Page 11 of Searching for Sunshine (Crestbrook Cove #1)

STELLA

“ A re you ready to do this?” Avery asks me the next afternoon as she helps me put the finishing touches on my makeup.

“Yeah. Ready or not, right?” I ask with a laugh, fluffing my hair. “Are you sure this dress is the right move?

“Absolutely,” she reassures me, looking down at the short white dress I found in the back of my closet. “You look beautiful, babes.”

“Thank you, Aves. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I admit.

“Of course. I seriously can’t believe you’re getting married today.”

“Me either, honestly,” I admit and we both laugh. “All right, I guess we’d better go ahead and head that way.”

Avery nods, and we head out to her car to make the short drive over to the docks. “Will it just be us and the guys who we were with last night?” she asks as I give her directions.

“Yeah, I mean I’m not expecting anyone else. We both know this isn’t a real wedding so I don’t see any reason for anyone else to com—” I start but stop as I see the full parking lot of the dock.

“Uh, are you sure about that?” Avery asks, looking out at the crowds of people setting up lawn chairs on the dock. “Oh my god, did you know there were going to be flowers? And twinkle lights?”

I stare in shock at the scene in front of us. “Um, I’m pretty much at a loss for words.”

“Same,” Avery admits. “Let’s go see what this is all about.”

We walk toward the hut labeled as Crestbrook Charter Company, and every couple of feet, someone stops me to congratulate me on the wedding.

“Stels, what the hell is going on?” Avery asks me with wide eyes.

“Not a fucking clue,” I admit, smiling at the people around me. “I mean, I remember a few of these people from when I spent the summer here, but I’ve never seen a lot of them before in my life.”

“Do you think Wyatt did all of this?” she asks, and I shrug.

“I mean, surely not. I know he said he was going to handle putting everything together, but we never talked about inviting anyone.”

As soon as we step foot into the small office space, Wyatt runs over, clearly aggravated.

“Hey, you look nice,” he says before gesturing to the crowd. “I’m so sorry about all of this. Fucking Miss Agatha and her inability to mind her own business.”

“I’m confused. Who’s Miss Agatha and what does she have to do with all the people outside?”

Wyatt sighs. “She’s the town busybody, and she runs the local newspaper, The Cove Column .

Somehow she found out about the wedding, and she put an invitation in the fucking newspaper without telling me.

And some of the ladies in town heard that we weren’t planning to decorate, and they took it upon themselves to decorate while I was out on my last charter. ”

Avery burst into laughter beside me. “Oh my god, living in this fucking town is gonna be a hoot.”

“Okay, so now that they’re here, what are we going to do about it?” I ask as I look out the window at the people continuing to pile out of their cars. “And how much weight can this dock hold? Because there's at least a hundred people out there.”

“God, I don’t wanna deal with this shit today.

But okay, this is what we’re gonna do. There’s no way we’re getting rid of them now that they know what’s going on.

But we can tell them they have to sit on the shore.

I’m sure none of them came with a microphone or anything like that, so there’s no way they’ll be able to hear us.

It’ll be like they aren’t even there,” Wyatt suggests, and Avery nods in agreement.

“Honestly, I think that makes sense, Stels. I don’t see any way out of it, so this seems like the best scenario for now,” she says and I have to admit she’s right. “I’ll leave you two to talk for a moment, and I’ll start redirecting people.”

“Good luck,” Wyatt says with a laugh. “Trent should be out there in the chaos somewhere. Get him to help you.”

“Not a problem,” Avery says, leaving the two of us to stare at each other.

I laugh at the absurdity of the whole situation.

“Oh my god, this whole thing just keeps getting more and more out of control. Do they know this marriage isn’t even real?”

He shakes his head. “Listen, Stella. I don’t think it’s a good idea to broadcast that. The more gossip we give them, the more obsessed with us they’ll be.”

“So we just pretend like we’re madly in love?” I ask with a laugh, but I stop when he shrugs.

“It’s up to you, but I don’t think you remember how over the top they can be. Do you want to spend the next year explaining all of this over and over again? Our friends already know the truth and in my opinion, that’s all that matters.”

I think about it for a moment and realize he might have a point. “Okay fine, but Wyatt, wait, oh my god. We’re gonna have to kiss. For the first time. In front of the entire population of Crestbrook Cove.”

