Page 24 of A Hard Fit (Falling Hard #2)

Surprise

Lainey stood in the hall, hands on her hips, eyes aflame. Rory was next to her, a twin picture of rage. Amy and Jonathan came up behind, and the rest of the family piled up after them.

A smile tickled at Finn’s lips.

The color drained from Jackson’s face. “Mom…I—Why are you all down here?”

“Dad thought we should take a look at his new big screen in the basement,” Rory said, voice brimming with barely contained fury. “Watch some baby videos of Bailey.”

Finn caught Jonathan’s gaze. The man gave him the faintest nod.

Jackson went on the offensive. “Look, Rory, I don’t know what you think you might have heard, but I—”

“Jackson”—Rory stepped forward to brush an imaginary piece of lint from Jackson’s shirt—“and I mean this with every fiber of my being…fuck you.” They patted Jackson’s shoulder, then took a pointed step to stand beside Finn.

Finn slid his arm around Rory and held on tight.

“Mom,” Jackson sputtered, “are you going to let them swear at me like that?”

Lainey sighed and crossed her arms. “I’m afraid…I have to agree with Rory.”

“You what ?” The color returned to Jackson’s face, bright spots of pink on his cheeks—the exact color of the Straw-Bailey margarita, Finn noted.

But Lainey wasn’t done yet. “You can be a real fucking asshole sometimes,” she said to her eldest son.

Finn’s jaw dropped.

As did that of everyone else crowded in the hallway.

“Mom!” Jackson said.

Griffin guffawed from the back of the pack. “Amazing.”

Rory grinned. “Time for you to go, Jackson.”

“Yes,” Bailey chimed in. “You are uninvited from my party.”

Jackson’s gaze darted from person to person and he was met with a wall of ice. “Fine, if you really… Let’s go, Amy.”

“Nah.” Amy raised her wine glass at him. “I’m not done.”

Jackon’s mouth flapped. “But you… But I… You know what? Fine. Fuck all of you.”He turned and stormed through the garage door, slamming it behind him.

“ Such an asshole.” Lainey sniffed. “I can’t believe he’s mine sometimes.” She turned to Finn. “Finn, please accept my apology on behalf of Jackson. We didn’t realize… I hope you understand that he does not speak for the rest of us, and we are so happy that Rory has found someone who clearly loves them as much as you do.”

“Thank you,” Finn said, choking up.

“Thanks, Mom,” Rory said. “I—”

“Rory Hayden Barrett!” Lainey rounded on them. “You got engaged ? And you didn’t tell us right away?”

“Er…”

She dove for Finn and Rory and squished them in a tight hug, then pulled away as quickly as she had attacked and held up a finger. “Bailey videos first, and then…then we’ll talk. Davis!” she called back down the hallway.

“Ma’am?” came the faint reply.

“Put some more champagne on ice!”

* * * *

“You’ll have to get married at the Cerulean,” Lainey said on their way up the stairs after the Bailey videos. “We can probably book there for next summer, if we hurry. And I’m sure Alice and Bently will be available for catering with this much notice. I wonder if Simone is still doing wedding flowers? Have you thought about colors yet?”

“Er, no,” Rory said.

Finn’s eyebrows crept higher and higher on his forehead as she spoke.

“No?” Lainey frowned. “What about a cake? Lemon? Almond?”

“Mom, I don’t know if we—”

“You know what would be terrific?” Lainey said. “We’ll do a four-piece string for the ceremony, of course, and some sort of band for the reception, but then we should have a jazz ensemble for the midnight champagne toast and refreshments.”

“Um…”

Lainey bustled over the sideboard to approve Davis’ champagne selection as he set outcrystal flutes, while the rest of the group filed into the living room behind them.

“I’m so excited for you!” Bailey said, sliding an arm around Rory then Finn to give them a squeeze. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you. I’m sorry we took over your birthday party though,” Rory said.

“Don’t be silly.” Bailey scoffed. “I’m thrilled.”

“Finn!” Griffin wrapped Finn in a bear-hug, lifting him right off his feet. “Fuck yeah!”

Finn’s cheeks flushed. “Thanks, Griffin.”

“Listen, if either of you need a best man”—Griffin straightened an imaginary bowtie—“I’m available. I have a tux.”

Finn laughed. “Good to know.”

Davis appeared with a tray of fizzing flutes, Lainey at his elbow.

