Hannah slid the folded piece of paper out of her notebook again. The letter had been harder to write than expected. Still, she felt good about the decision, Will or not. Brian hadn’t texted, and enough time had passed that any texts would feel awkward and delayed. He’d said his piece and owned it. Something like pride swelled in her chest. He’d grown a lot from the young barista she’d known and fell for, but not enough—never enough. After their argument, Hannah couldn’t help but acknowledge that he’d probably felt the same way about her for the same amount of time. Neither of them was quite good enough for the other, their edges always jabbing each other instead of smoothly sliding together. She knew what he would think when he heard she was married—what she would assume in the reverse situation. No one deserved to think they’d been cheated on.  

She raised her hand to knock but dropped it to her side for the second time, acutely aware that she was making herself late for her own wedding. She still needed to get uptown in heels and a dress. Brian wasn’t home—at least, there was no reason he would be home. On Tuesdays, he went to the gym after work and then spent an inordinate number of hours playing Call of Duty or one of those other inane shooter games with his buddies. As ridiculous as she found it, Hannah had enjoyed the predictability. Finally, she knocked. She’d wait ten seconds, tape up the note, and be done with it. Eight... nine...

A stirring behind the door, a rattle of a doorknob, and then Brian stood in front of her in his standard uniform of jeans and a graphic T-shirt, this one reading The cake is a lie. His eyes narrowed at the sight of her, but he didn’t close the door in her face.

“You weren’t kidding,” he said, his voice unusually gruff and his eyes taking in the white dress. “I always imagined you with a subtler engagement ring.”

She tucked her hand against her side. Words escaped her. No version of this scenario had involved Brian being home. Had she even considered it, she wouldn’t have worn the ring and might have tried to cover the dress. “I wasn’t expecting you to be home.”

Could she have said something more banal? What was wrong with her? At least her voice had been steady, and she was pleased to note her heart still thrummed at its regular beat.

“I took a few days off.” Brian shifted his weight between legs but didn’t move from his blockade of the doorway.

She paused. Brian usually saved all his PTO for actual vacations, particularly his annual trip to San Diego for Comic-Con, where he fanboyed for three days. Hannah chanced a real look at him—heavy five-o’clock shadow, unkempt hair, wrinkled clothes. It was nothing she hadn’t seen from him before, especially the opening weekend of a new game, but she always had advance notice about releases, and he hadn’t mentioned one. A high-pitched, badly accented “yippee” came from inside the apartment. He was playing Mario Kart. He only played Mario Kart on his darkest days. 

She stuffed the letter into his hand, ignoring the flutter in her stomach. “This will... well, I hope you’ll read it.”

He opened the folded sheet, his fingers brushing against the Wilderness Weekend tickets she had taped to the lower half. “These were a gift.”

“I know, but after everything... You can resell them, probably for a lot of money,” she said, trying to calculate how late she would be. Kate knew she was coming and wouldn’t let Will think otherwise.

He skimmed the page in front of him, his countenance giving nothing away. He looked up, refolding the paper, the Wilderness tickets in his hand. “Keep them.”

“Are you—no, I can’t.” She pushed them back into his hand, regret already filling her as she did it. She wanted those tickets. She would have to pay triple the face value to get them after this. Her phone vibrated in her purse, not for the first time. She pulled it out, mainly as a distraction from watching Brian stare down at the tickets he had worked so hard to get. Shit. There were two messages from Kate already and one from Will.

She gripped her phone. “I really have to go.”

Brian nodded, a funny look spreading across his face, somewhere between nostalgic and forlorn. His mouth quirked at the corners, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Good luck, Hannah.”

She stepped back from the doorway. “Goodbye, Brian.”

Chapter 13Will

She was here. In white. For their wedding. Sweat beaded at Will’s temple. Kate’s reassurances that Hannah was just running a little late had done nothing to quell the terror that she’d changed her mind, that he’d lost her before he ever had her. Hannah hated to be late, often chastising him for what she called “Will-time”—plus or minus thirty minutes to any arrival time, on a good day. She appeared calm—a bit harried from rushing, but he couldn’t sense any doubt in her. Her smile brightened as she listened to Eddie’s story of how he came to be a registered minister during pledging freshmen year and how that had earned him “Rev” as his pledge name. Hannah slipped her hand into Will’s, squeezing lightly, and Eddie straightened his shoulders. Kate graciously accepted Hannah’s small bouquet of paper flowers—a surprise gift from Hannah’s sister. Will looked between his friends, once the most important pieces of his life. Maybe life really was cyclical.

“Are you okay?” Hannah asked, leaning into him.

He brought their entwined hands up to his lips, kissing her left hand where shortly a wedding band would rest. Her gaze remained sharp and tinted with concern.

“Never better, Abbott.”

“Hey now,” Eddie said, cupping his hand over theirs. “Save that for the finale.”

Will hadn’t told him the whole truth or, rather, any of the truth. Eddie would’ve still married them out of respect for his friendship with Will. Brothers didn’t deny brothers unless drugs, death, or physical harm were involved. Will had assured him that it wasn’t a shotgun situation, but Eddie wasn’t stupid. He’d been there the day Madison and Jon’s affair rocked the Thornes. He’d been there in the months after. So even if he didn’t know about Hannah and Will’s arrangement, he knew enough.

“Ladies and gentleman,” Eddie began, his eyes comically sweeping over each of them. “We are gathered here today to witness the union of Will and Hannah, two of the best people I know. To know them is to love them, and though Will and Hannah haven’t been together all that long, I’m not surprised that we’re standing here today. If you search your hearts, I suspect you aren’t surprised either.”

