Page 17 of Painting Him Mine

EZRA

“What doyou mean get married for real?” Mauricio asked me.

I had originally planned on waiting, but damn it all to hell, I wanted him to be my husband today. “Were you serious when you said you’d marry me today? Because I’m ready to do it now.”

Rather than answering, he posed a different question. “What about our family and friends? Don’t you want them there to be a part of it?”

It was a fair point. “We can have a big fancy ceremony with everyone later once they’re used to the idea of us being together. But I want to be your husband right now. I don’t want to wait months for them to arbitrarily decide we’ve waited an appropriate length of time to commit to a marriage.”

His green gaze softened with fondness. “Patience definitely isn’t your strong suit.”

“It really isn’t.” I took his hand in mine, rubbing my thumb over his ring. “What do you say? Will you marry me today?”

“Yes, I happily will get married to you today.” He leaned down to give me a kiss that made me squeal with joy as I kissed him back like we weren’t out in public with people watching.

We got a smattering of applause from some of the other people in the jewelry store, making me laugh when I pulled back. “Then I guess our next stop is City Hall.”

Etienne chuckled. “You’re as wild as ever,mon frère. Nothing can stand in your way once you make up your mind.”

I bit my lower lip as I looked over at my closest friend. “Do you think I’m making a mistake?”

“Following your heart is never a mistake. Especially when it leads you to someone like him.” Etienne tilted his head in Mauricio’s direction. “As long as I’m allowed to be the best man at your proper wedding someday, I’m okay with your rash impulsiveness today.”

His support overjoyed me. Leaning over the counter, I tugged him down to kiss his cheek. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

He ruffled my hair with a grin before he pulled out two ring boxes. “Use these so you can actually exchange rings once you’re having your ceremony. Now, go off with my blessing. Best wishes on your marriage,mon frère.”

We gratefully accepted the boxes as we took off our rings to put them in and then exchange them later. I couldn’t wait to wear our rings forever. They really were perfect for us.

After a few more words and another hug goodbye from Etienne, Mauricio and I set out for City Hall to get our marriage license and have a civil ceremony. Sure, it felt wrong and selfish to exclude everyone in the interest of expediting our wedding.However, I loved the idea of having something private just for us without the circus of our family and friends turning up and making it a chaotic celebration. Having it be just us had its own romantic appeal.

Everything went smoothly until we were informed there was a twenty-four-hour waiting period after the marriage license was finalized before we could have a ceremony. We also needed a witness, so hopefully, Etienne wouldn’t mind coming with us to the court house tomorrow.

I continued fussing as we returned back to my apartment. “It’s so stupid that there’s a waiting period between getting your marriage license and actually being allowed to get married. How many people does that realistically stop from making a bad decision about who they’re getting married to?”

“Probably not many, but it’s fine.” Mauricio wrapped me up in his strong arms as we stood in my living room. “What’s a one-day delay when we have the rest of our lives to spend together?”

I sighed as I melted against him. “Yeah, you’re right. But it’s still annoying.”

“Would using the time to book us a honeymoon make you feel better?”

I looked up at him with an excited noise. “Really? We can do that?”

“As long as you can get off work, I don’t see why not. I’m a freelancer, so I make my own hours. If you don’t mind me checking my email a couple of times while we’re gone, I’m free to travel right now.”

“I wouldn’t mind at all, as long as I can do the same.” It thrilled me that there was one less roadblock in our way. “Thankfully, I work whenever I want on whatever commissions I feel like, so it gives me a lot of freedom with my schedule. I don’t have any immediate deadlines to worry about, so now is the perfect time.”

He grinned. “How fortuitous. It’s almost like fate decided now was the perfect time to bring us together.”

“Right?” I laughed, but it brought up something that I realized needed to be discussed. Since I was marrying Mauricio, I owed him the truth about my past. “There really isn’t a non-awkward way to say this, so I hope it doesn’t change things between us. Not that I think it will with you, but it would with a lot of people, and?—”

He led me over to my couch to take a seat. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s fine.”

Mauricio was right. I knew he wouldn’t judge me the same way most people would. I took a deep breath and told him the truth that very few people knew about me.

Chapter Twenty-Three

MAURICIO

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