Merritt did the same, taking the ring from Adelia, sliding it onto Gus’s finger. “This ring is a symbol of my love and faithfulness.”
She didn’t look him in the eye when she said it. Instead, she held his hand in hers, rubbing her thumb over the ring. Tears burned her eyes, fighting to escape. Had she really gone through with this?
“Augustus and Merritt, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, I now declare you to be husband and wife. Congratulations! You may kiss your bride.”
Oh my gosh! This is it. Gus reached out and lifted her chin until she looked at him. He brushed away a lone tear that had escaped from her eye and focused on her lips. It was him swallowing hard this time as he leaned closer and pressed his mouth to hers.
His lips were soft and gentle as he kissed her with the perfect amount of pressure to get the blood pumping through her veins. She unintentionally moved closer, resting her palm on his chest, tilting her head as she returned his kiss. And when he pulled away, she was disappointed his lips hadn’t lingered on hers a bit longer.
His gaze remained fixed on her mouth as he leaned closer again, like he might go in for another kiss, but she came to her senses and stepped back just in time.
“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Schultz.”
Merritt tried not to cringe at that, but she couldn’t help it.
They all signed the marriage license to make it official, and the two of them walked toward the exit of the building as husband and wife.
The moment the doors opened, cameras flashed, and the small gathering of paparazzi threw out questions left and right.
“Gus, is it true you’re married?”
“Where did you two meet?”
“Will you live here or in Michigan?”
Merritt had gone places with Adelia plenty of times, so she was no stranger to how this usually went, but she’d never been the one the cameras were focused on.
Gus wound his fingers through hers and squeezed.
“Give us a little privacy, will you?” Gus asked politely. “It’s an important day, and we’d like to enjoy it. So, take a few pictures and then be on your way.” He was firm and levelheaded, like he’d dealt with them plenty of times before.
Gus stopped halfway down the steps and slid his arm around behind her, drawing her into his side, and put on a smile that looked sincere. Merritt tried to smile in the same way, but she wasn’t sure she pulled it off.
Giovanni walked past them then with Adelia on one arm and Whitney on the other.
“Adelia! How do you feel about Gus’s marriage?”
“Fans will be disappointed that it wasn’t the two of you getting hitched.”
Adelia didn’t respond, and Merritt wondered what was behind that. Had Adelia and Gus been an item in the past?
But before she could dwell on that for too long, Gus turned her to face him and leaned in, pressing his lips softly against hers. Unexpected chills ran down her spine at the contact.
He pulled away and leaned close to her ear, turning so nobody could see his lips move. “Just giving them something to put on the cover of their magazines.”
She turned so her mouth was next to his ear. “You could’ve warned me.”
He shrugged his shoulders and took her hand, leading her to the black Cadillac Escalade waiting for them. The drive to her apartment was quiet. She spent the entire time either staring out the window or admiring the bouquet of white orchids and plumeria in her hands.
When Gus pulled up to her apartment building, she quickly climbed out without giving him a chance to get out and open the door for her. “Give me three hours. You can come back and get me then.” Gus had agreed to take her home after the wedding so she could have some time to herself and start packing for the move to Malibu.
“Okay.” He nodded, and she shut the door and walked toward the building entrance.
As he drove away, she couldn’t stop thinking what a strange wedding day this was. She was alone at her place in Santa Monica while he went to Adelia’s to wait.
Definitely not the wedding day she imagined she would one day have.
After changing out of her dress, Merritt pulled out her suitcases and a couple of plastic tubs and began packing the things she knew she’d need right away. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and stopped. Her hair was still twisted back with the orchid tucked inside, which looked too fancy for the tank top and khaki shorts she was now sporting. And the gigantic diamond on her ring finger definitely looked extravagant with her ensemble.
She was now a wife. Gus Schultz’s wife! Just the idea of it made her want to laugh and then cry. But she had to remember that this was about getting her company where she wanted it to be.
After Merritt had gathered her things and stacked them near the door, she grabbed her phone. She hadn’t spoken to her parents in a month, but this definitely warranted a phone call.
“You never told us you were dating someone,” her mom said at the news.
“It was kind of a whirlwind romance.” She wasn’t sure what else to say. Per their agreement, she wasn’t allowed to tell anyone that their marriage wasn’t real. The only people who knew were Adelia and Giovanni, who had both signed an NDA. Not even Whitney knew, but she was too wrapped up in the romanticism of it all to notice the reality of the situation anyway.
“Tell me about your husband,” Mom said.
Merritt shook her head as she reclined on a chair on her balcony. Her husband. That sounded so weird. She held up her hand, admiring the ring as it sparkled in the sun. “His name is Gus. We met through Adelia Allen.”
“It’s still hard to believe you’re friends with someone famous.”
“Actually, my new husband is pretty well known too.”
“Is that so?”
“His family owns Schultz Chocolate.”
Her mom coughed on the other end of the phone like she was choking on something.
“Are you okay, Mom?”
“Yeah, sorry. My drink went down the wrong tube.” She cleared her throat. “Did you say Schultz Chocolate? As in my favorite, Granny’s Truffles?”
“The very one.”
“Oh my goodness. When do we get to meet him?”
“I’m not sure. We have to go to his brother’s wedding next month. I’ll have to let you know.”
“Well, Schultz Chocolate is based in Grand Rapids, right? That isn’t too far away from us. Next time you come to town, you’ll have to drive down to Kalamazoo for the day and introduce us. Your dad will be thrilled to meet him.”
Merritt rolled her eyes, thankful that her mom couldn’t see her. She knew the only thing Dad would be interested in was hearing about how much money Gus’s family had, and she hoped he wouldn’t say anything embarrassing.
Ruth Christianson had rose-colored glasses when it came to her husband, Ned. Most of the time, she thought he could do no wrong. But Ruth was truly the good one in the relationship. It had been Ruth who first decided to take in foster children over the years and Ruth who wanted to adopt Merritt when she was a year old. If it hadn’t been for her, Merritt might have stayed in the system her whole life. She owed a lot to her mom, but she gave little credit to Ned for her upbringing. A lifelong factory worker, mostly working third shift, he slept during the day and worked at night, so she barely saw him. He had been the provider, working hard to keep a roof over their heads, constantly worried about the money. Merritt wished she had a close relationship with her dad, that he would’ve been there for more of the milestones of her life, but that wasn’t how things were in their family.