“A one and done?” I repeated. “This really is small-town living.”
“Yep.” She turned and looked at me, a wide smile on her face. “Are you excited? I’m excited. And nervous! Oh my God, we’re getting married! Are you nervous?”
I gripped the steering wheel and tried not to laugh. I had no idea who the crazy woman was beside me, but one thing I did know for sure—I had fallen even more in love with her. “I’m excited and a bit nervous.”
She chuckled. “Me too! Oh, here! Park here.”
I pulled into a parking spot, and we made our way across the street and up the steps of the courthouse.
“I just realized the last time I was here, Willa was getting a divorce,” she said. “Now I’m here, and I’m getting married.”
I intertwined my fingers with hers, as I opened the door and we stepped inside.
“Brighton!”
We both turned to see an older woman walking toward us.
Bree smiled. “Gina! Thank you so much for getting here early. And for arranging this.”
She took Bree into her arms and hugged her. “Your mother called my cell, but I sent her to voicemail. She’s going to be ticked off at me!”
Bree smiled. “Thank you. It’s not that I don’t want her here…I just don’t want her here.”
The older woman nodded in understanding. “Let’s get that marriage license. Now, how far along are you, sweetheart?”
“What do you mean?” Bree asked as we followed Gina down the hallway and into a large room. When we went through another door, down a second hall, and into a small office, where she gestured for us to sit down.
Gina sat behind the desk and then looked at us both and winked. “How far along are you?”
Bree looked at me with a crease between her eyes, then back at Gina. “Do you mean how long have we dated?”
Gina’s smile faded. “Wait, you’re not…pregnant?” She whispered the last word.
“Pregnant!” Bree nearly shouted. “No! We simply want to get married as quickly as possible.”
“Oh!” Gina said, turning and looking at me. “I’m so sorry I assumed.”
I held up my hands. “If she was pregnant, I’d be just as happy.”
Both women now looked at me, dreamy smiles on their faces.
“Mister…?” Gina started.
“Morrison.”
She nodded. “First, I need to get some information from you.”
After sharing our information, we followed her out of her office and down another hall.
We walked into a small courtroom where three people stood at the far end. They all turned and faced us.
Bree gasped. “Willa! Aiden!”
Willa practically ran down the aisle. “Arabella called me. She said you might need witnesses.”
Aiden reached his hand out for me to shake. “You went from winning poker to getting married. Fast player.”
“How did you find out we were here?” Bree asked Willa.
“It wasn’t hard. I called Hunter, who called Kyle, who called Gina.”
“Christ, I’m going to need a list of people in this town,” I mumbled.
“You ready to get married?” Willa asked Bree as both girls hugged once more.
“Yes, I’m sweating my ass off in this coat.” Bree turned to the justice of the peace. “Sorry, Sam.”
He waved it off.
Bree looked at me and said, “Turn around.”
“Why?”
“Dude,” Aiden whispered. “You’ve got a lot to learn. Turn around.”
I looked from Bree to Aiden. When he gave me a look that said I’d better do as she requested, I turned.
“Oh, here. I picked these from the garden while we were rushing out,” Willa said.
“Who’s watching the kids?” Bree asked.
“My mom,” Willa stated.
I heard Willa suck in a deep breath and watched Aiden smile a big, goofy smile. He looked at me and nodded, then mouthed she looks beautiful.
Bree cleared her throat. “Okay, you can turn around!”
When I turned, I saw Bree standing there in the same white lace dress she’d been holding up earlier. My heart nearly pounded right out of my damn chest. I swallowed and tried to remember how to make my mouth move. All I could do was stare at the gorgeous woman who stood in front of me in a simple white dress and white heels—that she’d clearly switched out in the last thirty seconds which explains why the pockets in her trench coat looked so full—holding a small bouquet of flowers in her hands.
“You look beautiful,” I whispered, stepping closer to her.
“Thank you,” she replied softly, her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink.
“You’re sure this is what you want? You don’t want to wait for a big fancy wedding?”
She shook her head. “Nope. This is what I want.”
I took her hand in mine, and we turned to face the justice of the peace. Who was apparently named Sam.
Once he started to speak, I didn’t hear a damn word. All I could do was stare down at Bree. When he asked us for the rings, we both looked at him.
“Oh, I didn’t even think about rings,” Bree said with a laugh.