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This is real.
I pull the diamond ring off my hand. It's the first time I've taken it off since Ryker slipped it on my finger. I’ve been too scared to lose it and giving it to Seven still makes me nervous.
“Is there anyone else in there?” I ask, holding onto the last glimmer of hope that my mom decided to show up anyway.
“No. Just us,” Seven says.
I nod.
I knew it wasn’t likely she would have a change of heart, but it was worth a shot.
“Start whenever you’re ready,” he tells me.
He walks through the door and closes it behind him.
Shawnie pulls out her phone from her bra in her dress and cues up a song. A song I told her years and years ago when we were in college that I wanted to walk down the aisle to. I can't believe she remembers it now.
The song streams around us as she and I both tug on one of the doors together. The double doors open and the moment my eyes latch on Ryker, I know this isn’t the wedding I thought it would be.
Ryker
I stand at the head of the courtroom in a black suit with the minister and Seven. My hands clasp together in front of me as I wait patiently for Juliet.
I haven’t seen her since this morning when Shawnie showed up and yanked her out of the house.
I have no idea what she’ll be wearing.
A pantsuit?
A dress?
One of my jerseys as a joke?
I don’t have long to wait because, within seconds, the heavy, solid oak double doors open. Juliet is in full view, arm in arm with Shawnie as they clear the doors and start walking down the aisle toward me.
My mouth goes dry at seeing her in a full white gown. She looks beautiful with her hair down in loose waves.
The minute our eyes meet, I know I made a mistake.
Juliet deserves a real wedding, fake or not. Maybe I should have given her the ninety days we have on the visa to plan something better. I thought fast-tracking this would suit us both.
Now, I’m not so sure I won’t regret giving Juliet a courthouse wedding to remember me by when all of this is over.
Classical harp music echoes into the courtroom from Shawnie or Juliet’s phone, filling the silent void around us.
The full-length spaghetti strap dress has me unable to take my eyes off her. It fits tight from the low-cut top, down to the full curves of her hips. A slit comes up the left side of her dress and stops high on her thigh.
I can’t help but imagine what it would feel like to let my hands wander past the slit of her dress and allow my fingertips to roam over the soft skin of her thighs.
She’s fucking gorgeous as she makes her way toward me. My hands itch in anticipation of reaching out to take hers into mine.
I feel Seven leaning closer behind me.
“You sure about this?” he asks, low enough that no one else hears it.
My eyes don’t leave Juliet’s, and hers don’t leave mine.
This might be temporary, but the minute I saw her in that white dress, I realized that I’ve never been more sure of anything.
