AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I frowned. “This is Ainsley Blair Adams. What is this in regard to, please?”
“Actually, you are Ainsley Blair. No Adams. This is Martha Masterson from the County licensing department. I regret to inform you that the marriage license you and Edward Adams obtained is null and void. You see, Mr. Adams is already married. To a Mrs. Veronica Adams, who resides in Eugene, Oregon. She informed that she kicked him out a few years ago after she caught him cheating, but never went through the steps to get an official divorce.”
“So, what you’re saying is that I’m not actually married?” I was thunderstruck.
“Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying,” Martha replied.
“Woo-hoo!” I screamed. Logan pumped his fist in the air and Kristin clapped.
I heard Martha laughing.
“Have a nice day, honey,” she said.
“Thank you, you as well,” I said and ended the call.
Edward rose to his feet. “Uh…yeah…well, I’ll just pack my things now and leave…”
“You’d better hurry up about it, too,” said Logan. “Because if I ever see you in Hideaway Hills again, I’m going to book you for bigamy.”
My fake husband cringed. “On second thought, I’ll just buy new clothes. Ya’ll take care.”
He disappeared from the kitchen and a second later we heard the front door open and shut. The engine of his truck roared to life, and then he was gone. And I was free.
Epilogue
Ainsley
One Year Later.
The sun was setting as Logan and I made our way along the sloping trail down to the private beach on Maui where our officiant and photographer were waiting. The sky was a collage of pink, purple, and blue. Gulls cried overhead as the tide rumbled in and out, waves lapping gently onto the shore.
“No doubts?” he asked. “Have I told you how beautiful you look?”
I laughed. “None at all and only about twenty times in the last fifteen minutes!” Today, I’d be marrying the man of my dreams, barefoot on the beach, in a private ceremony that would include only the two of us, the officiant we’d selected, and a photographer who would also serve as witness. We’d decided to get married privately since we’d both had large, formal weddings previously, even though mine wasn’t valid of course. Doing it this way now not only felt more intimate but somehow more real, at least for me. I suspected Logan felt the same way, too. Luckily, our families understood, and we looked forward to celebrating with them at the big party we’d be throwing in a week when we returned to Hideaway Hills.
“And you’re not too shabby yourself, by the way.” I lifted my chin and leaned in for a quick kiss. We stepped onto the white sand of the beach and paused to remove our shoes.
“Welcome,” the officiant greeted, approaching with open arms. He embraced both of us at once. “Are you ready for this?”
“More than ready,” said Logan, squeezing my hand.
The officiant reached for his leather-bound Bible perched on a tall rock. Warm sand enveloped our feet as we all took our places.
The man opened the holy book. “Then let’s begin.”
Logan and I took turns reading the vows we’d written, tears streaming down our faces.
“Repeat after me,” said the officiant, “I, Ainsley, take you Logan, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."
I began to recite the words of the classic marriage pact, gazing up into the eyes of the man I loved with all my heart.
“I, Ainsley, take you Logan, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part…” I leaned closer to my one and only husband and whispered so only he could hear,
“Or not.”
And then he kissed me.
