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Nick and I exchanged a glance, and I almost burst out laughing. Poor man. He’d probably expected to come here and do a quick, no-nonsense ceremony, then promptly continue his Saturday. Well, it was probably going to be short, anyway.
“All right, is everyone here?” he inquired. “Can we start? Is there music?”
“No music,” Nick said, and the man looked relieved.
I carefully avoided Nick’s eyes; otherwise, I would burst out laughing. I glanced behind me and noted that the only guests who weren’t here were Violet and Danielle. I wondered what happened to them.
It didn’t make sense to make this poor man wait to start. He had more ceremonies to perform. And it wasn’t fair to the other guests either. I noticed Bob and Sophie all the way at the back, sitting alone in a row. Their presence unnerved me. The fact that all the Whitleys were here just made my day even though I didn’t know them yet. They were Nick’s family, and that gave me comfort.
I turned and faced the officiant. “We can start.”
“All right. I’m here to officiate the marriage of Nick Whitley and Allison Holmes. Everyone ready?”
I was truly laughing now, but the man silenced me with a stern brow.
How did we end up with the grumpiest officiant in the city? Not that I knew too many, since I hadn’t actually attended a wedding at city hall before. I had no idea what to expect, but I’d assumed he’d at least ask if we wanted to take the other one to be our wedded wife and husband, respectively, only he didn’t.
He robotically spoke three sentences before finishing with “You can sign here and here. Please check that your names are spelled correctly and that the date of birth is also correct.”
“That’s it?” Nick asked, voicing my thoughts.
The officiant looked up at me. “Yes. It says here you wanted the fast-track version.”
“We do. We have kids with us,” I said. “They might get impatient.”
Once again, he cocked his brow like he was asking me why I was polluting him with an explanation when he didn’t ask for one. This man was hilarious.
I quickly checked the name before signing. Nick did the same.
“You may exchange rings,” the man said.
The wedding rings took me by complete surprise.
First, because I’d completely forgotten we’d need them.
Second, because they were absolutely gorgeous. The platinum bands had tiny stones set throughout. Nick’s were a bit smaller than mine. I glanced at him, and he simply winked at me before we exchanged the rings.
“Congratulations, you are now husband and wife.”
I was waiting for a “You may kiss the bride” or something, but it never came. However, that didn’t stop Nick. He twirled me around to face him, smiling at me.
“Wow. This was quick, wife, and now you’re mine.” Before I knew it, he put a arm around my back, plastering me to him, and then pushed me backwards as his mouth came down on mine. He lowered me theatrically, and yet I never felt like I might be in danger of losing my balance. Except when he slipped his tongue past my lips.
Holy shit.How was he kissing me like this with everyone watching? I was instantly on pins and needles. Energy gripped my whole body, concentrating between my thighs.
It’s just a kiss. It’s just a kiss.
Only it wasn’t—not after our night together. It wasn’t wild or overly sexual, and when he straightened us up slowly, he continued kissing me.
When he pulled back, I realized that everyone was clapping, and I felt a pair of tiny arms wrapped around my calves. I looked down to see Annie looking up at me with a toothy grin. Jack was holding his hands up. Nick immediately lifted him into his arms, then took my hand and kissed the back of it.
The Whitleys were smiling from ear to ear. In fact, everyone was smiling except Bob and Sophie. I honestly didn’t even care about them. Even though this was all fake, the enthusiasm in the room was very real. And why not be happy? The two of us were doing a fantastic thing for these little nuggets. It was definitely worth celebrating.
The photographer came over and said, “Let me snap a picture of the bride and groom alone.”
Annie tightened her grip on me.
“We’ll do it like this, with our kids,” Nick said.