We all looked around at each other before Gina cried out. “Hold on!”
She ran out of the courtroom and was back in less than a minute. She walked up and handed me a straw.
I stared down at it. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
She rolled her eyes, opened the straw, and handed me the wrapper. “Make the rings.”
When I still stared at it, Aiden took it from my hands, tore it in two, and handed the pieces to Sam. It was his turn to stare down at it.
Clearing hit throat, Sam went on. “Right. Okay, well, let’s continue on.”
When it came time to put the rings on, it finally dawned on me what to do. I tied one piece around Bree’s finger, and she tied the other on mine.
“By the power vested in me by the state of New Hampshire, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Morrison,” Sam said. “You may kiss your bride.”
Bree looked up at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. I cupped her face in my hands, leaned down, and brushed my lips across hers as I whispered, “I love you, Mrs. Morrison.”
She half laughed, half sobbed. “I love you, too, Mr. Morrison.”
Then I kissed my wife.
Hank stared at me as I sat in the chair on the movie set while getting ready for my next scene. “What do you mean, you got married this morning?”
Smiling, I said, “I got married this morning.”
“To who?”
I shot him a dirty look. “Who do you think? Brighton.”
He stared at me with a blank expression for a good two minutes. I sighed and looked up at Kimberley, the makeup artist.
“Congratulations, Luke!” Kimberley said.
“Thank you,” I replied.
Hank shook his head. “But I thought you were trying to make up with her.”
“Oh, we made up.”
Kimberley chuckled.
“And she married you?” Hank asked with a smile.
“I know, I’m still feeling a little surprised by it too.”
Hank lifted his hands up in a ‘hold on’ gesture and looked at me in the mirror. “Brighton forgave you and then married you? Did you drug her?”
“Ha ha, very funny. I have to say, it was the strangest wedding I’ve ever been to.” I held up my left hand and showed Kimberley and Hank my ring. “See the ring?”
Kimberley laughed. “Is that a piece of paper?”
I nodded.
She sighed. “That is so romantic.”
Hank pulled his head back as if someone struck him. “Excuse me? You think a paper ring is romantic?”
Looking at him, she replied, “What? It is!”
Rolling his eyes, Hank said, “I’ll never understand women.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Hank slapped me on the side of the arm. “I’m happy for you, Luke. Glad it finally happened. Now, I think I’ll go…get something to drink. Do you need anything?”
“No,” I said. “Hank—wait.” He turned and looked at me. “Bree should be getting here around three. She had to stay behind in Boggy Creek and calm down her very upset mother. I already gave her name to security, so they should let her in with no problem, but I’d like for you to be there too. Will you show her around, then bring her to our filming location by the lake?”
Hank grinned. “So you’re going public, huh?”
I couldn’t help but think of our meal at The Coffee Pot and the ice cream we had in the park. Smiling, I replied, “We already have.”
He nodded and then slipped out of the trailer.
Kimberley leaned down and looked at me in the mirror. “Are the rumors true, then? This is your last film?”
“They’re true.”
She smiled. “I’m really happy for you, Luke. What’s your wife like?”
A warm rush of happiness washed over me. “She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. She’s kind, funny, compassionate. Loves clothes and makeup.”
“I like her already.”
I laughed. “She’s the love of my life.”
“Are you giving this up for her?”
Our eyes met in the mirror. “I’m giving this up for both of us.”
With a wink, she went back to work. I had one more damn scene to shoot, and then I was done. My life as an actor would officially be over, with the exception of promoting this movie. I was counting down the minutes until I could drive back to Boggy Creek in my wife’s BMW with the top down while she sang her heart out to BLACKPINK.
Life had never been better.
Bree
I got to the filming location earlier than expected. After talking my mother down off her ledge of despair and promising to have a real wedding in the near future, I set off to meet up with Luke.
There was no denying how excited I was to see the movie set. I wanted to at least see Luke in action one time before he walked away from it all. He had assured me it wouldn’t be a love scene. No kissing, no pretend sexy time. It was a scene where he and Kathleen were walking around a lake. It was odd to me because it was one of the first scenes that would be in the movie—the moment they first meet—yet they were filming it last.