Page 58 of Mr. Irrelevant (Rock City Renegades #1)

“Are you sure about this?” I ask Emmett as we make our way up the staircase toward Tinsville Town Hall.

My white tulle dress swishes with every hurried step, him practically dragging me with how excited he is to get inside.

At first, he doesn’t hear my words, so I yank on his large hand as soon as we hit the concrete landing.

“What’s wrong?” he says, the dimpled smile that’s plastered across his face fading when he sees my nervous expression.

I swallow the lump in my throat, anxiety pumping through my veins like hot lava. “Are you sure you want to do this right now?” I repeat. “Marriage is a big deal. Are you just rushing into this because you’re leaving for school and we won’t be able to see each other very often?”

His eyes soften, and he reaches out, cupping my cheek in his palm.

“I’m sure. We may only be eighteen, but I’ve loved you since the day you punched Jimmy Ackerman in the stomach for stealing my blue marker.

” I laugh, recalling the incident. In my defense, that kid had the stickiest hands in our whole kindergarten class, and I’m pretty sure he picked his nose.

I didn’t want him giving Emmett his nasty booger germs, so I took it upon myself to protect him.

It’s hard to believe how long ago it happened, and that as of last week, we’re officially high school graduates.

“Listen to me, Stell,” he says softly, tilting my chin up so I’m looking at him.

“I’m not dumb. I know there are a million cards stacked against us.

We’re about to go to school on opposite sides of the country.

Our families hate the idea of us getting married so much that they wouldn’t even come today.

Everything is looking a little scary right now, but I promise you that we’re strong enough to withstand whatever life throws our way.

We just have to get through these next four years.

I’ll be in the NFL, and you’ll get a job at whatever hospital is closest to me, like we’ve always talked about.

I don’t want to do this without you, baby. Please, marry me.”

Tears fill my eyes, the pleading look on his face making my heart squeeze and flip in my chest. He’s right.

We’ve been together our whole lives. Of course, we’ve dealt with our fair share of stupid arguments and teenage drama, but at the end of every day, we always make up.

Emmett is the first person I run to when I have news, want to celebrate, or just need a hug after a bad day.

We both have big plans for the future—him with football, me with nursing school—but none of it even begins to make sense unless we have each other to share it with .

“Okay,” I say, the bright smile returning to his handsome face. “Let’s do it.”

“Fuck yeah, baby!” he shouts, lifting me from the ground and pressing wet, sloppy kisses all over my face. I giggle, kicking my feet in an attempt to get away, but it’s halfhearted at best. His arms are my home—and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

Without setting me back on my feet, he pushes through the doors, making a beeline for the Justice of the Peace. We’re running a little late, thanks to our last-minute shower that turned into more, and by the time we make it to the correct room, our witnesses are already waiting.

“There you are!” my best friend, Arden, says as she runs toward me with a small bouquet of daisies in her hand.

Emmett sets me on my feet, a playful growl rumbling up his chest as she pulls me back out of the room.

I look back, watching as my soon-to-be husband greets Arden’s stepbrother, Jackson.

Since our parents refused to support us today, they agreed to be our Best Man and Maid of Honor.

It’s bittersweet—doing this without them—but we’re lucky to have friends who believe in our love the way we do.

“Okay,” she says, the quiet snick of the door closing behind us filling the empty hallway.

“Jacks is going to press play on the speaker as soon as the officiant is ready. But as your Maid of Honor, I have to tell you that I have a car running out back if you’ve changed your mind.

” She tosses a thumb over her shoulder, a teasing smirk tugging at one corner of her mouth.

She knows the answer just as much as I do.

As long as Emmett is ready, there’s not a single thing in this world that could stop me from walking down that aisle to him.

I roll my eyes, taking the bouquet from her hand and holding it in front of me.

“How do I look?” I twist my hips, making my dress fan out at my thighs.

It may not be the princess gown I imagined when I was a little girl, and we’re not in a giant cathedral with stained glass windows like I always hoped for, but the groom is the same person I’ve dreamed of marrying since elementary school… and that’s all that really matters.

“Like the most beautiful girl in the world,” she replies, emotion catching in her throat.

Her eyes water, and she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth in an attempt to stop it from wobbling.

Just seeing her like this—offering so much love and encouragement—has me fighting back tears of my own.

Arden has been a constant in my life since she moved to our small Pennsylvania town in the fourth grade, and the bond we share is so special and unique.

When she smiles, I smile. And when she cries, so do I—even when I spent fifteen minutes getting my mascara just right .

“Thanks for being here today,” I whisper, throwing my arms around her in a tight embrace.

“I couldn’t do it without you.” My eyes flutter closed, gratitude flowing through me as I breathe in the same fruity shampoo she’s used since we were kids.

She hugs me back, and we hold each other like a lifeline until the soft ballad I chose to walk down the aisle to begins to bleed through the thick wood.

