Page 93 of The Forever After Bet

Friday night is my students’ dance recital. Ford gives each of my girls a bright pink rose with their name on it. They all squeal with delight when he hands them out. When he’s done handing one to each girl, he leaves and comes back with a dozen red roses for me. The girls squeal and giggle all over again.

“Thank you. They’re beautiful.” I give him a quick kiss, and all the girls emit a soft ‘aww’.

“Miss Hannah, are you going to marry Ford?” my student, Emmie, asks.

“Yep, someday.” I glance up at Ford and wink.

We’ve never talked about our little wedding in the meadow, or our marriage certificate and its fate. The longer we go without talking about it, the harder it gets to bring up the subject. I’ve decided not to worry about it until I get my acceptance to Sutherland University, which should be the first of March.

My girls do a fantastic job dancing. At the end of the performance, Micah, Sophie, me, and the other teacher, Becca, do a short funny dance. It’s a lot of fun. I’m so glad I accepted Micha’s offer to teach in July. I’ve loved every second.

After the recital, Ford comes backstage. “Hey, that was awesome. You did a fantastic job.” He picks me up, spinning me around and kissing me.

“Thank you.”

“Jack, Leah Ty and June are waiting out front for us and your family is going to meet us at Sorbie’s for ice cream.”

“Hannah!” Sophie calls, waving her hands at me. “Here, this is for you. I’m sorry it’s late. I put you down with a plus one, so find someone to bring.” She hands me a large, crisp white envelope.

“Is this your wedding invitation?”

“Yes. You better be there,” Micah says, coming to stand next to his fiancé.

“I will totally be there.” I hug Sophie and Micah. “Have you met my boyfriend, Ford?”

“I don’t think we even knew you had a boyfriend,” Sophie says.

“Is this the guy from the summer?” Micah asked.

“Yes.” I grab Ford’s hand. “This is Ford Cross. He’s a senior at Lake City with me.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Ford says. “Thanks for everything you’ve done for Hannah. She talks highly of both of you.” He holds his hand out, and Micah shakes it. Sophie shakes his hand, but she keeps ahold of it.

“Ford, as in Crawford, who’s headed to Sutherland University to play football?”

“Yeah, you know football?” Ford asks.

I didn’t know Sophie liked football.

“My dad is a huge football guy. He talked about you and the Lake City High football team all season.”

“Nice. Your dad sounds like an awesome guy,” Ford says.

“He is.” Sophie turns to me. “You have to bring him to the wedding; my dad would flip.”

I already planned to ask him. I look at Ford. “Want to go to a wedding with me? It’s not until the end of March, if I remember correctly.” I glance at Sophie, and she nods.

“Count me in. I love any chance to hang out with my girl, eat cake, and dance.” He laughs.

“Excellent.” Sophie smiles. “I’ll see you Monday for dance practice at six.”

“I’ll be there. Have a good weekend.” I wave as we leave.

“Now my winter break can officially start.” I sigh, relieved that I don’t have anything but a bit of schoolwork on my calendar until school starts again in January.

“I have something I need to ask you,” Ford says, looking nervous.

“Is it something bad?”

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