“Oh, thank you.” How had I totally blanked on needing witnesses? I did this for a living. Bliss Bridal was more thanjust a wedding dress shop, it also offered day-of coordination services. I’d had to sign as a witness at dozens of weddings.
We all four entered the double doors into the “chapel.” The city hall officiant introduced herself. She was a woman named Priscilla who wore a blazer the shade of uncooked salmon and looked like she’d been officiating government weddings since the Carter administration. She had a clipboard, a stamp, and zero time for nonsense.
“Welcome,” she said, scanning the paperwork. “Are you ready to be legally bound?”
Adam looked at me. “Ready?”
I nodded, my voice gone. Adam squeezed my hand, and it was the only thing in the room that felt real. Priscilla recited a few lines about the sanctity of marriage and the importance of honesty. She asked if we had any vows.
We hadn’t discussed this, but I shook my head no as Adam nodded. “I’d like to say something.”
Seriously?He’s got to be kidding.
He cleared his throat. “Billie Joel…”
Tears instantly sprang to my eyes. He hadn’t called me Billy Joel in, I couldn’t remember the last time. This was not a good start.
“I promise to always be the one who runs toward you, not away. Even when you’re mad at me, even when you give me the silent treatment, and even when you curse me out in fluent construction worker.”
Marianne and Frank both snickered, and my smile grew wider. I’d curbed my bad language but as a teen, I think some sailors would have been like,Whoa that’s a lot of F-bombs. Looking back, I think it was my way to express frustration.
“You are my best friend, and I will do everything in my power to make you smile, happy, and safe. I promise to keep trying, even when I’m tired, irritated, or you tell me to stop. I promise tomake you blueberry pancakes every Sunday even when you tell me you’re not eating carbs.”
My heart sank.Why? Why did he have to remember the blueberry pancakes? I’d only spent one Sunday at the house with the girls, and we had donuts because that’s what the girls wanted. We didn’t have blueberry pancakes.Howdid he remember I ate blueberry pancakes every Sunday?
And how had he known I wore a pink bra every Wednesday because my favorite movie wasMean Girls?
And how was any man ever going to compete with him?
“I promise to show up, every day and never take you for granted. I promise to love you, every part of you, especially the parts that the general public doesn’t get access to.”
Fuck me. I’d never loved the man more.
Priscilla turned to me. “Billie?”
I thought of every wedding I’d ever worked, every bride who’d stood in a dress worth more than my car and delivered vows she’d written after a bottle of prosecco and a Pinterest binge. I thought about how much I’d always loathed the drama of it, how I’d quietly judged women who cried at the altar, and how much I would pay to have just a sliver of their composure right now as tears built in my lower lids, threatening to betray me and slip down my cheeks.
I knew this wasn’t real, but it’s not like I hadn’t imagined what it would be like to marry Adam Knight in my head a million times, so finding the words to say wasn’t that difficult—not that difficult at all.
I swallowed a lump in my throat and took a shaky breath. “Adam, I promise to always try to let you in, even when it’s easier to shut you out. I promise to remember that you’re not just the man who fixes things on the outside, but the man who helps me see me, the real me no one sees, probably better than Isee myself sometimes. I promise to be your teammate, even if I continually try to put you on the bench.”
Marianne and Frank chuckled.
“And I promise to love you, even when you leave your wet towels on the floor, or you talk during a movie, or do that thing where you act like you don’t actually care but you care a lot. You care so much more than anyone could ever know.” I was shaking, and my voice thinned out at the end. “I promise to show up every day, and love you, and never take you for granted. And I promise to be there for you always. Forever, on the good and bad days, and never walk away.”
His eyes flashed with a look I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I knew that was his biggest fear, someone abandoning him like his mom had. And even though this was a fake marriage and we were only promising ninety days to each other, I would always be there for him, forever, always, and never walk away. I wasn’t the one who walked away in the first place, and I never would now.
Adam’s eyes were glassy, but he didn’t blink.
Priscilla nodded. “That’s beautiful. Now, the rings?”
“Oh, we don’—” I began.
“Here.” Adam pulled two rings out of his pocket. I did a double take as I looked down at them. One was a simple silver band, and the other was a white gold diamond, I would guess three-carat, solitaire that sparkled so hard I had to blink.
My eyes shot up to his. “When did you…how did you?”
He grinned.
