Page 19 of Make Your Play

"I, Nash Simmons, take you, Riley Harris, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, to love and to cherish.” He pauses, his eyes burning holes directly through mine as his voice drops in volume. “Until death do us part.”

My heart crawls into my throat.

“Your turn, Riley,” Mr. Charles tells me quietly before he begins to recite the same lines to me. My heart poundserratically, my chest constricting as I suck in a shallow breath. My tongue darts out to wet my lips and I speak the words to Nash, my eyes focused only on his.

"I, Riley Harris, take you, Nash Simmons, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward."

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Mr. Charles says, the smile evident in his voice as he closes the book in his hands. “You may now kiss the bride.”

My heart skips a beat, my eyes widen, and I don’t breathe for a second. We have to kiss. How could I have forgotten that part? Nash stares back at me, his gaze soft and warm, gentle and tender as he takes a step closer to me. If we don’t do it, it will look suspicious and we need to make this look convincing so we can walk out of here with our marriage certificate.

I drop my hands from Nash’s, meeting him in the middle as we stand in front of the wedding officiant. His movements are slow. He brushes my hair away from my shoulder and both of his hands move to cup the sides of my face. I tilt my chin up, my neck craning as I look up at him.

“Is this okay?” he asks me, his voice barely a whisper as his eyes search mine.

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, biting down as I nod. My hands find his biceps and I hold on to him, inching close enough that I can feel his warmth radiating from his body. “We’re just playing the part.”

“Right,” he murmurs, his thumb brushing across my cheek as he drops his face down to mine. His breath fans across my face, smelling faintly of mint. “They have to think it’s real.”

His mouth claims mine, soft and slow as his lips move against my own. My breathing stops as my heart tumbles over itself. I half expect him to move away, but when he lingers, I move closer, my lips moving against his. Time is suspended andour surroundings vanish as he kisses me with a tenderness that has my body melting.

His lips melt into mine, his tongue sweeping along the seam of my mouth as I instantly part them. The kiss deepens, his tongue sliding against mine as his fingers grip the sides of my face. The air around us is electric and he kisses me sweetly. His lips move against mine and in an instant, they’re gone.

Nash pulls away, leaving me breathless as he presses his forehead against mine. I struggle to get a grasp on what just happened.

“Congratulations!” Mr. Charles’s voice is filled with excitement and the sound of clapping comes from Cindy who is standing off to the side of him.

His forehead moves from mine, his hands still cupping the sides of my face as he moves away, just enough to look at me. There’s an intensity burning within the depths of his eyes, his expression filled with emotion that mixes with something similar to guilt or regret. I’m not quite sure what it is, but it leaves me feeling unsettled.

It was just supposed to be a kiss to seal the deal, to show them none of this was fake, but it didn’t feel like that. It felt like he was determined to reach my soul. To search the depths of my heart for the answer he was looking for.

Yet, it was none of that. It was as real as this marriage.

He’s just really fucking good at making something seem convincing.

CHAPTER EIGHT

RILEY

Iglance down at my hands and pick at the cuticle on my left pointer finger. Doubt rolls around in my mind, a stark contrast to the anticipation in the pit of my stomach. I don’t know why I agreed to this. Actually—I do know why, but I can’t help but feel like maybe it was a mistake. This situation is bizarre. When I was growing up and imagined myself getting married, this isn’t how I pictured it at all.

“Are you okay?” Nash asks me to my left as he stops the car at a red light. We’re only three blocks away from the courthouse and the emotional part of my brain is telling me that now is my chance to make my escape. Jump out of the car and make a run for it.

I glance over at him, fixing my face as I swallow roughly and nod. “I’m fine. Just feeling a little off this morning.”

“What’s going on? Did you call your doctor?”

Shit. I picked the wrong lie to tell him this morning. Grimacing, I shake my head at him. “I didn’t mean physically. This is just… weird.”

He instantly frowns before he looks back to the road and starts to drive again. “Yeah, I know. This doesn’t have to change anything between us, Riley. It’s just a piece of paper.”

“You’re right,” I agree as the seriousness of the situation creeps deeper into my brain. Grabbing my smoothie from between us, I lift it to my lips, taking a sip. The nervousness grows within me as he pulls into the parking lot and finds a spot. I’m at the point where I’m beginning to ramble with no thought before I speak. “It doesn’t mean anything. You’re still free to date other people or do whatever it is that you want.”

As soon as I say it, I want to take it back. I don’t know why the hell I just mentioned that, but I did. And here we are.

Nash switches off the engine and slowly turns his head to look at me. “I appreciate your stamp of approval, but I’m not interested in dating anyone, Riley.”

“You're not?” I move quickly, spilling the smoothie all over my white sweater dress. “Shit.”

---