Page 24

The next thing I knew, the heavy glass doors of the conference room swung open, revealing Alex leading the charge. That wasn’t much of a surprise. I had a feeling he was always in the lead, whether he was taking his family to dinner or to war.

The man who walked in after him, however, that was a surprise. So much of one that my internal GPS instantly and completely lost its signal. I suddenly didn’t know where I was, what I was doing here, or even my own name.

My breath caught in my throat as I watched him walk through the door, wearing dark dress slacks and a deep blue button-down shirt, the top three buttons undone like he’d given up on it with only that many left to go. Completely of their own accord, my eyes dropped to the hint of collarbone he’d left exposed, and for a moment, I found myself wondering if he’d done it intentionally, but then my gaze snapped back up.

The face I found myself staring at still hadn’t changed, though. I wasn’t dreaming and I hadn’t been hallucinating. Holden Thayer was the man who’d just walked through the doors behind Alex, broad-shouldered and tall, with that same piercing, sharp blue-gray stare he’d had when he’d snapped at me about the helmet.

No. Way. Just… no freaking way.

As that sizzling, intense gaze swept across the conference room, my blood instantly ran hot. This is who I’m marrying? What the hell…

The moment he’d cleared the threshold, those eyes locked onto mine, and if he was surprised to see the clumsy cyclist or the awkward roommate who’d fled his presence a little over a week ago, he didn’t let it show.

There wasn’t even the briefest flicker of shock. Instead, he wore a mask of aristocratic indifference and utter disinterest, and it didn’t slip for so much as a second. He just eyed me coolly for a moment. Then his gaze drifted down to my thrifted 90s suit before he leaned slightly toward Alex.

Their heads bent together as they sat down at the conference table, but Holden’s eyes didn’t leave mine as Alex began murmuring something about the marriage certificate resting in front of them. The document already bore my neat, shaky signature, but it still needed his.

He only glanced away from me when he reached over to pick up a heavy fountain pen Alex had set down, scribbling his own name next to mine with a practiced, fluid motion that definitely wasn’t shaky. Once that was done, he rose slowly and raked a hand through that blond hair, so dark that it bordered on light brown.

For a second, I thought he might say something when his eyes met mine again, but instead, he just walked right over, stopping when he was right beside me. Alex remained where he had been at the table, his head bent over the twin stacks of paperwork as he pulled first one and then the other toward himself, paging through them like he was triple-checking our signatures.

Meanwhile, I stood there, trying to prepare myself for the most unromantic wedding ceremony in recorded history. This was absolutely nothing like I’d always envisioned my wedding to be, and yet, as the officiant cleared his throat and stepped forward, a very specific, completely suffocating tightness in my chest finally began to unwind.

If I could just get through this, it would all be over and the mere thought of that made the crushing weight of the debt, the fear of losing everything, and the endless sleepless nights evaporate. It’s going to be okay now. Everything is finally going to be okay.

A wave of profound relief washed over me as I let that sink in. Sure, the fact that I was about to marry a guy I didn’t know from a bar of soap wasn’t ideal, but I could handle a few public appearances and a ring on my finger. Whatever it takes, it’ll be worth it for this feeling of finally being safe, right?

“Are you okay?” Holden suddenly asked at my side, his voice a deep, low rumble that vibrated right through the soles of my shoes.

I blinked, immediately realizing that I was just about hyperventilating. My shoulders heaved up and down and I’d been staring blankly at the wall, but mercifully, the question effectively snapped me out of my panic-induced trance.

When I looked up, both the officiant and the court clerk were staring at me with varying degrees of concern. My cheeks flushed as I imagined what they might be thinking, especially since it wasn’t inconceivable that they’d already figured out I was pledging the rest of my life to some guy for money.

Holden gave my elbow a gentle, subtle nudge. “You’re supposed to repeat the vows now. Unless…” He trailed off and raised an eyebrow at Alex before he glanced back at me. “Have you ever been married before?”

“No!” I blurted quickly, my cheeks flushing even hotter, probably turning my entire face to a bright, mortified crimson at this point. Reaching down deep, I did my best to find even the faintest measure of composure. Then I tried again. “No, I haven’t. I’ve never been married before.”

A quick, barely perceptible smirk crept across Holden’s full lips, almost instantly vanishing again when he schooled his features back into his usual stoic expression, but that tiny crack in his armor made me feel a little more settled. At the end of the day, I wasn’t alone in this.

He and I might not know each other, but that was precisely why it made me feel better. We didn’t know each other. He didn’t know what he was getting into any more than I did, but clearly, there was an actual human being stuck behind that handsome face, and with time, I would get to know that person.

By hook or by crook, he and I were going to have to try together to make this marriage work. I didn’t really know what was in this for him, but it had to be something or he wouldn’t be here. Which meant that we really were in the same boat.

At that realization, I drew in a deep breath, squared my shoulders, turned to face the officiant, and repeated words that cut deeper than I’d expected. “To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer.”

I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed. For some reason, I hadn’t thought we would be making the traditional, heavy-weight promises of a real marriage. Although I wasn’t really sure what I had been expecting either.

Come on, Alicia. It’s not like they were going to make you promise to split time on the yacht equally or not to max out his black Amex card at the mall more than once a month.

Whatever I’d thought, the vows were over almost before the ceremony had truly even begun. I wasn’t even able to overthink the gravity of the words before Holden was reaching out and taking my left hand in his. Warm fingers wrapped around mine, his grip steady as he slid a shiny, beautifully simple golden band onto my ring finger.

As he did, his gray eyes seemed to catch sight of the vintage silver bracelet resting against my wrist. He stared at it for a long, quiet moment, an unreadable expression crossing his face, but then he let go, slipped a matching golden ring onto his own finger without any ceremony whatsoever, and looked over at Alex.

“Is that all?” he asked.

Alex shrugged, clearing his throat as he gestured dismissively between us. “Technically, you’re supposed to kiss the bride.”

Instinctively, every muscle in my body braced as I wondered how a man who looked like an angry runway model was going to handle a mandatory kiss. I was half-expecting him to scoff, walk away, and tell me to call him in a year, but instead, Holden didn’t even hesitate.