Page 7 of Ropers Can’t Tie Knots (Kissing Ridge Cowboys #3)

six

Hunter

“ I don’t know how Gabe wears a suit every day. This would drive me nuts.”

Thankfully, it’s a cool day, the full summer heat isn’t on us yet, but I’m already feeling the chafe on my balls with this suit.

“It’s only for a few hours. You’ll survive.” Jackson quips as he smooths his tie before helping me with mine. “If you showed up in jeans and T-shirts, Riley wouldn’t be happy with you.”

“He’s your problem, not mine.”

Jackson just laughs as he adjusts my tie and smooths it down with a pat to my chest. “I know this isn’t real, but I’m still honoured you asked me, Hunter. It’s a big deal no matter what. Thank you for letting me do this.”

Jackson’s sincerity has me pause. “You’re always my go-to, Jack. Real or fake. You’re the only one I trust with anything important. I hope you know that.”

“Hunter…dammit. That means a lot, and you made my eyes water.”

He pulls me into a hug and slaps my back before letting me go with a laugh. “Save the mushy stuff for the husband to be.” He checks his watch and motions to the door. “We need to get to the license office asap. Riley runs a tight ship, so let’s get moving. ”

We take my truck since it’s not covered in dog fur like his and drive into town.

The entire time, Jackson makes small talk, and I feel like I’m surrounded by a cloud of an alternate reality.

I’ve not given too much thought to this wedding because it’s not real.

I’ve successfully compartmentalized it as just a deed to achieve a means… until now.

“Do you think we need to share bedrooms? How in-depth will these people look to confirm we’re married? They wouldn’t do that, would they?”

I’m not ready for that kind of commitment. My bed is mine. Lots of couples keep separate bedrooms, though. At least they used to. Is that still a thing?

“I don’t think anyone will ask to see your bedroom, Hunter, but have you talked to Gabe about how you’ll handle hookups? I don’t think it’s wise for either of you to be seen out with other people.”

Shit. No, I hadn’t thought of that either.

“Do you ever wonder if someone could fuck up their life more than me? I was so focused on getting him to marry me to get this money, I didn’t think about what the next year will look like.

” I like sex just as much as the next guy, but I’m not on the circuit as much as before.

The easy bed partners aren’t as frequent, but… a year without it will suck.

Jackson reaches over and squeezes my shoulder. “Nobody is perfect, Hunter, but definitely make sure Gabe is on the same page. You don’t want to risk anything.”

Spotting Gabe’s car out front of the registry office already, I park next to it and once again shake my head at how different we are. His fancy luxury car and my full-size pickup. I certainly hope this arrangement works for both of us .

Jackson leaves me at the registry office to go to the courthouse, where Riley waits. Entering the registry office, I follow the signs to the right room for marriage licences. As I round the corner, Gabe comes into view, and I almost turn around and change my mind.

Gabe is…beautiful. I see him in a suit every day, but not like this. It’s moulded to his body perfectly, and paired with his short, trimmed beard and perfectly styled black hair, he’s a showstopper.

Gabe smiles and awkwardly wraps an arm around me in a half hug and kisses my cheek. “Dashing as always, Hunter.”

His blue eyes smile behind his glasses, and I clear my throat. “Thank you. You look good. Great, actually.”

We fidget in the hallway for a moment and Gabe holds up the numbered ticket. “We’re third in line. She said it won’t take long.”

“Oh…good.” Because I can’t seem to find other words today. Thankfully, Gabe talks a lot for a living and takes it in stride.

“Have you ever had a pet?” Gabe asks.

“Does a horse count?”

“Of course. What about a house pet? Cat, dog, snake…anything.”

Despite the nerves, I laugh. “No snake, for sure. I caught a garter snake once, and my grandma nearly fainted when I showed her.”

Gabe laughs, light and easy. “I’d have loved to see that. I never had pets either. We couldn’t afford the care for one.”

Gabe offers me that information with no reservation, and it catches me off guard. “Why are we talking about pets?”

“To get to know each other. We’re about to be married, and it would be nice to know something about you.”

“Number three!” A woman’s voice calls, and Gabe holds up the ticket. “ That’s us.”

“Is that something that’s important to you?” I ask as we approach the counter.

Gabe cocks his head. “Knowing you? Yes. No matter what happens between us, I’d like to know you.”

“Gentlemen. How can I help you?”

“A marriage licence, please,” Gabe says, and I take a moment to digest what he said as we both fish out our identification from our wallets.

