Page 164 of Pucking Tangled
Waylon rubbed circles on the bottom of her foot. “I’m pretty sure that’s illegal for couples like us. In all 50 states.”
Owen cleared his throat. “Waylon’s right. We can’t all marry you legally…but we could have a ceremony. Something just for us. Something that means something.”
“I mean,” Casey started, “not that I’ve thought about ita lot, but I’ve definitely pictured walking down an aisle and seeing you at the end of it.”
Waylon sighed dramatically. “I have zero desire for tuxedos, but I would absolutely cry if I saw you in white.”
“I’d want that,” Luca said. “No matter how unconventional. I’d want to stand in front of you and promise forever.”
Mia swiped stray tears from her face. “Annnnd now you’ve gone and made me cry again.”
“We’re serious. Always have been. We’re in this for the long haul, Mia,” Casey reminded her.
Mia pressed her face into the pillow for a moment to collect herself, then turned back to look at all of them. “Okay. Since we’re being honest… I’ve made my decision about the internship.” She blew out a breath.
“I’m going to take the legal counsel review internship with the Barn Raisers. I think it will be a great fit for where I want to go. It gets my foot in the door and I’ll figure out the rest from there.”
They didn’t cheer. They didn’t shout. They just smiled—all of them. Quiet, wide,realsmiles that said more than any celebration ever could.
“You sure?” Owen asked.
Mia nodded. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
“We’re proud of you.” Waylon moved so that he could kiss her now. “And we love you.”
“I love you all too.”
Someday, there would be more to figure out—taxes and babysitters, legal contracts and who got up in the middle of the night for feedings.
But right now, this was more than enough.
It was everything.
EPILOGUE
Three months later…
Mia
Mia never imagined her ‘wedding’ would look like this.
There was no aisle, no veil, no tuxedos, no string quartet playing soft and forgettable music. Just a courthouse with flickering fluorescent lights, a stack of paperwork, and Waylon’s rough, warm hand wrapped around hers.
Thelegalceremony was quick and impersonal. But it’s what they all agreed needed to be done. “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant said, her tone flat, like she was reading off a lunch order.
They sealed the moment with a kiss and signed a single piece of paper before the officiant disappeared, giving them a moment alone.
Waylon’s gaze moved to the other guys before returning to Mia. His voice was quiet but certain as unshed tears lingered in his eyes. “We all agreed I’d be the one to sign the marriage license. But this doesn’t mean I love her more.”
Owen stepped forward, the corners of his mouth lifting in that steady way that always anchored her. “This doesn’t change a thing between any of us.”
Except that it did—just not in the way people might think.
Waylon was now legally on the path to U.S. citizenship. He wouldn’t have to worry about expiring visas or team contracts tying him to paperwork that could be ripped away with a single phone call saying, “You’ve been traded.”
And Mia? She didn’t feel like a wife. Not in the one-dimensional, name-on-a-license kind of way.
Still, the gravity of it tugged at her chest. This wasn’t the wedding she’d once pictured, but it was so much more than a signature.
