Page 44 of Kicking it with my Fake Fiancé
“I am being reasonable. I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching because of this show. I don’t want to go on tour. Not now, not ever again.”
Another second of silence. “Wait a second. Can you say that again?”
“I’m done, Paul. I don’t want to tour anymore. My goals have changed—significantly. I’m done with the industry. Entirely.”
He laughed, a bitter tinge to his tone. “You’re kidding, right? You’ll never get booked again with that attitude.”
“I’m not kidding. One hundred percent serious. I’m done. You’re fired, Paul.”
“What the hell is going on with you, kid?”
I shrugged, even though he couldn’t see it. “I’m leaving this dream behind. I’ve got something much more valuable now.”
“Whatever you say. Just don’t come crawling back to me when the show airs and you’re desperate to stay in the spotlight.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” With that, I hung up the line. I shook my head and shoulders a little, relaxing the tension that had been building, before turning to head back to bed. When I turned, I startled, finding Matty standing with his hands in his sweatpants pockets. “Have you been listening this whole time?”
Matty shook his head. “Of course not. I woke up and you were gone, so I came out here to find you. When I realized you were on a call with Paul, I decided to stay in case you needed moral support. Are you okay?”
“How much did you hear?”
“Enough. I heard you fire him and quit the business.” His voice dropped to a soft whisper as he approached me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Are you sure about this?”
I nodded. “I’ve never been more sure. I don’t need to be famous and rich. I’ve got everything I need right here.”
Matty pulled me in close for a hug. We held each other tightly for a few seconds before he stepped back. “What are you going to do for work? Surely just giving music lessons doesn’t pay the bills.”
“I’ll take on more music students. And more personal training clients. I’m not a hundred percent sure, but there’s one thing I do know. And that’s how much I love you. I don’t want to spend the next ten, twenty, thirty years bouncing between the studio and touring, missing you the whole time. I’d rather be right here with you. I can travel when you travel because my work will be flexible. I don’t even have to worry about whether our travel schedules match up, because it will only be you that I need to work around. My best friend. And soon, my husband.”
He nodded solemnly and pulled me in for another tight hug. “That sounds perfect.”
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of filming and wedding planning. I had planned a surprise for Matty, one that would throw a little drama Charlie’s way and, I hoped, make Matty one very happy groom, and the day before the wedding was the day of the surprise. We’d finally made it to that day, and I was more nervous about the surprise than I was about the wedding itself.
“What’s got you so jittery today?” Matty asked me as he climbed into my car. “Pre-wedding jitters?”
I laughed nervously. “Something like that.” We’d had a wedding rehearsal that morning with the team—who were going to be our groomsmen on both sides—and my parents. I’d played this lunch off as a rehearsal luncheon. It was going to be a big gathering, but there was more to it than that.
When I finally steered the car into the parking lot of Fabled Fire, an upscale restaurant in Port Grandlin where we’d booked an event room, I was barely able to stand it. It was all I could do not to blurt out the surprise then and there, and I had to bite my tongue so hard I was worried I’d draw blood. Charlie and Heidi met us in the parking lot, having been inside and filming for a little while prior to our arrival. She smiled at me and gave me a quick thumbs-up.
With the camera hot on our heels, I led Matty into the event room, insisting that he enter before me. As he pulled the door open, my breath caught in my throat. Matty looked around as we closed the door behind us, and finally,finally, his gaze landed on my surprise.
“Mamma? What are you doing here?” He looked around, confused, and spotted the rest of his family. “Kasper and Ingrid too?” Nina, Matty’s mom, took a few steps forward and embraced him tightly, whispering something in his ear that I couldn’t quite catch. He nodded and when he looked back at me, his eyes were glistening. “I didn’t think you were coming,” he said finally.
Nina laughed and Ingrid also hurried to wrap her arms around him, her pregnant belly getting between them as she tried to squeeze Matty with a hug.
“We weren’t sure we could. But Jared arranged everything.”
When Matty looked at me with wide, slightly accusing eyes, eyebrows high, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Not entirely everything. But it was my idea.”
He looked at Kasper for a beat before pulling him into a hug, too. “I’m so glad you’re all here.”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Nina said.
After another few moments of hugging and incredulous shock, I put a hand on Matty’s shoulder. “I bet everyone’s starving. Let’s get this thing started. What do you say?”
He gave me a nod and laughed at himself, his voice thick with emotion. “Ja, of course.”
I had Nina sit next to my parents and immediately my dad launched into a series of stories and questions for Nina that I worried would make her feel a little overwhelmed. I leaned in to interrupt, but Matty put his hand on my arm.