The woman begins our form, and I figure if he’s making an effort, I should, too.

“What’s your favourite colour?”

“Teal,” Gabe says. “What’s yours?”

“Does black count?”

Gabe snorts. “I think so. Why black?”

“It hides dirt.” I laugh. “My grandma always called me a dirt magnet. One time I had a new white T-shirt and within ten minutes I had a grass stain, and I didn’t even go outside.”

I laugh softly, remembering that day. Still a mystery where the grass came from.

“Your grandma, you talk about her a lot. You were close?”

The memory of my grandmother is one that’s mixed. She was the only light most days in a dreary childhood filled with adult-sized work and not enough positive reinforcement. Without her, I don’t know if I would be half the person I am today.

“We were. I’ll tell you about her sometime.”

Gabe picks up on my discomfort, thankfully, and before I can ask anything in return, he offers me something instead.

“I was raised by my two sisters. My dad literally disappeared. One of those ‘ oh honey, I’m going out for milk ’ stories, you know? I was ten. Then my mom got sick and was gone before I turned twelve.”

He offers me a small smile, and with great clarity, I realize that maybe me and Gabe have more in common than I thought. His gaze locks on mine, and there’s a glimmer of something there, like he might understand me.

Which is absurd, because nobody ever does and I’m certainly not going to entertain thoughts of finally finding a match or some other bullshit.

“Okay, gentlemen. Your licence is ready. I just need your signatures here.”

Gabe charms the woman as he signs and replaces his ID in his wallet. She continues speaking while I do the same.

“You’re the new lawyer in town, then?” she asks after Gabe mentions he just moved here recently and bought a business.

“I am. It wasn’t just the business that brought me here, though. I couldn’t stay away from this guy any longer. Long-distance relationships suck.”

The woman sighs and nods my way. “You’re looking a lot different in a suit, Mr. Burke, but congratulations. I hope you’ll still be competing at the Kissing Ridge Rodeo as a married man this year.”

“Of course I will.” It’s then that I finally place who she is. She’s a member of the rodeo planning committee and also organizes a lot of the 4-H events for kids. “I didn’t recognize you at your day job. I apologize for not saying hello, Christine.”

She waves a hand and smiles. “I get that a lot. Don’t worry about it. ”

“Is there a 4-H event happening soon? I’d like for Gabe to experience what it was like growing up country and bring him to a meeting if I could?”

The words are out of my mouth before I have more time to consider what it all means, but just like Gabe, I’m playing the part of a devoted husband.

Christine smiles and reaches for a slip of paper. “Yes, there is! Next week and my speaker just cancelled. If either of you could step in, I’d appreciate it.” She passes me the paper with her number and meeting info. “Think about it if you’d like, and just call me. After the wedding, of course.”

Showing Gabe the slip, I ask if he’s free, and he enthusiastically nods. “I’d love to be there, Christine. Hunter or I will get back to you in a day or two.”

We exit the registry office, a marriage licence tucked into my pocket and a slip of paper for a 4-H meeting in the other. Gabe is quiet until we step outside.

“Thank you for that, Hunter. I appreciate it, but I have one question before we go to that meeting.”

“What’s that?”

He pauses on the sidewalk with me, and I turn to face him.

“What the hell is 4-H?”

Throwing my head back, I laugh. “I’ll fill you in. But first, let’s get this wedding done so I can get out of this fucking suit.”

The courthouse was busier than normal for a Wednesday afternoon, but Riley used his contacts, and we had a firm place in line.

In twenty minutes, I’d say I do to a man who I knew liked teal and was raised by his sisters, but never had a pet. Which is the sum of what I know about Gabe, aside from him being a lawyer.

“I know this is…you know, an arrangement,” Gabe whispers next to me, “But I asked Riley to take care of a few details like it’s a real wedding. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Uh…not like I can say no now, right?”

Gabe smiles sheepishly. “No. But that’s your heads up. Here come Riley and Jackson.”

Riley and Jackson each carry a small clear box and Riley, in all his romantic planning and romance-loving mode, audibly gasps when he reaches us before pulling me into a hug.

“You look simply amazing, Hunter. Thank you for letting us be here for this.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome.”

He opens the box and pulls out a beautiful corsage before handing it to Gabe. It’s a trio of white roses and baby’s breath secured with teal ribbon and my lips betray me, smiling as Gabe steps forward to pin it to my suit jacket.