“That’s our cue,” she says, pulling away.

I focus on her calming, watery smile, my stomach flipping with anticipation as I take a deep, soothing inhale.

“Let’s go get your man.” I huff a quiet laugh, wrapping my arm around hers as she pulls the handle, swinging the door open.

The moment we step through, my eyes lock onto Emmett.

As though he didn’t see me in this exact dress less than ten minutes ago, his lips part and his chest lifts abruptly as his breath hitches.

The tears I thought I had gotten under control make their return, because there’s no way in hell I could walk directly toward my future and not feel overwhelmed with emotion.

I’m on autopilot, barely able to feel my feet under me as I make my way down the aisle, the pull too overwhelming to deny.

My vision is blurred, my heart so full of adoration that I feel like it may explode at any moment.

The fact that I even considered not going through with this seems insane right now, when it’s clearer than ever that Emmett Hayes is the owner of my heart.

He always has been, and no matter where life takes us over the next four years, he always will be.

As soon as we reach the front of the room, Arden pulls me in for another hug before taking her place behind me.

I step up next to Emmett, and as though he can’t restrain himself, he takes my face in his hands and swipes my tears away with his thumbs.

He’s always hated seeing me cry, even when I tell him they’re happy tears—which, of course, these are.

But my fierce and loyal protector insists on making sure I always have dry eyes and a smile on my face.

“You’re beautiful,” he says quietly. My cheeks pinken, and I dip my chin, because even though he’s said it to me a million times, it’s still hard to believe that this gorgeous, smart, funny, talented man sees me the way he does.

“Thank you,” I reply as he takes my hand in his, interlocking our fingers and looking right into my soul. His deep brown gaze pulls me in, and I barely even hear the officiant as she begins the ceremony.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” she says, as though there are more than four teenagers in the room.

But the absences that weighed heavily on me moments ago are all but a distant memory now that I’m here—about to marry my soulmate.

“We’re here today to celebrate the union of Stella Wilder and Emmett Hayes.

The covenant of marriage is sacred and should not be entered into lightly.

A husband and wife should offer each other love, comfort, and hope in the face of adversity and prosperity.

“The marriage of Stella and Emmett will touch the lives of everyone here today, so if there’s anyone who can show cause why they should not be tied in matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Arden and Jackson remain silent, but I’m half expecting our parents to barge in like some cheesy nineties movie and yell We object!

With the way they’ve made their disapproval known since we got engaged last year, I wouldn’t put it past them.

They think we’re too young and that we’ll never make it.

That our love isn’t enough—their words, not mine—to sustain a long-distance marriage. But fuck that. We’ll prove them wrong.

Thankfully, the room remains devoid of unwanted guests, and the air around us is nothing but silence until she speaks again.

“Emmett, do you take Stella to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?”

He takes my other hand in his, squeezing them both tightly as a bright smile blooms across his face.

He’s breathtaking, neither of us able to look away from the other as we prepare to bind ourselves together for life.

There’s not a single ounce of trepidation—not a modicum of uncertainty as he lifts his chin proudly and answers out loud. “I do.”

The officiant turns to me, her big black binder balanced on an open palm.

“Stella, do you take Emmett to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?”

I take a shaky breath, returning his smile with one of my own.

As nervous as I am for what’s to come—spending the first four years of our marriage on opposite sides of the country—I believe in us with my whole heart.

UCLA is just a plane ride away, and we’ll have every summer to make up for lost time.

I love this man, and I don’t want to wait another second to be his wife.

“I do,” I reply. He lets out a relieved exhale, like he thought I might actually say no.

I giggle in response, shaking my head at his cuteness while the officiant obtains the rings from our friends.

I slide Emmett’s on first, the heavy, black Tungsten catching on his giant knuckle for a split second before finally settling into place.

Then it’s my turn, extending my left hand so he can slip the thin silver band onto my waiting finger.

It matches my engagement ring perfectly, and I can’t help but admire them together for a moment.

They certainly aren’t the biggest or the shiniest—both from the clearance section of our local department store—but they’re perfect because he gave them to me.

I don’t need expensive jewelry to know I’m loved.

We could have millions of dollars, and I’d still want exactly what I have right now.

“By the power vested in me by the state of Pennsylvania,” the officiant begins, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Emmett, you may kiss your bride.” Arden and Jackson cheer as our lips lock, fireworks going off behind my eyes just like they always do.

It’s been that way since the first time we played Seven Minutes in Heaven in the sixth grade, and I’m guessing I’ll never tire of his mouth being pressed to mine.

“My wife,” he whispers into the kiss, making my heart skip a beat. Love flows around us, pure and true, and I wish I could bottle this moment up to keep forever—although now that we’ve said our vows, that’s exactly what we are.

Forever.

And absolutely nothing will tear us apart.

Bad Call is coming Fall 2025