“Who wants some more cake?” Lainey asked. “We’re celebrating!”

* * * *

It was late when they finally left, the streets still and silent as they pulled into their driveway. Finn dropped his keys on the kitchen counter while Rory fell into a chair at the table. “What a weekend, hey?”

Finn poured glasses of water and set one in front of Rory. “It sure was.” It was hard to believe it had been only a little over two days since Cali and Bryson had arrived. “So…Jackson? Are things going to be okay?”

Rory lifted one hand in a ‘what are you gonna do’ gesture. “Jackson is going to be Jackson. But now that everyone has to admit what a dick he is, I imagine he’ll shut up about it.”

“He’s going to hate me forever.”

“Hey. You’re amazing, and if he doesn’t realize that, it’s his loss.”

Finn leaned over to give Rory a kiss. “I just don’t want to make every family gathering…messy.”

Rory shrugged. “Families are messy.”

Finn reached into the tin on the table and took out an extremely dense peanut-butter chocolate-chip cookie. He took a bite, relishing the flavor melting over his tongue, heavy and delicious. “I’ll say.”

* * * *

The Monday morning alarm was early and jarring, but once he remembered he was now engaged to the warm lump next to him, Finn couldn’t wait to spring out of bed and get the day started—after a kiss and cuddle for Rory first, of course. Finn sang in the shower and whistled while he scrambled eggs.

“Good morning, my beautiful betrothed,” he said when Rory joined him in the kitchen.

“Morning, love.” But they seemed a little distracted as they sat. Rory ran a hand through their damp hair, frowning at their phone.

“What is it?” Finn asked.

“My mom sent me a list of twenty-five florists.”

“Twenty… Are there even that many florists in Oakport?”

“It would seem so.” Rory continued to scroll. “Plus, twelve bakeries, eighteen photographers and…and thirty-three bands?”

Finn’s heart rate had doubled as Rory continued. “Good God.”

Then an idea came to him. An idea so huge, he had to drop the spatula, turn off the stove then sit down before his legs betrayed him.

“Do you…” He took Rory’s hands. “What if we got married…today? At City Hall, after work? If you’d like to. No pressure.” My palms are so sweaty, he thought as his idea hung in the air.

“Today?” Rory repeated, the idea crashing over them.

Finn studied their expression, looking for a sign to backpedal. “Sorry, that’s probably crazy. We don’t have to—”

But a smile erupted across Rory’s face, their eyes sparkling. “We’ll need witnesses.”

Finn’s heart pounded now for an entirely new reason. “So yeah?”

“ Fuck yeah.”

Finn pulled Rory in for a hug. “I love you so much.”

“I love you.”

They sat entwined in Finn’s little kitchen, the room that had seen them from first kiss to will you marry me to let’s get married today . He wondered what other memories they would make there.

Finn sat back in his chair, hands on Rory’s knees. “We can go get our marriage license and rings at lunch.”

“What about Luka and Thomas as witnesses?” Rory suggested. “And we all have dinner after? Ooh, I can call Dimitri and see if he can get us in at L'Empereur .”

“Great idea. And you know what would be so fun?” Finn said, as another idea occurred to him. “If we surprised them. Like, let’s ask if they’re free for dinner after work, then, boom! We’re at City Hall.”

Rory laughed. “That would be fun.” Their gaze met Finn’s. “I can’t wait to be married to you.”

“Oh, my love.” Finn kissed them, lips soft and lingering. “Same.”

* * * *

“Okay. Be cool,” Finn told Rory. They stood outside Luka and Thomas’ office, hand in hand.

“You want me to be cool?” Rory snickered. “You be cool! You’ve got cat that ate the canary going on.”

Finn giggled. Giggled? “Okay, you’re right. You’re right.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve got this.” They had called City Hall the moment it had opened that morning and confirmed that they could indeed apply for a marriage license during their lunch break. One of the officiants had agreed to stay late and perform a ceremony for them at five-thirty. “Here we go.”

They barged in, Finn smiling a normal amount.

Luka and Thomas were hard at work, each engrossed in their screen. Luka looked up and raised an eyebrow at them. “Uh, what’s with you two?”

“Are you two free this evening?” Finn asked, sneaking a glance at Rory . “We’d like to take you to dinner.”

Luke narrowed his eyes. “I’m free…but what are you up to?”

“Nothing!” Rory insisted, beaming.

Finn tried not to laugh.

