3

Gianna’s POV

The bar was called The SuAve Room. It was a small place, tucked between a bakery and a bookstore with dim lighting. I chose it because it was far from my family's usual haunts and anyone who might recognize me.

Maria, Lucia, Sofia and Chiara were with me. They had dressed up, done their makeup, tried to make it look like a real bachelorette party.

I sat at the bar, nursing a whiskey and watched the door because so far I have not seen anyone decent enough to marry. I’m desperate, not stupid.

The plan was simple: Find a decent man. Convince him to marry me.

But the bar was almost empty and the men who were here did not look promising. Either they are too old or drunk or just too married.

I was on my second whiskey when the door opened. He walked in like he owned the place. Tall, broad shouldered, wearing a dark suit that looked wildly out of place in a bar like this. His hair was dark, swept back from his face and a jaw that supermodels buy from doctors.

He didn’t look around or scan the room for familiar faces. He simply walked to the bar, sat down three stools away from me and ordered a whiskey neat.

I stared at him. He was beautiful and exactly what I needed.

I finished my whiskey, ordered another and waited for the right moment. It came sooner than I expected.

"You have been staring at me for ten minutes," he muttered in a deep voice that made me lick my lips. Fucking fuck. He sounds like those men that read smut.

I nearly choked on my drink. "I was not —"

"You were." He turned then, his dark eyes meeting mine. "You have been staring at every man who walks through that door like he might be your salvation. You are not here for the whiskey. You are here for something else."

I opened my mouth, then closed it. There was no point denying it.

"I need to get married," I blurted out without thinking and he didn’t even look shocked.

"Tonight," I added for emphasis. "There is a twenty-four-hour courthouse about twenty minutes from here. I have the paperwork. I just need someone to sign it."

He was quiet for a long moment then he nodded slowly as if he had made a decision. And he believes that I belong to a psychiatry.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Gianna."

"Gianna what?"

"Just Gianna for now." I held up a hand showing him the certificate knowing fully well he hasn’t agreed yet. "I am not telling you my last name. Not until after the ceremony."

"Why?"

"Because you might know my family. And if you know my family, you might change your mind."

His lips curved slightly. "That is not reassuring."

"It is not meant to be."

He studied me for a moment longer. Then he picked up the pen the bartender had left on the counter and signed his name on the certificate. I stared at the name and the beautiful penmanship of his signature. Rafael.

I stared at the paper, my heart pounding. "You—"

"Let’s go." He stood, sliding the certificate toward me. "You said there is a courthouse twenty minutes from here."

I grabbed the paper, nearly falling off my stool. "You are serious?"

"I don’t sign things I am not serious about." He pulled a bill from his wallet and left it on the bar. "Come on."

I followed him outside, my heart racing as I signaled to my friends and cousins who were staring at my (new hehehe) husband with their jaws on the floor. I gave them a wave then rushed after his tall suited figure.

***

The courthouse was a squat brick building on the edge of Cedar Hollow, its windows dark except for a single fluorescent light flickering in the lobby. Rafael parked the car and turned off the engine and fr a moment none of us moved.

"Last chance to change your mind," I said, my voice smaller than I intended.

He turned to me, his dark eyes unreadable in the dim light. "Do you want me to change my mind?"

"No."

"Then let us go."

He got out of the car and walked around to open my door. I stepped out and followed him up the steps to the entrance.

The clerk inside was a middle aged woman with reading glasses perched on her nose and an expression that suggested she had seen far stranger things than a disheveled couple getting married at three in the morning.

"Marriage license?" She asked, her voice almost annoyed though she kept eying Rafael.

I handed her the paperwork. She glanced at it, stamped it and slid it back across the counter. "Congratulations," she said in a tone that suggested she could not care less. "You can use the chapel down the hall. It is empty."

The chapel was small with wooden pews and a simple altar and a window that looked out at the empty parking lot. Rafael stood beside me, his hands clasped in front of him, his expression calm. I wonder if he was nervous about marrying a stranger. There’s thus odd gleam in his eyes but I am desperate at this point.

"Ready?" He asked with a heartstopping smiling. I nodded, not trusting my voice.

The clerk who had followed us and was now serving as witness cleared her throat. "We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in matrimony. Do you, Rafael, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." His deep voice echoed.

"Do you, Gianna, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

I swallowed hard. "I do."

"By the power vested in me by the Lord, I now pronounce you husband and wife." The clerk paused, glancing between us. "You may kiss the bride."

Rafael turned to me. I expected a quick kiss or a brush of lips to seal the deal. But he didn’t move quickly. He reached up and cupped my face in his hands, his palms warm against my cheeks, eyes searching mine as if asking permission.

I didn’t know what to do so I just stood there frozen as he leaned in.

The kiss was gentle at first. His lips brushed against mine like he was testing the waters like he was asking a question I did not know how to answer. But then something changed.

His hands slid to the back of my neck, pulling me closer and the kiss deepened. His mouth moved against mine with a confidence that made my knees weak and I found myself leaning into him, my hands gripping the lapels of his suit jacket like he was the only solid thing in the world.

He tasted like whiskey and danger. His tongue brushed against my lower lip and I made a sound I had not meant to make. A small, desperate thing that seemed to please him and make him groan right back. A groaner? Fuck!

He pulled me closer still, one hand sliding down my back, the other tangling in my hair.

I forgot where I was. I forgot everything except the feel of his mouth on mine, the warmth of his solid body against me and the way he kissed me like I was his salvation.

When he finally pulled away, I was breathless.

"That was..." I could not finish because my lips feel swollen.

"Yes," he agreed, his voice low and rough. "It was."

The clerk cleared her throat again, more pointedly this time. "If you are quite finished, I have other things to attend to."

Rafael's lips twitched. "Of course."

He took my hand and led me out of the chapel, out of the courthouse and into the cool night air.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I looked at him, at his dark eyes and his sharp jaw and the way he was watching me like I was the only thing in the world worth seeing. Oh God.

“Yeah," I answered suddenly shy.

He nodded then opened the car door for me. "Let’s find somewhere to stay."