Will wondered if Eddie had expected more people. Eddie had personalized his opening, and though he was only talking to Kate and Stephanie, who Will hadn’t even known was coming, his speech still sounded as if he spoke to a room full of people. He wasn’t being glib either. Eddie, for all they’d razzed on him in college, took marrying people very seriously. Once, after too many beers, Eddie had explained that, in some way, he felt a responsibility for the couples he married, be they friends, family, or friends of family.  

“Marriage is a risk, a leap of faith, perhaps more so than any other choice in your life. Because it is a choice. Will, Hannah, you two are choosing each other, choosing to embrace and strengthen and grow the love you have for each other. Now,” he said, pausing to give the couple a knowing smirk, “you just have to continue to choose each other for the rest of your lives.”

Will caught Hannah’s eye. They were as golden as ever, hinting that her mood was at the very least still good and calm.

She broke away from him, turning the full power of her smile on Eddie. “Easy-peasy.”

“Easy-peasy indeed.” Eddie held up his hand, and Hannah high-fived him without hesitation.

This. This was why he loved her, had always loved her. She had high-fived the officiant—friend or not. Hannah made stories in everything she did. Their wedding story would already be unique, but now, it would be fun. It would have personality. It would perhaps stand out enough to make everyone believe in their love.

“Now, Will, if you would please repeat after me: I, William, take you, Hannah, to be my lawfully wedded wife.”

The words shattered Will’s resolve to appear as close to neutral about the situation as he could. His breath caught in his chest, his heart raced, and his voice trembled. Hannah was all he could see—strands of light-brown hair falling across her cheeks from the wind, the curve of her lips as she smiled at him. It had always been and would always be Hannah. How had he ever thought differently?

Chapter 14Hannah

“To love and honor you for all the days of my life.” The words reverberated through her body, sinking into her skin and bones. Most people imagined saying something akin to those words while standing in front of family and friends and professing their complete love for another person.

At the start of the ceremony, she’d felt playful. The train ride across the city and the power walk up the High Line—in heels, no less, which had done her knee no favors—had boosted her confidence. Things with Brian were settled. The ceremony represented the start of a new path, unconventional though it may be. Under that excitement, she was a pile of nerves. When Eddie had talked about choosing each other, Hannah understood, maybe for the first time, that that was exactly what love was really about. Those buried emotions had bubbled under the surface and, god, she had high-fived Eddie. Will had clearly thought it was cute. But it was more than that—the high-five had loosened the reins, and the levity of the moment hit her. It was her wedding.

For better or for worse, today would always be a part of Hannah’s story. Today mattered. And it wasn’t how she ever expected, but standing there, hands interlocked with Will’s, Kate and Stephanie at her side, in her favorite spot in her city, it was perfect. Will’s vows, whether they were ones he had found or written himself, had been flawless. Instead of talking about unconditional love, they spoke of encouragement and support and laughter—all things that couples shared but also things that Will and Hannah had once shared and would share again. As she had repeated the vows, her eyes locked on Will’s, they weren’t a lie. She did promise to encourage him, to support him, and to always be open and honest with him, because they had been best friends. And in their friendship, there was no other way to be.

Hannah shifted her weight, trying to find a comfortable position for her knee in her heels. But it had been too long since she’d worn real heels, and she’d walked much too far. She’d known better.

“Are you okay?” Will whispered, turning a concerned eye toward her.

Perfect. She’d been late, and now her stupid knee was upending the ceremony. “It’s fine. It’s just heels and I don’t get along that well.”

“Here.” Kate pulled out a pair of rolled-up flats from her clutch. “I had a feeling you were going to need these.”

Stephanie snickered—the same sound she’d made when Hannah had arrived in the heels. Her exact words as she pulled her into a hug had been “You finally agree to wear heels today of all days?” So maybe Hannah had put up a fight about anything higher than a kitten heel for Stephanie’s wedding, but this was hers.

Hannah slipped the flats onto her feet, expecting them to be jokingly large—Kate wore shoes two sizes bigger than hers—but no, Kate had gotten these special. “Thank you!”  

She chanced a look at Will. He had his hands in his pockets and the same amused grin she’d seen on him a million times before—his “only Hannah” grin. Except now, in light of the information she’d gleaned from Kate’s cryptic warning, Hannah didn’t know how to take that smile. Her whole understanding of Will was being colored by Kate’s admission, up to and including the marriage pact she’d so blithely agreed to all those years ago. Most people who made marriage pacts ended up in relationships. At least, that’s what the internet said. Had Will’s plan been to make the pact and woo her after Europe? He couldn’t have planned for Paul. Only Hannah would travel halfway around the world and come back with a boyfriend from her hometown.

Eddie cleared his throat, and Hannah straightened, relinking her hands with Will’s. She mouthed “I’m sorry,” but Will only shrugged before directing his gaze back to Eddie.

“The rings?”

Rings? Married people had wedding bands, but there must be some protocol for ringless weddings. Wedding tattoos were all the rage now, right? Wouldn’t Will have prepped Eddie for that? But no, Eddie looked at them expectantly.

“Oh, right.” Will took a tiny box out of his suit pocket. It was that particular shade of purple associated with one of the city’s finest jewelers.

Eddie took the box without a word, handing a ring to Hannah. It was thin and flat—not curved—and was most likely made of platinum, or maybe titanium. It would look good on Will. She attempted to peek at the ring in Will’s hand, but he shielded it from her view.