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“I’m not.” Alison took another step.
“Then get moving.” Ellie stood at the doorway to the living room. “Harker has to be nervous standing up there waiting for you.”
“Too bad. He’s the idiot who agreed to this. I never thought he would. Who agrees to marry someone just to have a kid?”
“You for one.” Ellie motioned for her to hurry up. “So, either tell me to go out there and cancel this or get your ass over here.”
“Go. I’ll be there in a minute.” She forced herself to move forward.
“Don’t take too long.” Ellie opened the door, propping it open behind her before walking into the living room.
Alison took another step and another. One year. That was it. Not even a year if she got knocked up tonight. Oh lord, please make Harker be as fertile as…well, she didn’t know what was super-duper fertile. Damn it. They should’ve been tested. What if one of them couldn’t have a kid? All this would be for nothing. She stopped. One more step and she’d be in the doorway. “That long hallway wasn’t long enough,” she muttered as she glanced behind her. She could run. No one had seen her yet, but she’d lose too much. She moved forward and stepped into Harker’s living room.
The twenty or so guests were all facing in her direction. Her mom and aunt were smiling and wiping tears from their eyes. Her stomach felt like she’d eaten bad fish, but she kept putting one foot in front of the other as she prayed that she didn’t actually puke. One year. That was it. The flowers shook in her hands and she kept her head bowed because she’d bolt if she looked at him.
She stopped when she saw his shoes—dark and so shiny that she could see her reflection. A strong hand grabbed her upper arm. She gasped at the warmth of his touch. He turned her toward him and then his hand was gone but only for a second. He touched her chin, raising her head before lifting her veil.
She kept her eyes down. One year. Then it’d be over.
His finger pressed against her lips and her eyes flew to his. Oh god, she’d mumbled that. His dark gaze was unfathomable, and it make her stomach twist even more.
“I’m sor—”
He captured her chin and bent, stopping when his lips were next to her ear. “Hush.” He dropped his hand and straightened as he turned toward the minister.
She followed his lead.
“Dearly beloved,” said the minister as he started the ceremony.
She bit her lip to keep from saying anything out loud but in her mind, she said one year. That was all. All? It sounded short but that was 52 weeks. 365 days. 8760 hours. The flowers shook so hard in her hands that the minster paused, his eyes on the bouquet.
Harker took her hand, prying the flowers from her grasp and slapping Tobias in the chest with them before pulling her close to his side. His warmth gave her strength. They could do this. They were kind of friends. He wasn’t a bad guy. He just wasn’t the man for her. Still, she’d taken jobs she didn’t like. That was it. She’d consider this a job. She had to stay here a little over nine months and when she left, she’d be financially secure. She’d done way worse than that.
“I do.” Harker’s deep voice sent a fissure of fear or something into her belly.
Shit they were already at that part. She could do this.
“Alison,” prompted the minister.
“Oh…oh, yeah. I do.” Her face heated at the few chuckles from the crowd.
“The rings,” said the minister.
Harker let go of her right hand and took her left. “With this ring, I thee wed, and with it, I bestow upon you all the treasures of my mind, heart, and hands.”
Her hand trembled in his grasp and then Tobias handed her a ring. She took it and slid it onto Harker’s finger.
“With this ring…” Her mind went blank. This had never happened to her. The words she’d memorized were gone. She stared up at him.
“I thee wed,” he whispered.
“I…I thee wed.”
“And with it,” he continued softly.
“And with it,” she repeated, waiting on the next part because her mind was still empty. Harker continued and she repeated his words. She had no idea what she said. She could’ve said she’d give him her right lung and her left breast for all she knew but after a few more phrases it was over. She almost collapsed from relief until she heard...
“You may now kiss your bride.”
