Page 12 of Clear Shot

The thought comes and goes in a flash, but it’s jarring that those are the first words to come to mind.

I absolutely can’t say that out loud, though.

“I don’t know,” I say quietly. “I like you. There’s been this thing between us that doesn’t go away, but I figured we had time to figure it out. We’d spend time together, hang out with our friends, and get to know each other. If you go back to Slovakia, we can’t do that. And I guess… I want to.”

There.

An abridged version of the truth.

“You want to see what there is to see?”

“I think so.”

“And what happens if one of us catches feelings?”

Too late for that.

“We discuss. Like adults.”

Where did this thoughtful, mature version of me come from?

“You told me once you never wanted to get married again. And if you did, it wouldn’t be for a long time.”

I shrug. “Can’t a guy change his mind?”

She lifts her eyes to mine and one side of her mouth quirks up. “Yeah, I suppose you can.”

Holy fucking shit.

I’m getting married tomorrow.

Chapter 5

Hana

We’re up late makingplans.

Johan and Sloane decide to host a dinner for us after we get married since we want to make sure this doesn’t look like a marriage of convenience to outsiders. I texted Claudia, and she and Anders are going to stand up for us. We’re also going to say we’re planning a real wedding for next summer since the visa thing will come into play no matter what.

It’ll be a little tricky to spin our friendship over the last year or so as dating but Aiden says not to worry about it, he’ll tell the guys we were keeping it on the down low until we knew it was serious because he didn’t want it to impact his relationship with my brother. There are a lot of details to sort out, but by the time he leaves at two in the morning, it feels like we’ve worked through most of them.

I don’t get a lot of sleep, tossing and turning as I try to wrap my head around the fact that I’m getting married.

To Aiden.

Who wants to sleep with me.

Who wants to “see what there is to see.”

I don’t know what that means, not in this context.

Do we get married and then start dating? It seems ridiculous but it also feels right. Like this was supposed to happen all along.

“You okay?” Sloane asks me as I make a cup of coffee. “You look tired.”

“I barely slept,” I admit. “I tossed and turned all night and finally just gave up.”

“You’ll sleep well tonight.” She smiles. “And I think he’s here.”