I feel my panic start to rise again and Wyatt reaches out and puts his arm around me. “Hey, calm down. It’s just a kiss. It’ll be fine.”

“I guess you’re right,” I say hesitantly and he looks at me, clearly realizing that my latest revelation is affecting me more than it probably should.

“Wait, Stella, this is really bothering you now, isn’t it?” he asks, and I shrug.

“I know it shouldn’t. I think it’s just really hitting me that all of this is actually happening. And now everyone’s gonna be watching and it’ll be weird.”

“It’s okay. You know, there is a really easy solution to this problem?” he says, and I wait for him to elaborate.

“Why don’t we just have our first kiss now?”

I blink at him, waiting for him to laugh, but when he doesn’t, I realize it’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard.

“Wait, is it weird that I don’t hate that idea?

Not because I’m dying to make out with you or anything.

I know this whole marriage thing is just a friendship thing, but what if we don’t and we go to kiss during the ceremony and everyone can tell it’s the first time?

Or we could—” I’m rambling and before I can finish, Wyatt leans down and drops a gentle kiss on my mouth.

I freeze, completely taken aback before my mind finally catches up to what’s going on and I relax into the kiss.

I get lost in the kiss for a brief moment and all I can think about is how good his mouth feels on mine.

It probably doesn’t last more than twenty seconds, but when we both pull back I can’t help but feel a little off-kilter before focusing on giving myself a mental pep talk.

It’s not anything romantic, Stella. You just haven’t kissed a guy in years. It doesn’t mean anything.

“Not too bad, huh?” Wyatt teases, and I can’t help but laugh.

“No, I think we’re good on that front,” I admit before looking out at the now empty dock. “I guess Avery and Trent managed to get everyone moved out of the way.”

“Yep, so I guess that’s our cue. Are you ready to get married?”

“Let’s do this thing, hubby.”

“Last chance to make a run for it,” Avery teases, as music starts playing on the deck from a sound system one of the locals showed up with a few minutes ago. Clearly this town is way more prepared for my wedding than I am.

“Nope, I’m good. Plus, I don’t think I’d get very far even if I wanted to. There’s probably three hundred people out there, Aves,” I point out, and Avery grimaces.

“Yeah, they just kinda kept showing up didn’t they? I can’t believe one of them brought microphones so they could hear the ceremony from the shore too. I can’t believe how fast they pulled all of this together.”

“Me either,” I admit before taking a deep breath and saying, “okay, I think it’s time. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Perfect. I know this isn’t a real wedding, but you look gorgeous as a bride, Stels.”

I smile at her as she walks out of the small office. I take a moment to steady myself before grabbing the small bouquet Miss Clara brought me and follow her down the makeshift aisle.

I can tell the shore is stacked with people, but I try to ignore it, forcing myself to look straight ahead to where Avery, Wyatt, Bennett, Trent, and Everett are waiting for me at the end of the dock.

After what feels like forever, I’m close enough for Wyatt to reach out and take my hand, and I can almost feel my body sag in relief. I’ve never been someone that wants all the attention on myself, and all of the eyes behind us are enough to have me feeling on edge already.

“Good afternoon, everyone, you may be seated,” Trent says. Even with my back to the crowd, I hear the shuffle of hundreds of people sitting down in their lawn chairs.

“We’re gathered here today to celebrate the marriage between Stella Hale and Wyatt Robinson.” Trent starts, and I zone out for a moment as he welcomes everyone.

After a few minutes, he says, “If anyone has any objections to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

I freeze when I hear yelling behind us. I swear, if some ex-girlfriend showed up to stop him from marrying me, I’m going to lose my mind. This is my only shot at keeping the hotel, and now that I’m back, I can’t imagine it in anyone else’s hands.

I turn, expecting to see a woman our age making her way down the pier, but instead I see one of the older ladies waving her cane around in protest.

“Fucking hell, Miss Eleanor,” Wyatt mutters under his breath, and I give him a strange look.

“She’s one of Miss Clara’s friends from the knitting club. She’s the biggest flirt I’ve ever met, and apparently she has a little crush on me that she won’t let go,” Wyatt explains, and I look back at the lady to make sure we’re talking about the same person.

“Wyatt, that woman has to be ninety years old,” I tell him, my eyes wide.

