Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Their wedding was short and simple. They told Rita their plans, and she came as their witness. She told them she thought they were doing it all wrong, but she didn’t intend to stand in their way since they were grown adults. They signed the paperwork down at the county probate court. There was no waiting period, so they both thought they might as well get married today as any other day.
He wore a pair of jeans and the ever-present, brown-buttoned jacket. He took off his hat for the ceremony, and his light brown curls remained hat shaped. She wore a long white skirt and a white sweater with red deer printed on the front of it. It was the only white outfit she’d bought. So, it would have to do.
He held her hand as they walked into the office and kept hold of it throughout the ceremony. When it came time for the rings, he surprised her by presenting two plain gold bands. Hers was a little big on her finger, but it felt good.
As she vowed to spend her life with this man she’d only recently met, to love and honour, cherish and keep him for all her days, Matilda experienced a twinge of shame that she didn’t mean the words. But if it meant she could stay with Rita and get to know her family better, discover her roots, she was willing to cross her fingers and say the words. At least for now. It wouldn’t last—she knew that. But she still couldn’t believe he was willing to go through with it. All he asked in return was that she pretended to be his wife to his family and at the reunion. And since she was his wife, at least officially, she figured it wouldn’t take too much pretending on her part.
She twisted the ring round and round her finger as they left the courthouse. She’d have to get it resized.
She never imagined this is how her wedding would go. She’d dreamed of this moment since she was twenty-three, imagining how Cam would pop the question, what she’d wear, what he’d say in his speech at the reception. But two years later, they were broken up and now she’d gone and married a stranger at a courthouse on the other side of the world.
None of it seemed real.
After their wedding, he drove her to a tiny rural social security office about an hour away in Monroe. She took the marriage certificate and her passport and went in alone. There was no one else there other than the man sitting behind the counter. There was a glass partition between them, so she leaned forward to speak to him.
“Um … hi, I need to get a social security number.”
“You got your paperwork?” he asked as he chewed on a toothpick.
She nodded, pushed the papers and her passport beneath the divider where there was a smooth metal slot.
He took the paperwork and looked it over. “Says here you’re on a tourist visa.”
Her stomach clenched. “That’s right, but I got married to an American today. And I’ll be applying for a green card. The problem is, I really need to get a job and have an income, and I don’t know how long the green card will take to process. It might be up to a year.” That’s what she’d read online. The thought of waiting that long made her anxious. She couldn’t last a year living on her savings.
The man frowned at her paperwork, looked over her marriage certificate, then offered her a warm smile. “Well, I guess we’d better get you a social security number then, sweetheart.”
She walked out of the office with the new paper card in her hand and held it up for Ryan to see as she approached the truck.
He slapped his thigh and laughed when she climbed into the truck. “I can’t believe you did it. I thought this place would be your best bet, since I doubt they’ve ever met an Aussie in their lives. And that accent of yours most likely did the trick.”
“The man working behind the counter was so kind. He hardly asked me any questions and handed over the card just like that.” She snapped her fingers.
“Ah, what a beautiful and secure system we have,” he said as he started the engine.
Matilda chatted his ear off as they drove home. He interjected occasionally, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from talking—she felt so comfortable with him. He was a good listener. And she’d clearly misjudged him from their first interactions. He wasn’t a big talker, but he was kind, patient and easy to talk to. And she found herself telling him all about her breakup with Cam, the DNA test, the discoveries she’d made, and her hopes and plans for the future.
By the time they’d made it home, she wished they had a little longer to drive so she could ask him more questions about his own life. He didn’t offer much in the way of information, and he seemed like such a mystery to her. She still knew very little about him.
“I’ll pick you up at six for the reunion,” he said as they both climbed out of the truck.
“What should I wear?”
“I don’t know … I’m wearing jeans.”
“Jeans?”
“The theme is County Fair . So I guess you should dress like you’re going to the fair.” He leaned against the truck’s side, crossed his legs.
“Sounds fun.”
He arched an eyebrow. “We’ll see.”
“Bye, husband.”
“Huh? Oh yeah … right. Glad I could get you that social security number. Don’t break the law now, okay?”
“Devo, I was going to rob a bank. Now I’ll have to come up with some other way to fund my lifestyle. Don’t worry, I’ll be a goodie-two shoes.”
“A goodie what now?”