“Surprise,” he murmurs as his fingers work to secure it to the material. “I didn’t know your favourite colour, but I knew mine. Probably a good thing because weddings shouldn’t have black flowers.”

“Thank you. It’s pretty. I’ve never worn flowers before.”

Jackson passes one to me that’s identical and after I take it, Gabe turns it over in my hand, showing me the giant-ass pin. “Riley can do it if you’re not sure. It’s okay.”

“Is it? I feel like I’d stab you and that probably wouldn’t be the right way to start this off.”

Gabe motions for Riley, who steps forward and pins the flowers to Gabe like he does it in his sleep.

“There. Now that’s two grooms who match.”

“Davis and Burke? Please come inside.”

“It’s show time,” Gabe says and grabs my hand before pulling me forward with Jackson and Riley behind us.

It’s not fancy in the room. A man in an ill-fitting brown suit stands to the side of a desk. The clerk arranges us with Jackson beside me and Riley beside Gabe before sitting at the small desk with our marriage license.

The justice of the peace reads a non-denominational passage that Riley chose because it was a simple reading about the power of love and union or some other bullshit I couldn’t give a flying fuck about. Gabe still holds my hand with a smile on his face as he listens, and my mind wanders.

While I can see the appeal if you believe in love, this can be a moving ceremony. Nothing is forever, though. People die and people leave. It’s just the way things are in life. Even for our charade, this feels too much and—

“Hunter? Just repeat I do.”

Shit. I wasn’t even paying attention, and it’s rather important to say those two words. Can I ask him to repeat the question just to be sure? It’s like signing a contract before reading all the fine print.

“Sorry. Yeah. Uh…I do.”

God, even I don’t sound convincing, but Gabe keeps a smile on his face.

“Gabe, do you take this man and promise to be faithful? To love him and cherish him for all the days of your life?”

“I do.”

Gabe smiles at me and if you’ve streamed a show online and it has that random buffering moment where you hang on the last word of the scene in anticipation of what comes next…that’s how I feel. But with less anticipation and more anxiety.

“Do you plan to exchange rings?” The man breaks my thoughts and I nod. “I have one, yes.”

Turning to Jackson, he hands me the same gold band I bought Gabe earlier this week.

“If you wish to say anything personal, you can do so now. If not, just repeat after me.”

“Um, nothing personal for me, sir.”

Gabe offers me his left hand as the justice speaks. “I give you this ring as a sign of our union.”

“Gabe, I give you this ring as a sign of our…union.”

The word union makes me stumble and remember what Jackson and I talked about earlier. Should I think about sex while we’re exchanging vows? Thank god nobody can hear what I’m thinking.

“I have a ring as well,” Gabe says and turns to Riley .

“What?” Realizing how that sounds, I correct myself. “I mean, you shouldn’t have Gabe. I thought we were just keeping it at one?”

He winks at me, and I think he’s enjoying this. “Sometimes I don’t listen.” He whispers.

“Repeat after me, Gabe.” The man says and Gabe bites at his lip as the justice gives the same line he gave me.

Gabe grabs for my hand, which I haven’t even lifted, and slides the same thin gold band I got for him on my finger.

“Hunter, I give you this ring as a sign of our union.”

The ring fits perfectly, and while it looks foreign on my finger, it doesn’t feel like I thought it would. There’s no burning skin, so there’s that.

“By the power invested in me by the town of Kissing Ridge and the province of Alberta, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss.”

Maybe it’s the word kiss, or maybe it’s because Gabe smells and looks amazing, or possibly because it’s the societal expectations ingrained in me. No matter the reason, it’s what I do.

With a hand on his hip and the other behind his head, I kiss Gabe. His lips are soft and part immediately with his tongue sliding next to mine like we’ve practiced for this moment.

My fingers flex on his hip as I tilt his head and get lost in everything Gabe. Kissing him is easy, and he presses against me while kissing me back with barely contained want. It’s right there on his lips and I can taste it as sure as anything.

And this is why I’ve kept my distance from Gabe since we met. One kiss and it’s like your first time with sugar. You want more .

It’s not until someone clears their throat, I think it’s Jackson, that I step away.

“Sorry about that. Kinda got carried away.”

“S’okay,” Gabe murmurs.

We sign the marriage certificate with Jackson and Riley, and in another few brief minutes, we’re outside. My thoughts are a confused jumble, and my lungs burn for more oxygen.

The day is still the same outside as it was when we went in.

But I’m not.