“Yep. She’s harmless, but this is a bit much for me,” he admits just as Miss Clara walks over and uses her cane to push Miss Eleanor back into her chair.

“You may proceed,” she yells as loudly as she can from the shore before sitting back down in her own chair and picking up what looks like a knitting project.

Trent looks between us, waiting for directions about what to do until Wyatt whispers, “Let’s get this thing going again, huh?”

“Right, sorry. It’s time for vows. Wyatt, you’re first,” Trent tells us, reading off the paper in his hands.

I’m only half listening as Wyatt recites his vows, overwhelmed with how fast this is all happening. After a moment, Wyatt squeezes my hand and whispers, “It’s your turn, Stella.”

I shake my head, realizing I completely zoned out during my own wedding before giving Trent and Wyatt a warm smile. “I got distracted. I’m so sorry, but could you repeat what you just said.”

“No problem. Let’s try this again. Stella, please repeat after me,” Trent says, as he starts reciting the traditional vows again from a paper in front of him.

“I, Stella Hale, take you, Wyatt Robinson, to be my lawfully wedded husband,” I say, trying to focus on keeping my voice steady as I repeat the rest of the vows.

As soon as I finish, Trent turns to Wyatt. “Do you have the rings?”

I look around in panic, realizing ring shopping never occurred to me over the last week. “Here you go, I’ve got ’em both,” Wyatt says, and I look at him in surprise.

God, this man really thought of everything. What kind of wife am I making him buy his own wedding ring? I think, breathing a sigh of relief as he pulls both rings out of his pocket.

It doesn’t take long for us to exchange rings, and before I know it, Trent gestures to us. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Wyatt, you may now kiss your bride.”

Wyatt smiles and reaches out, cupping my face before leaning down and kissing me gently. The kiss only lasts a few seconds, but I feel myself melting into him the same way I did when he kissed me in the hut.

He pulls back and whispers, “You were right, Stella. I’m glad we practiced.”

I laugh at that just as Trent turns to the shore full of people and yells, “I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt Robinson.”

The crowd screams and cheers, and Wyatt grabs my hand to lead me back down the dock.

Despite the fact that we didn’t plan for everyone to find out about the wedding, I have to admit that the decorations they set up are beautiful.

There are orange and white flowers on all of the posts that perfectly match the sunset behind us, and the lights twinkle off the water.

“God, can you believe we’re married?” I whisper as we walk back down the makeshift aisle.

“Yeah, I know we’re doing this as friends, but I wasn’t expecting it to feel that damn real.”

“Same,” I admit. “Here’s to a year of friendship and married bliss, am I right?”

“Hell yeah. It’s wild how much can change in a week, huh?” he says and I can’t help but laugh.

“God, has it really only been a week?” I sigh. “I feel like the last few days have been such a whirlwind. In the last few weeks I lost my job, moved to a new state, inherited a hotel, married my childhood friend, and walked into a fucking lizard living in my bedroom.”

“Damn, well, when you put it like that…” he says. “But despite how crazy everything’s been, I think we’re making the best of this whole situation. And I’m glad you ended up back in town.”

“Yeah, I always loved spending the summers here,” I admit as the crowd of locals heads toward us.

“Are you still feeling that way?” Wyatt whispers, taking in the mass of people heading our way. “Because at this exact moment, I'm kinda wondering why I haven’t gotten the hell out.”

“Come on, they’re harmless. And I’m pretty sure they won’t ever leave us alone if we don’t acknowledge them,” I say, and he gives me a look just as Miss Clara hobbles over as quickly as she can.

“Hey, there. You know, when I saw the announcement in the paper this morning, I didn’t think it was real.

I figured there was no way you wouldn’t have mentioned it yesterday, and I’ve gotta say, my feelings were hurt.

But then I remembered what it was like to be young and in love.

We could barely keep our clothes on, so I’ll give you a pass this time. ”

“Oh, um, thank you for that,” I tell her, and Wyatt shoots me a look over the top of her head.

“All right, well, on that note, we have a lot of people to see, but yeah, we’ll see you later,” I tell her, pulling Wyatt away before she can say anything else.

“One down, at least a hundred and fifty-seven to go,” I murmur to him, and he groans.

“Fucking wonderful.”