She laughed. “Never mind … no bank robbery, I promise. I won’t bolt or flip, I’m fair dinkum.” She offered him a mock salute.
“Y’all crack yourselves up with that kind of talk, no doubt.” He crossed his arms over his thick chest, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“We do like to have a giggle.”
“I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about, but you’re cute, I’ll give you that.”
She grunted. “Well, tah for that. The feeling is entirely mutual. See ya.”
At five after six, there was a knock at the door. Matilda took one last glance in the mirror. She’d put her hair in a high ponytail and styled her makeup to be fun and colourful. She wore a blue puffer jacket with a blue sweater beneath it, and a pair of jeans and white joggers. The blue of the sweater brought out her eyes, and she’d highlighted the combination with blue eyeliner. She quickly sprayed herself with perfume, then grabbed her purse and headed for the door.
The hat hair was gone. Ryan had showered and combed his hair so that it had the perfectly mussed look and was still a little damp. He smelled delicious, and she had to press a smile to her face and hold her breath so that she didn’t sink into his arms right there on the stoop.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
She nodded. If she said a word right now she’d give herself away.
He walked to the truck and opened the door for her, then held her hand to help her step up into the passenger seat. Her heart hammered against her ribcage. She wanted to swoon. But swooning right now would give the wrong impression. He was her fake husband, not her real husband. She had to keep the facts in mind. It would be pointless to develop real feelings in a pretend relationship. He was doing her a favour and helping himself at the same time. Besides, she barely knew him. Better to keep things professional.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
He shut the door and went around to the other side. They listened to the radio on the way to the reunion. She was surprisingly quiet. His gallantry and aftershave had made her weak at the knees and she didn’t trust herself to speak.
“Not much to say tonight, huh?” he asked with a glance in her direction.
“Not really.” She couldn’t say what she was thinking. It was completely inappropriate. Instead, she looked out the window and tried to count the trees whizzing by. Anything to distract herself from the intoxicating scent and the freshly laundered and very masculine man seated next to her. She turned up the radio and hummed quietly to the music.
They arrived at Newton High School and pulled into the parking lot. She hadn’t realised they’d be celebrating at the high school. But that made sense and was kind of exciting for her, given she’d only ever seen American high schools in the movies. As she fixed her lipstick in the mirror, she was surprised by Ryan at the door, opening it for her and holding out a hand to help her step down. She’d never been treated this way by a man before and wasn’t sure how to respond.
Then he held up his arm and she slid her hand through the crook. He looked down at her with a grunt. “We’re married, you know. Gotta at least give it a bit of realism.”
“Right, I almost forgot. Should we set any rules before we go in?”
His eyes narrowed. “Rules?”
“Yeah, like no kissing on the lips, no handsy touching, that kind of thing.”
“Oh, right. Gotcha.”
“Anything to add?”
“Not really. I’m fine with you getting handsy. If that’s your thing.” His eyes sparkled with mischief.
She shook her head. “Uh, thanks, but I think I’ll be able to restrain myself.” Not exactly the truth, given how she’d felt on the ride over, but she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he’d unsettled her.
They had to give their names at a desk draped in a red tablecloth. A quick look into the gym behind the woman handing them name badges revealed it to be just like the movies. Matilda couldn’t wipe the grin from her face.
“What are you so happy about?” Ryan asked as he pinned on his name badge.
“I feel like I’ve stepped onto a movie set.”
He frowned. “It’s a high school gym.”
“I know, isn’t it great?”
“You don’t have this in Australia?”
“Not really. We have grass. Fields. Open air schools. No hallways or cafeterias. Sometimes there’s a basketball court.”
“You just walk around outside?”
“That’s right. Kids wander around the school grounds, out in the open. No gates, no metal detectors, no locks.”
“Sounds … nice.”
“It is. But this is fun. I’m geeking out just a little bit.”
“Well, geek out over by the drinks table because I need a drink.” He reached for her hand.
“Good idea.” She followed his lead.
They bought two plastic cups filled with some kind of spiked punch, then headed over to where the round tables were set up to mingle. Matilda and Ryan put their jackets on the backs of two chairs. Matilda was trying to decide whether to sit first or check out the food tables. The gym was decorated with bales of hay, brightly festooned with ribbons and hanging signs announcing things like Win a prize for the best shot, Piglet race, and Calf wrestling - best of three!
