Page 68 of Faking It with my Small Town Billionaire

“Yes, the suspense is killing me,” Ellie added.

“All right,” I began, taking a deep breath. “Well, the fact is, Orson and I are not actually married.”

“What?” Martha, Ellie, and Jasmine all said together.

“You’re not?” Jasmine balked.

“No. We’re not. We do feel guilty for not telling you sooner,” I continued.

“For lying to us, is that what you mean?” Jasmine said, her face a picture of disgust.

“Yes, for lying. But it’s a long story.”

“I ain’t going nowhere,” Jasmine piped up again.

Clearly, we were not going to get off lightly, so, between us, Orson and I explained the whole thing.

In the end, my sisters were gawking at me. “You sneaky, deceitful little…” Martha gasped.

“I know. But you know what? It’s all worked out in the end,” I said with a coy smile.

“And what if it hadn’t?” Jasmine cried.

“We understand that you’re probably angry with us,” Orson said calmly. “And we do feel bad. Which is why we’re telling you now.”

For a minute, the three of them didn’t seem to have anything to say. It was a lot to take in, and they obviously needed time to process it. But not long after that, Jasmine eyed me across the room. “So, are you guys actually going to get married?”

I smiled widely at her. “Yes. We are.”

“Like, for real?” She gave me a look and a playful smirk.

I laughed at her. “Yes, Jasmine. For real. We’ve even set the date. We’re getting married on the fifth of May next year.”

“But that’s eight months away,” Ellie cried.

“We’ve decided we want to get to know each other before we get married,” Orson added. “Besides, we want you to be there, too.”

“Oh, so you’re not going to just disappear this time?” Martha said sarcastically.

“Listen, if you don’t want to come…” I began.

“No, we do. We do,” Ellie cut in excitedly.

“Good. Then put it in your diary.”

Which brings us back to today. The day I’m standing on the lawn of Arlington House in my stunningly beautiful wedding dress with both of our families behind us. And they’re all who are present.

Of course, I would have loved it if Mom could be here, but it would just be too distressing for her. Instead, I have Ellie, Martha, Gerry, and Jasmine and her children. Orson has Arthur, his Mom and Dad, and Jake and Tara.

His mom was a little upset that we didn’t want a huge celebration, but Orson told her that for this occasion, he was going to make his own choices. From what I hear, she didn’t like that too much, either, but she’s here, so I suppose that’s a blessing.

Orson compromised a little by allowing a photographer to take a few pictures. They’ll end up in Business Insider or some other big business magazine, and his mom can have the limelight she’s looking for.

As I stand here now, with the pastor reciting the end of our wedding ceremony, I look up at Orson with a huge smile on my face. He’s looking back at me with so much love in his eyes.

Now, I know the man standing beside me. We’ve spent eight more months getting to know who we are as individuals and as a couple, and I couldn’t be more delighted with the person I have chosen to spend the rest of my life with. I didn’t think a happily ever after would happen for me, but Willow Creek is slowly picking itself up, my business is thriving again, and I have the man of my dreams by my side.

“You may now kiss the bride,” the pastor says.

“This is the part I’ve been waiting for,” Orson murmurs, bending his head towards me.

His lips meet mine, and behind us, I hear whooping and clapping, but the sound slowly fades as I melt into his arms. There’s nothing and no one but us. We are bound forever, and as a serene bliss—mixed with the excitement his kiss elicits—swirls around my entire body, I cannot imagine I will ever feel happier than this moment.

I know I will; I just can’t imagine it.