Luka and Thomas shared a look.

“Hmm,” Thomas grunted. “I am also free and suspicious.”

“Great!” Finn chirped. “We’ll meet you back here at five.”

“Where are we going?” Luka asked.

“We were thinking”— No big deal, Finn —“ L’Empereur .”

Luka whistled. “So you’re taking us to the fanciest place in town on a Monday for no reason whatsoever? Sounds normal.”

“My cousin works there—remember Dimitri, the one I mentioned at Thanksgiving?—and I told him to call me when they had a cancellation. Can’t a happy couple take their friends out to dinner on a whim?” Rory asked, eyes wide.

“Not this couple.” Luka gave them a wry look. “I’ll be on my toes tonight.”

Once the door closed behind them, Finn sagged with relief. “That went well.”

Rory high-fived him. “They didn’t suspect a thing.”

* * * *

“What kind of ring do you want?” Finn asked Rory, standing over a display case of wedding bands. They had snuck out for an early lunch and taken a train downtown, fingers laced tight together, laughing at nothing in particular and blissfully unaware of the world around them.

“Something simple,” Rory said, examining a section of white gold bands. “Ooh, look at these.” One tray featured bands of varying thicknesses, all with subtle designs engraved upon them.

“Could we see this tray, please?” Rory asked the nearby employee.

“Of course.” The man unlocked the cabinet and whisked the tray out.

“Look at this one,” Finn said, lifting out a band. It looked like it had been painted in silver, with rich brush strokes wrapping around the band.

“It’s beautiful,” Rory whispered.

“A Finn ring for you?” Finn asked.

Rory took Finn’s hand holding the ring and placed it over their heart. “Perfect.”

“Now one for me…” Finn said. His eyes jumped straight to a band with an odd phrase engraved on it— var love = true; . He lifted it out. “What does this mean?”

Rory studied the ring, then looked at Finn with wide, watery eyes. “‘It’s programming code—a declaration. My love is true.’”

Finn’s heart skipped a beat. “Does it really say that?”

“Sure does.”

Now the two of them were blinking at each other with wet eyes. “Well, we’ve found our wedding bands.”

They got their ring fingers sized and both rings were available in the right size. Finn took hold of the little silver bag and knew that today was meant to be their wedding day.

They picked up falafel wraps from a cart and ate them on the way to City Hall, then took the train back before the lunch hour was up…ish. Finn tried to immerse himself in some of the Thrill Island survey feedback, but the rest of the day crept by at a painfully slow rate.

At five on the dot, Finn and Rory were back at Luka and Thomas’ office. Finn was ready to vibrate right out of his skin. “You guys ready?” he asked, barely even bothering to sound casual.

Luka chuckled as he pulled on his coat. “What time is our reservation?”

“Seven,” Rory said sheepishly.

“Seven?” Luka scrunched up his face. “It doesn’t take two hours to get there.”

“Well…we have a stop to make along the way.” Rory fluttered their eyelashes, the picture of innocence.

“Aha.” Luka smirked. “Not suspicious at all.”

“I’m sure we have no idea what you’re talking about.” Finn took Rory’s hand again. “Let’s go!”

A light rain was falling when they arrived downtown, but the night was still warm, the promise of spring rich in the air. They scurried under awnings where they could, then Finn and Rory pulled up hard at the steps to City Hall.

Luka looked up at the old brick building. “What are we doing here?”

“We’re getting married!” Finn revealed.

Luka gasped, face a mask of pure shock, then happiness. “What?”

Rory nodded, squeezing Finn’s arm. “Finn proposed on Saturday.”

“He did?” Luka nearly tackled them to the ground with the enthusiasm of his hug. “Congratulations!”

Thomas took his turn hugging them as well. “Congratulations. I’m thrilled for you.”

“And you’re getting married now ?” Luka asked.

“We couldn’t wait. We came down at lunch to get our license and decided to just do it today.” Finn bounced on his toes. “We bought rings and everything.”

“With just us here?” Thomas looked sideways at Luka.

“Yes. We’ll do some sort of reception later with our families, but we hoped you would stand up with us and be our witnesses.” Rory smiled, eyes hopeful.

Luka’s lip trembled. “I’d be honored.”

“Me too,” Thomas rumbled.

Finn thought he might explode from joy. “Then let’s get this motherfucking show on the road!” he cried.

They climbed the wet, shining steps of City Hall.