Chapter 1
My attempts to marry Ethan Ward had been derailed exactly seven times.
The first time, Peyton threw him a "surprise" party, and he was too hungover to make our City Hall appointment.
The second time, she got into a minor fender bender and hysterically convinced him her neck was broken. He rode with her in the ambulance.
The third time, right as we were signing the papers, she swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills over a bad breakup. Ethan literally carried her to the ER.
Fourth time, fifth time... it was Peyton. Every single time.
"Hurry up, Diana! This is the eighth time!" my best friend, Mia, shouted frantically. "There are only fifteen minutes left before City Hall locks their system at 5 PM sharp. Let's get this over with!"
We were just about to walk through the doors when a voice called out from the backseat of Ethan's car. It was Peyton Reed, his childhood best friend. Again.
"Wait a second! My lucky charm bracelet broke. I need to restring it."
Ethan stopped walking.
"Okay. No rush," he said.
Peyton kept her head down, fiddling with the red string and little beads, flashing me an innocent smile. "Don't be in such a hurry, Diana. I'll be done in a sec. I got this blessed lucky charm bracelet just for you two. It's supposed to bring luck to your marriage."
Then, as naturally as breathing, she held her clutch out to Ethan. "Hold this for me?"
He took it without a word.
The buzzing crowd of our friends went dead silent. Everyone exchanged awkward, pitying looks.
I stared at him, swallowing my anger. "Ethan, the system at the marriage bureau locks automatically at 5 PM. If we go in right now, we can just make it."
Ethan frowned, looking slightly annoyed by my pressure. "I'm already here, Diana. A few minutes won't kill us."
I looked at him standing by the car, patiently waiting for Peyton to fix her stupid string, and I suddenly laughed.
I pulled out my phone and quickly typed out a message:
[You once said if my eighth attempt at getting married failed, I should give you a chance.]
[Get to City Hall before 5 PM.]
A second after I hit send, my phone buzzed.
Just one word: Okay.
I stared at the screen for a beat, then locked it.
The digital clock outside City Hall flashed 4:46 PM. Fourteen minutes until the doors locked.
Mia gripped my arm, panicking. "Diana, we can't wait anymore."
"Remember last time? You froze outside all day, and missed the cutoff by five minutes. We need time to fill out the paperwork and show our IDs. If you don't go in right now, today is a total bust."
One of Ethan's groomsmen chimed in. "Come on, Ethan, just go inside. You can fix the bracelet later. Getting hitched is kind of the priority here."
Even the security guard by the entrance called out.
"Last call for marriage licenses! The system locks at 5 PM sharp. Once it's down, you're out of luck, folks."
Every single pair of eyes shifted to Ethan Ward.
He was still holding Peyton's phone for her.
Peyton kept her head down, her fingers slowly twisting the loose threads of a lucky charm bracelet.
"Ethan, is this knot right? Can you check it for me?"
Ethan nodded at her. "Yeah, that's it."
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "Ethan. Do you even realize what today is?"
A brief flash of guilt crossed his face. "Diana, relax. I know what time it is. We'll make it."
We'll make it?
This was the eighth time we had scheduled to get our marriage license. The eighth.
Every single time we were supposed to do this, Peyton had a sudden "emergency." And every single time, Ethan put our wedding on hold for her.
The red numbers on the City Hall clock flashed again. 4:48 PM.
Mia gripped my wrist tight. "Diana, twelve minutes. We seriously cannot wait anymore."
I nodded slowly, then locked eyes with Ethan.
"Ethan Ward. You are walking into that building with me right now."
He finally looked up. Annoyance flashed in his eyes.
"Diana, can you stop nagging me for one second?" he snapped.
"I told you we're not going to miss it. Why are you freaking out over a few minutes? Peyton is fixing this blessed charm bracelet so our marriage has good luck."
"Could you please just be a little mature about this?"
Peyton chimed in. "He's right, Diana. Ethan and I drove all the way out of town to get this blessed for you two. It’s supposed to protect your marriage."
She sighed, looking down at the strings. "It snapped today. If I don't fix it before you sign the papers, it’s bad luck! What if things go wrong between you guys later? I'm just looking out for you."
Ethan let out a heavy sigh, looking at me like I was the unreasonable one. "Diana, drop it. Stop making a scene."
Making a scene?
I actually laughed out loud.
So, in his eyes, Peyton holding up an entire group of people to twist some strings wasn't making a scene.
But me wanting to get our marriage license before the office closed? That was.
The digital clock above the doors flashed again. 4:49 PM.
Through the glass doors, I could see the clerks packing up their desks, getting ready to lock up.
I closed my eyes and took one long, deep breath to steady my racing heart.
When I opened them, I stared dead at Ethan.
"Ethan," I said, my voice dangerously calm. " I will have a marriage license in my hand before that clock hits 5 PM today. Period."
