Troping Through the Snow by Alexa Riley

“Do you need me to sign something?” I ask, trying to steal a peek at whatever it is.

“We’ll get to that, but first…” Judge Banks clears his throat. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of two lives.”

Tinsel and I both gasp, but that doesn’t stop Judge Banks. He goes on with the ceremony, and before I know it, North is pressing a chaste kiss to my lips and then having everyone sign on the dotted lines.

“Where the hell is Grandma’s ring?” Tinsel speaks first after Judge Banks says his goodbyes and leaves the four of us alone. I’m still in shock. He really did it. We got married. “Seriously?!” she snaps.

“This was last minute. I’ll get our rings as soon as we’re out of here,” he tells his sister.

Tinsel cocks her head to the side, and I can tell she wants to say more, but she doesn’t. I bet North will get an earful from her later on. Whatever it is, she doesn’t want to say in front of me. I’m guessing Grandma’s ring is something that’s passed down in their family and now belongs to North.

North didn’t say he’d get me a ring. He said he’d get us rings because the truth is, this isn’t real. It’s the smack of reality that I need because for a moment when I’d stared into North’s eyes and repeated my vows, it felt real, and I let myself get lost in the moment.

I even brushed off his quick kiss because I didn’t think North would be one for PDA. I never thought I would be either, but the idea of North openly showing me affection leaves a longing deep inside my heart. No, I suspect he would only do that for the woman he’ll give his grandmother's ring to. Maybe.

“We should host a celebration at the lodge.” Jack drapes his arm over Tinsel’s shoulder, trying to cut the tension between brother and sister. If anyone can wrangle the two of them, it’s him. Jack is North’s best friend, after all.

“My wife loves Frostie’s cupcakes. You think we could get her to make a cake?” North suggests.

Wife.

He called me his wife, and now it’s starting to sink in that Mayor North is my husband.





CHAPTER 8





NORTH





“Since you’re already hosting the Winter Wonderland Dance on Saturday, why don’t we use that as the announcement?” I say to Jack, who raises an eyebrow at me.

“If that’s what you want,” he agrees, and just as Tinsel is about to interject, Jack takes her by the waist and leads her out of the office. “Why don’t we give the newlyweds some time alone? See ya later!” Jack calls over his shoulder before the two of them practically bolt out of the door.

“Is that okay with you?” I turn to Joy, and I see a million emotions pass across her face before she finally shrugs.

“Yeah, I guess we’ll have to get it over with at some point.”

“Get it over with?” The words taste sour after I say them, and I wonder what’s happened. She seemed happy during the ceremony as we said our vows, but maybe I messed up with the kiss. I didn’t want to embarrass her or push her to do more in front of everyone. I know she can be shy at times, and even though I wanted to take her to the floor and have her all over again, I held on to my control.

“Sorry.” She shakes her head and then looks around the room. “That’s not how I meant that to come out. It’s just been a long day, I guess.” She glances at her watch and then smiles. “I mean morning.”

“We’re closing the office for the day,” I say as I go over to the desk and grab her bag.

“Closing?” She glances around again like the answer will jump out at her. “You can’t just close a city office.”

“If being the mayor doesn’t get me a few advantages, like closing the office on our wedding day, I don’t really know why I’m doing this job,” I tease, and finally I see a hint of a smile as Joy lets me help her put on her coat.

“What on earth are we going to do?”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her all the things I want to do with her, but I decide that maybe she’s feeling awkward about last night and I should go slow. “How about we start with breakfast? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

Just then her stomach growls, and she covers her mouth to keep from laughing.

“Yeah, I think I could eat,” she finally says.

“Then allow me to feed my wife.” I hold out my elbow, and when her hand slides through it, I think to myself how perfectly she fits against me. It’s almost as perfect as how she fits in my heart, but I keep that to myself.

After we go to the diner in town, Joy begins to lose some of her tension from earlier. It’s nice being able to watch her now without having to make an excuse to do so. She’s my wife, and of course I get to stare at her and touch her when I want. People in the diner watch us, and I see a few people whispering, but I’m sure news of our nuptials has already spread like wildfire. The fact that when I got up to pay they told me it was taken care of led me to believe that the talk had already begun.

Once we finished with breakfast, I held Joy’s hand, and we walked to the jewelry store in town. I wasn’t kidding when I told her I was buying bands, and seeing the look of surprise on her face when I pulled her inside, she must have thought it was a joke.