Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
COLT
TWO WEEKS LATER
"Hold still," Jax orders, reaching to straighten my tie for the fourth time. "You look like you're about to bolt."
"I'm fine." I bat his hands away, pacing the small antechamber of the courthouse. "Just want to get this over with."
Ridge snorts from his position against the wall. "Great attitude for your wedding day, brother."
"It's not a real wedding," I remind them both, though the words taste false on my tongue. "Just a business arrangement."
"Right." Jax exchanges a knowing look with Ridge. "That's why you wrote actual vows instead of using the standard courthouse script."
I ignore him, checking my watch again. Five minutes until the simple ceremony begins. Two weeks since Savannah moved into my house. Two weeks of waking up with her in my arms, cooking breakfast together, falling into bed each night like we can't get enough of each other.
Two weeks of trying to remember this isn't real, even as it begins feeling more real than anything I've experienced before.
"You okay?" Ridge asks, uncharacteristically perceptive. "You've been off all morning."
"Savannah's been acting strange," I admit, keeping my voice low though we're alone. "Last few days, something's wrong, but she won't tell me what."
"Cold feet, maybe?" Jax suggests. "This is happening fast, even for a fake relationship."
"It's not cold feet." I'm certain of this. "It's something else. She gets this look sometimes. Like she's about to say something important, then changes her mind."
My brothers exchange another glance, some silent communication passing between them that I can't decipher.
"What?" I demand.
"Nothing." Jax claps my shoulder. "Just never seen you this worked up over a woman before."
Because I've never felt this way before.
The thought ambushes me, undeniable in its truth.
What started as a practical arrangement has morphed into something else entirely.
Something that makes my chest tight when she smiles at me across the kitchen.
Something that wakes me early just to watch her sleep.
Something terrifyingly close to love.
"It's time," the court clerk announces, poking her head into the room. "Everyone's ready."
My brothers follow me into the small courtroom where the judge waits behind his bench. Sylvie sits in the front row, dabbing at her eyes already, though nothing's happened yet. The room is otherwise empty, which is fine by me. This moment, fake as it may be, isn't for public consumption.
The door at the back opens, and I turn, expecting to see Savannah in the simple white dress she picked out last week. Instead, Sheriff Parker stands there, looking uncomfortable in his dress uniform.
"What's he doing here?" I mutter to Jax.
Before he can answer, Savannah appears beside her father.
My breath catches at the sight of her. The dress is exactly as I remember, modest but elegant, hugging curves I've learned intimately over the past two weeks.
Her hair falls in loose waves around her shoulders, and she's wearing more makeup than usual, highlighting those big dark eyes that see right through me.
She's beautiful. And she looks absolutely terrified.
The sheriff leans down to whisper something in her ear.
She nods, visibly steeling herself before taking his arm.
The sight of Tom Parker walking his daughter down the makeshift aisle toward me is so unexpected I almost laugh.
Two weeks ago, he was ready to shoot me.
Now he's giving away his daughter, even if his expression suggests he'd rather be getting a root canal.
"Take care of her," he says gruffly as they reach me, placing Savannah's trembling hand in mine.
"I will." The promise comes easily because I mean it, arrangement or not.
He nods once, then takes his seat beside Sylvie, who looks as shocked by his presence as I feel.
"You okay?" I whisper to Savannah as we turn toward the judge.
"Fine." But her voice wavers, and she won't quite meet my eyes.
The judge begins the ceremony, his voice droning through the standard introduction. I barely hear him, too focused on Savannah's hand in mine, cold despite the warm day, her pulse racing beneath my fingers.
"I understand the groom has prepared his own vows," the judge says, nodding to me.
I clear my throat, pulling the folded paper from my pocket. Words I spent hours writing last night, trying to find the right balance between our public story and my growing private feelings.
"Savannah," I begin, turning to face her fully. "From the moment you stood up for me on Main Street, something in me recognized something in you. Your courage. Your determination. Your refusal to let others dictate your choices."
Her eyes fill with tears, but she doesn't look away.
"I never expected to find someone who sees me clearly.
Who looks past what others say and makes her own judgments.
Who challenges me to be better than I am.
" My voice grows rougher, the practiced words suddenly insufficient.
"These past months have changed me. You've changed me.
And I promise to spend every day trying to be the man you deserve.
To support your dreams as fiercely as you've defended mine.
To build a life where neither of us has to choose between who we are and who others want us to be. "
A tear slips down her cheek. I catch it with my thumb, the gesture intimate and unplanned.
"Whatever comes next," I conclude, voice dropping so only she can hear the raw honesty in it, "I'm grateful for the time I've had with you."
