Chapter 2

Julian is silent for a moment.

Then his voice turns serious. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Which Marriage Bureau?" I give him the address.

"I'm coming."

The call ends.

No lecture, no questions about Ethan, and no demand for an explanation. Just a simple answer.

I put my phone down.

Ethan walks over. "Claire, stop being ridiculous."

I look up at him. "What?"

"This." He gestures toward the waiting area. "If we can't do it today, we'll do it another day."

I stare at him. "You canceled the appointment."

"I know."

"You hid it from me until it was almost too late."

"I know."

"All your friends knew."

He sighs. "Claire."

"And now I'm the one being ridiculous?"

"It was a joke."

"Was I supposed to laugh?"

"You're acting like I said I'd never marry you."

He reaches for my hand, but I pull it back.

Tyler walks over with his phone pointed at me. "Come on, Claire. Look at the camera."

I raise my hand to block it.

He laughs. "Don't hide now. You were pretty tough a minute ago."

Ethan finally frowns. "Tyler, enough."

Tyler lowers the phone slightly. "Relax. I'm not posting it."

Ethan doesn't tell him to delete anything.

Instead, he takes a bottle of water from a bag and hands it to me. "Drink something."

I don't take it.

He notices the clasp on my bracelet is loose and reaches down to fix it.

His friends immediately start cheering.

"There we go."

"Claire's done being mad."

"Ethan always knows how to calm her down."

Ethan leans closer and lowers his voice. "I never said I wasn't marrying you. I just wanted you to understand that after we're married, you still need your own life."

I look at him. "You publicly humiliate me, then you fix my bracelet, and I'm supposed to thank you?"

I continue, "You arrange the joke, then you comfort me afterward."

His expression darkens. "Why are you making it sound like that?"

"Because that's what you do."

One of his friends laughs awkwardly. "Claire, you've been with Ethan for three years. You two barely even fight."

Ethan gives a small laugh. "She can't stay mad at me."

Tyler perks up. "How long?"

Ethan thinks about it. "Three hours, maybe."

Everyone laughs.

"She'll text me tonight asking if I ate."

He sounds almost proud.

Tyler points at me. "See? Ethan knows you better than anyone."

Another friend asks, "What's the longest she ever stayed mad?"

Ethan thinks for a second.

"One night, I told her a party ended at ten." He smiles. "She drove through a storm to pick me up."

I remember that night immediately.

The rain was so heavy I could barely see the road. I waited outside the bar for hours, but Ethan never showed up.

He had changed locations and forgotten to tell me.

When he finally answered after midnight, I drove across town to get him. I didn't yell or cry. I just asked whether he was cold.

Ethan laughs. "She didn't even get mad."

His friends look impressed.

"That's crazy."

"So she really would do anything for you."

All those moments I thought proved how much I loved him only taught him one thing: I had no limit.

I look at Ethan. "You really think I'll always come back?"

He smiles. "Yes."

No hesitation.

I nod once. "Good to know."

My phone buzzes.

A message from Julian appears on the screen.

I'm on my way.

I read it, then lock my phone.

Ethan notices. "Who are you texting?"

"No one you need to worry about."

Tyler laughs. "Oh, she's really doing the fake replacement groom thing."

Megan forces a smile. "Claire, come on. We know you're bluffing."

Ethan's expression relaxes again.

Of course it does.

He still thinks this is another argument he can wait out. Another three hours, another apology, another night where I ask if he ate dinner.

He has no idea this time is different.