Page 46 of Accidentally Falling for My Fake Wife

“Let’s do this, husband.” I burst out laughing as she grabs my arm and drags me toward the parking lot.

Sliding out of theJeep, I see Finn in the distance, standing next to two other people who are talking. One is holding a camera, so the other person must be the officiant.

Susie pulls up next to me and gets out of her car. I walk to the driver’s side and open her door.

“Are you ready for this?” The corner of my mouth lifts and I lean on the top of her door searching her face.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She slides out of the car, smiling radiantly at me. I feel a tug on my heart as I shut the door.

She walks up beside me and I put my hand out to her. She stares at it for a moment, before slipping her much smaller one around mine.

That silent exchange between us feels like a promise. A promise that I want to keep. Even if I’m not sure what that promise exactly is right now.

There’s just something about this woman next to me that brings out the need to protect her.

As we get closer, Finn greets and introduces us to the others before letting the officiant take over.

The ceremony commences but from the very first moment I can’t process what is being said. Susie’s hand is still in mine and her touch is all I can focus on.

When my name is called, I look up in surprise and see everyone staring at me. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Susie lets out a chuckle and squeezes my hand. “I’m not sure the groom hesitating on ‘I do’ is a good sign.”

“I asked if you, Adam, take Susie to be your wife?” The officiant repeats, humor radiating through his voice.

My gaze lands on Susie’s and for a moment I lose myself in her. Her face is glowing, her eyes are shining and I say the two words that will change my life forever. “I do,” I say softly.

I hear the officiant say something, and I see Susie turn her head in his direction. A softness comes over her face before she looks back at me and says, “I do.”

“You may now kiss the bride,” the officiant says, and I hear someone clapping.

My gaze falls to Susie’s lips and they part slightly. I take a step closer to her, surrounded by the smell of jasmine and lavender, and place my free hand on her waist. My lips are inches from hers when my eyes pop open and I pull back.

“Rings,” I whisper. “We forgot to get rings.” A wide smile crosses her face and she chuckles, right before she touches her lips to mine.

The gentle touch sends tingles down my spine and a bolt of lightning to my heart. My hand on her waist slides to her back and gently pulls her closer. Her body willingly complies while she slides her hand up my arm and around my back.

It takes every ounce of my control not to deepen the kiss and truly make her mine, but we have an audience, and that isn’t what this marriage actually is…yet.

With that in mind I reluctantly pull back and give her a lopsided smile. Her expression is filled with wonder and I lean in to kiss her gently on the forehead.

“Congratulations.” Finn slaps me on the back and kisses Susie on the cheek. “Let me take a picture of the marriage license so I can have my assistant forward this to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services right now.”

I hand Finn the paperwork and look over at Susie. I notice that her hand is trembling. Without hesitation I take it in mine. She looks at it, then at me. A shy smile crosses her lips and she squeezes my hand. A quiet thank you.

“I’ll let you know if I need anything else, but the photographs and license should be enough.”

“Thank you for arranging all of this, Finn,” Susie says. “The location is truly beautiful.”

“You’re welcome.” Finn grins at her, then looks toward me before he turns to the photographer and officiant. He walks off with them, but not before yelling over his shoulder. “I have a good feeling about this…about you two.”

Susie gives my hand a gentle squeeze and my knees buckle.

“Ready to go?” I ask. “Unfortunately, I have to go to practice.”

“How is this marriage ever going to work, Mr. Daniels?” Her eyes dance with humor. “Distracted when you need to say ‘I do’ and then marrying me only to run off.”

“I guess we’ll have to talk about that over dinner tonight, Mrs. Daniels.” Her eyes turn into saucers and her mouth falls as she realizes she needs to move into my house. “Don’t worry, I have a guest room all set up for you.”

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