The judge nods, apparently satisfied with my performance. "And now, the bride's vows."
Savannah stares at me, tears streaming freely now. She opens her mouth, closes it again. Her hand tightens around mine almost painfully.
"I..." Her voice breaks. She tries again. "I can't. This isn't right."
My heart sinks as she drops my hand, turning to face the small gathering.
"I need to tell the truth." She takes a shaky breath. "This wedding is a sham."
A collective gasp fills the room. Her father half rises from his seat, face darkening with anger.
"Savannah," I start, reaching for her, but she steps back, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry, Colt. I'm so sorry." Her voice steadies, resolution hardening her features. "But I can't lie anymore. Not to them, and not to myself."
She turns to her father. "Dad, I proposed this arrangement to Colt because I needed to be married by my twenty-third birthday to inherit Grandma's house. It was my idea, not his. He agreed to help me."
Sheriff Parker's mouth opens and closes wordlessly. Ridge and Jax shift uncomfortably behind me. Sylvie doesn't look surprised, which makes me wonder how much Savannah has shared with her.
"We thought it would be simple," she continues. "Six months married, then divorce. I get my inheritance, Colt gets a better reputation in town. A business deal."
"But then we..." She falters, glancing at me, vulnerability naked in her eyes. "Things got complicated. And I realized I can't go through with it. Not like this. Not under false pretenses."
She turns back to me, and the pain in her expression guts me. "I'm sorry, Colt. You deserve better than a fake wife who can't even be honest about why she's really running away."
Before I can respond, she gathers her skirt and rushes from the courtroom, leaving stunned silence in her wake.
"What the hell just happened?" Sheriff Parker demands, advancing on me with fury in his eyes.
"Sheriff." Sylvie catches his arm. "Not now. Go after your daughter."
He hesitates, clearly torn between confronting me and following Savannah. Fatherly concern wins out, and he strides from the room, leaving me to face the remaining witnesses.
"Well," the judge says dryly. "I believe that concludes today's proceedings."
He bangs his gavel once and exits through a side door, apparently deciding this drama is above his pay grade.
"Colt." Jax's hand lands on my shoulder. "You okay?"
I'm not okay. I'm nowhere near okay. The room spins slightly as I try to process what just happened.
"She left." The words feel hollow, inadequate. "She just...left."
"Come on." Ridge takes my other arm. "Let's get out of here."
They guide me back to the antechamber, Sylvie following with a sympathetic expression that makes me want to punch something.
"I'll go find Savannah," she says, hovering in the doorway. "Make sure she's alright."
"Tell her..." I start, but what can I possibly say? "Just make sure she's okay."
Sylvie nods and disappears, leaving me alone with my brothers.
"Did you know?" Jax asks after a moment. "That she was planning this?"
"No." I sink into a chair, loosening the tie that suddenly feels like it's choking me. "I knew something was wrong, but not this."
Ridge passes me a flask pulled from inside his suit jacket. I take a long swallow, the whiskey burning a path down my throat.
"You're in love with her." It's not a question. Ridge has always been too observant for his own good.
I don't bother denying it. "Yeah."
"Does she know?" Jax asks.
The question stops me cold. In all our time together, all the nights wrapped in each other's arms, all the mornings making breakfast in companionable silence, all the moments I felt myself falling deeper. I never told her.
"No." The realization hits like a thunderbolt. "I never said it."
"Well, that explains it." Ridge takes the flask back, taking a sip himself. "Woman's probably half in love with you too, scared to death you're still seeing this as just business."
"She said things got complicated," Jax reminds me. "That's not the statement of someone who doesn't care."
Hope flares briefly, then gutters out. "She still ran."
"So go after her." Ridge says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Unless you're planning to just let her go."
Am I? The question echoes in my mind. Is this how our story ends? A humiliating scene in a courthouse?
"No." I stand abruptly, newfound determination burning through the shock. "No, I'm not letting her go."
"There he is." Jax grins. "The stubborn bastard we know and love."
I'm already moving toward the door, stripping off the tie as I go. "Where would she go?"
"Her father's maybe," Ridge suggests. "Or that coffee shop."
"Or your place," Jax calls after me. "To get her things before you catch up to her."
Our place. Not just mine anymore. The thought propels me forward, out of the courthouse and into the bright afternoon sunlight. Savannah's out there somewhere, thinking I only wanted her for our arrangement. Thinking whatever grew between us these past weeks was just convenience or great sex.
I need to find her. Need to tell her she's wrong. Need to make her understand that what started as business became the most real thing in my life.
And I'm not letting her walk away without a fight.