh bubbled out of me. “Well, if that’s the way you want to do it, that’s fine with me. They’ll be in for the surprise of their lives.”
Before Levi could say anything else, a car horn blared from the parking lot and he spun to see if he could locate the source. Several guys were waving at him as they climbed out of the car and another car pulled in the parking lot moments later making more noise. Before he could even go greet them, an older couple approached us and Levi beamed.
“Mom! Dad!” He rushed to hug them one at a time and my heart fluttered to see the warm way he greeted his parents. Once he’d released them, he turned to the group of men and waved. “Over here,” he called. They quickly gathered and Levi turned to face his friends.
