Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
She laughed. “I know, I’ve been keeping up with the newspaper.”
I rolled my eyes. “There isn’t a little shrimp, by the way.”
“I never thought there was.” She glanced between the two of us. “Are you here to be witnesses? I think they’ve already started.”
Gannon and I both gave her a confused look.
“Um, no,” I said, letting out a nervous laugh. “I mean, I know we just said we weren’t pregnant, and this might seem odd, but we’d actually like for Mitch to marry us. In secret. We’re not telling either of our families that we’re doing it. It’s just a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.”
Mindy stood there and blinked at us, a shocked expression on her face. “So you don’t know about the…um…” She looked over her shoulder and mumbled, “Oh, fish sticks.”
We followed her gaze to the office door. “We don’t know about what?” Gannon asked.
Mindy looked back at us. “I thought you two were here as witnesses for their wedding.”
“Whose wedding?” I nearly shouted.
At that moment, the door to the office opened—and I stumbled back a few steps when Brody and Sutton walked out.
“Holy shit,” Gannon said.
They came to an abrupt halt when they saw us.
Mindy leaned toward me and said, “I’m going to guess you had no idea they were also here to get married.”
I slowly shook my head as I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. “No…idea…at…all.”
Sutton
I stood next to Brody while Mitch spoke, my hands shaking. I didn’t hear a word he said. Not one single word that came out of his mouth. I wasn’t even sure what I’d said during my vows before I’d slipped the ring onto Brody’s finger.
The moment Brody had held my hand in his, I’d known this was a mistake. One big, giant mistake. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Not a secret wedding in the courthouse. Not for the reasons we’d obtained the marriage license two days ago.
Everything was wrong.
I fought to keep my tears at bay when Brody looked down at me, his eyes void of any kind of emotion.
My chest felt like someone was sitting on it. Trying to breathe was a damn chore.
How was I going to pretend not to be married to the man I’d been in love with for as long as I could remember? The man I’d dreamed about night after night, even on the eve of my first wedding?
The man I had given my virginity to, who had been so sweet and gentle that night.
The man who had broken my heart into a million pieces and pushed me right back into Jack’s arms.
Mitch smiled at Brody and me. “I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Brody Wilson.”
We looked at each other with blank expressions—expressions I was positive two people who’d just gotten married shouldn’t be wearing.
“Um, this is where you kiss her, Brody,” Mitch said with a slight chuckle.
“Oh, yeah…right.”
Brody brought his hand up to my face, and I felt my entire body heat up. He leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips, then slowly drew back. Our eyes locked on each other, and for a moment I was transported back to my eighteen-year-old self. The young girl who’d looked into those same eyes and uttered three words that had sent Brody Wilson running as fast as he could.
“Are you both sure you want to keep this marriage under wraps?” Mitch asked.
We nodded in unison, neither of us saying a word.
He sighed. “I won’t ask any questions, but you’d tell me if anything was wrong, right?”
I swallowed, then cleared my throat, trying to find my voice. “Everything’s fine,” I whispered.
Brody’s jaw ticked, and I could tell he was holding something back. He forced a smile and looked at Mitch. “Everything’s perfect, Mitch. Just. Perfect.”
* * *
THE SEASIDE CHRONICLE
September 29, 2022
WAVES SPLASH!
Seasiders,
Breaking news coming right from the docks! There’s been a marriage. Can anyone guess who tied the knot?
This writer knows…
Fairwinds and following seas!
The End…for now.