The first person to approach them was a woman with red hair. Her brilliantly white teeth accentuated by a black light in the corner were the first thing Matilda noticed. She hurried towards them with a wide smile, her purple dress swishing around her thin frame.
“Well, hello there, Ryan Merritt! It’s been so long. How’re y’all doing?”
Ryan seemed surprised by her embrace and took a step backwards to steady himself. He cleared his throat. “Uh, Meghan, it’s nice to see you. I guess it’s been at least five years or so.”
Meghan squeezed Ryan’s bicep, her smile never fading. “You’re just getting better and better with age. You big ole hunk, you!”
Her gaze turned to focus on Matilda. “And who is this?”
“This is my wife, Matilda.”
Her smile faded. “Wife? I didn’t hear you got married.”
“It’s new,” Matilda said with a shy smile. She stepped closer to Ryan and threaded her hand through his arm. He patted her hand.
“Yep, she’s the missus. The old ball and chain. I’m done for.”
Matilda glared at him.
He coughed. “I mean, she’s the one I’ve been searching for my whole life. She makes me so happy.”
Meghan’s eyes narrowed as she studied Matilda. “Well, how about that?” She shouted to a group of women huddled around the fried pickle stand. “Y’all come over here!”
The women scurried over and hummed around Ryan like a hive of bees.
“Ryan, you look so handsome.”
“I can’t believe you’re not taller than you were in high school. You seem taller.”
“How’s your momma, Ryan? My mom said to tell her hi.”
Matilda took a few steps back to get out of their way as they crowded around him. She set her hands on her hips and watched.
Ryan raised his hands in surrender. “Whoa! One at a time. Hi, y’all. It’s good to see you. I want you to meet my wife. This is Matilda.”
The group spun, as one, to survey her, taking her in from head to toe with a single glance.
“That’s right, he’s married,” Meghan added, in a sickly-sweet tone. “He’s finally off the market.”
As Ryan answered the barrage of questions aimed his way, Meghan turned her attention to Matilda.
“My parents stay in touch with Ryan’s. And according to them, only last month, he was as single as a Pringle.”
Matilda shrugged. “Maybe they were mistaken.”
“I don’t think so. You say y’all are married?”
“That’s right.” She held up her left hand to show Meghan the ring.
“Where’s the diamond?”
“We prefer simple,” Matilda replied.
“Huh.”
“Were you and Ryan friends in high school?”
Meghan crossed her arms and spun to look at Ryan while she spoke. “You could say that, I suppose. We spent time together.”
“Did you date?”
“All through senior year.”
“Oh really? He never mentioned you.”
Meghan’s keen eyes were fixed once again on Matilda’s face. Green and catlike, they didn’t miss a thing. “Never? I wonder why.”
“I don’t know. Perhaps he didn’t think to say anything.”
“Well, you certainly hit the jackpot.”
Matilda frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He’s tall, handsome, wealthy, and kind. What more could a girl want? I hope you deserve him.”
“Wealthy? I’m not sure I’d call him wealthy.” He was a handyman who lived on Jackson Lake. His house was admittedly quite nice but certainly not a mansion. And he was doing it up himself. Would a wealthy man do that?
“He owns the biggest construction company in several counties. I’d consider that wealthy.”
“He owns…. Of course. You’re right. He’s clearly wealthy.” Matilda stumbled over the words. She’d give them away if she wasn’t careful. They had to believe she and Ryan were married, or she’d have failed to uphold her end of the deal. He’d done so much for her, helping her. The least she could do is not put her foot in it.
Meghan eyed her suspiciously. “You sound like you have no idea what he does for a living.”
Matilda laughed nervously. “Do I? How funny. I can be such a ditz.”
She grabbed Ryan by the arm and pulled him away from the crowd of women. “Come on, honey, let’s get some fried things. The Oreos, cheese sticks, and Snickers bars look interesting. I’m dying to try them. And what on earth is funnel cake?”
He stumbled after her, then pulled her close so that she was pressed up against his chest. He looked deep into her eyes then leaned down to kiss her on the tip of her nose, ever so gently. It sent a tremor through her.
“Thank you for rescuing me,” he whispered.
“You’re welcome,” she replied.
They marched off together, hand in hand, towards the foot stalls.