Page 45 of Kicking it with my Fake Fiancé
“Let them. She’s loving this, I promise.”
In the meantime, my sister Grace was talking to Kasper’s wife, Ingrid. They were all smiles and laughter. My chest was full, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this happy, completely and utterly content with both the moment I was living in and the prospects for my future.
Charlie hovered, pulling people for quick interviews in front of Heidi, while two additional camera operators worked the room, getting footage of anything and everything. Next to Matty, I pressed my thigh against his and he gripped my hand until the food came. Everything was perfect.
By the time the meal wound down and most everyone had left, I overheard Nina inviting my mom and dad to come stay with her in Norway anytime. “Really, Debra. You should bring Peter and stay for at least a long week. Possibly more. And Grace is welcome, too. The whole family, really. We’re going to be family now. We might as well act like it.”
Matty leaned into me, his chest against my back. His soft breath tickled the shell of my ear. “And we’re going to be husbands now. We might as well act like it,” he murmured, sliding a hand along my hip.
I shivered and spun to face him. “As much as I’d like that, I think we should probably spend the rest of the day with your family. They flew thousands of miles to be with you during this special time. It’s important.”
He chuckled. “I never thought I’d see the day that Jared Collins said no.”
I couldn’t help the smirk on my face. “I’m not saying no. I’m just saying later.”
“That’s more like the Jared I know.” He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “In that case, I’m looking forward to later.”
With that, he stepped away to speak to his family. From the quick Norwegian and the little I understood, I thought I caught the word for plans, but that was it. While they chatted, I said goodbye to my parents, my mom hugging me with tears in her eyes.
“You okay, Mom?”
“They grow up so fast,” was all she said, squeezing me tightly. “We love you.” With that, my family was gone.
Matty turned to me. “Mamma says they all need some rest. They just flew in late last night, so we will see them at the wedding.”
She smiled warmly. “That’s right. It was lovely to see you and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.” Ingrid nodded with a bright smile of her own, but grumpy Kasper’s lips barely twitched.
I didn’t care about having a grumpy brother-in-law. I was marrying my best friend in less than twenty-four hours, and all was right in my world.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Matty
AsIwaitedoutsidethe event hall for my cue, I took a deep, slow breath and used the moment to reflect on the past few months. It had been such a whirlwind, but I barely remembered what life was like before I’d agreed to marry Jared. What had initially been a relatively painless way to help me get a visa and boost Jared’s career had turned into so much more. We’d gone from the best of friends—platonically in love with each other—to life partners and soon to be spouses. I was so in love with him that my chest ached.
Mamma stood next to me and hooked her arm in mine. “Ready?” When I nodded, Theo opened the door and we stepped inside. Travis had taken advantage of his head ranger status and snagged us a reservation for the event hall in his park, and the way he and the guys had decorated it literally took my breath away. I inhaled sharply, taking in the abundance of twinkling fairy lights and the soft fabric draped from the ceilings, looping over the exposed beams. It was beautiful, like a fairy-tale wedding. I’d been a part of the planning, but seeing it in real life was so different. It was just stunning.
I hadn’t seen Jared that day, and the sight of him standing at the end of the makeshift aisle in a crisp black tux made my heart leap. The smile that appeared on his face was bright and wide, matching my own. As I escorted Mamma up the aisle, she squeezed my arm and whispered to me in Norwegian.
“Du er fantastisk, gutten min. Jeg elsker deg.”
“I love you too, Mamma,” I murmured, returning the soft squeeze of her hand. “Thank you.”
Once we’d reached Jared and the groomsmen, I pressed a kiss to her cheek and Mamma took her seat so I could take my place. Behind me stood Cam, Bennett, Theo, and of course my brother Kasper. Behind Jared stood Parker, Levi, Asher, and Ethan. The entire kickball team had rushed to our assistance when we’d started planning in earnest. In addition to Travis’s help with the venue, Oliver had—to everyone’s surprise—volunteered to have his restaurant cater the event, and Dex had used his pull to get us an amazing honeymoon suite in downtown Port Grandlin. Soren, Levi’s husband, had offered to coordinate the decorations, and he’d done an amazing job. To make things interesting, Nate, Theo’s husband, had gotten ordained so he could officiate. Of course, the rest of the guys were joining us as groomsmen. They’d jumped at the opportunity. I’d never had so much family surrounding me in my life.
I faced Jared and he took my hands in his without hesitation. They were soft and warm, his touch firm and reassuring, as Nate began the ceremony.
After he greeted the guests, and said a few words about marriage, he turned to Jared and asked him to read out his vows. Unfortunately for me, that meant that Jared released my hands and pulled out the paper his vows were written on. The second we released each other, I ached to reach for him again.
He held the paper with shaking hands and began to read. “Matty,” Jared started, his voice thick with emotion. “I’ve known you for fifteen years. You’re my best friend. We’ve already seen each other through thick and thin, through highs and lows. We’ve stayed awake talking from dusk until dawn on more than one occasion. You’ve been by my side through it all. And today I get to call you my husband. I couldn’t be happier. I’ve known you for fifteen years, and I think I’ve loved you just as long. I just didn’t know it then. I’m sorry it took me a while to figure it out, but I’m glad I did. Elsker deg.”
He folded up the paper he’d been reading from and tucked it in his pocket as I blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall. When Nate looked to me, my stomach did a flip. I pulled out my own vows, took a deep breath, and began to read.
“Jared, the moment I saw you at the Oslo airport a few months ago, I knew without a doubt that we’d made the right choices. Not just one right choice, all the right choices, all the way back to my exchange student days. Staying close after I left, even through university and beyond. Through my impossible travel schedule and your hectic life. We never missed a call. But the day I saw you in that airport, any doubt I might have had just lifted away. In that moment, I couldn’t have been more sure that marrying you was what I was meant to do. I’m so glad we get the opportunity to spend the rest of our lives together. I love you.”
I slipped the paper back into my own pocket and took his hands once again. Nate walked us through the exchanging of rings—simple titanium bands—and then he grinned widely at us. “I now pronounce you married. You may kiss.”
Without hesitation, Jared stepped forward, put his hand on the back of my neck, and pulled me close. He pressed a gentle, relatively chaste kiss to my mouth as our friends and family stood and cheered.
