“Nothing wrong with losing yourself in something you love.” He nudged her. “Anyway, that will just put us on an even playing field.”
She rested her head on his shoulder and her hand on his thigh. “They are up to twenty-four.”
Thirty minutes later…
“What’s that?” Jude pointed to the small leather-bound notebook Taylor carried.
His hand stilled with the small pencil in it. “That’s the sunroom.”
“Ohh. I like that.”
He watched her smile over his blueprints, and felt happy she liked the plans.
She pointed to another rectangle room on the pad. “What about this room?”
“That’s your library.”
She sat back with her mouth open and looked at him in disbelief. “I get a library?”
With an easygoing grin on his face, he said, “Of course. I have the plans at home, but I like to work on it when I’m out.”
“I can’t believe you’re creating our house.”
“So you like it so far?”
She kissed his cheek. “I love it.”
They both looked up when an announcement came out overhead. “Thirty-one.”
Forty-five minutes later…
Jude slid down in her chair, her arms hanging over and her legs straight out. “They sure do know how to suck the fun out of getting married.”
Taylor tapped her leg, then bent over and rested his forearms on his knees. “Not much longer. I can feel it.” With his body stationed, he lifted his gaze up to the number board. Forty-seven.
Thirty-eight minutes later…
“Fifty-five,” Taylor said, shaking Jude. “That us.”
“Thank God!”
“I thank God every day,” he added, taking her hand.
They turned in their number and were escorted down a short hall to a small room and told to wait.
In that moment, they looked at each other but the moment seemed to have stolen their voices.
Three minutes ticked by, the clock on the wall loud. Jude finally said, “I have no doubts, just in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t wondering, but is this like reverse psychology where you’re really reassuring yourself?”
She laughed, and it felt so good in the moment. “No, I really meant I have no doubts. We haven’t known each other that long, but I think you said it best when we first met. It feels like we’ve known each other our whole lives.”
Just as he leaned down to kiss her, the door opened and they stepped apart, not used to sharing what they mean to each other in public.
A man in a black robe stopped as if he was walking in on something he shouldn’t, but then he continued and said, “It’s okay to kiss her. She’s about to be your wife, son.” He set a book down on the table in the corner and introduced himself. Looking at the young couple, he went through his standard protocol. “So you want to get married?”
Taylor answered, “Yes, Sir. We do.”
He smiled, then looked at Jude. She returned a sweet smile, and squeezed his hand. “Yes. I very much want to marry him.”
“Very good. I reviewed your papers. Are you ready, Taylor and Judith?”
“We are,” they answered together.
“Repeat after me.” He went through the civil ceremony vows they had chosen.
Facing each other with their hands held tightly together, Jude looked into the eyes she fell in love with, the ones that held hope and possibility, an impossible sexiness. “I, Judith Ann Boehler, take you, Taylor Hazel Barrett, to be my husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward through sorrow and joy, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live.”
The justice reassured her with a nod, then turned his attention to Taylor and repeated the vows that Taylor had memorized already. He faced Jude. “I, Taylor Davis Barrett, take you, Judith Jude Boehler, to be my wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward though sorrow and joy, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live.”
“By the power granted me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Now’s a good time to kiss her, again.”
Jude stared into her own forever, her heart racing, and her chest swelling with love. Taylor cupped Jude’s face and leaned down to her. When their lips were almost touching, her eyes closed, and he whispered, “I will always love you, Jude, and I will always protect you,” and he kissed her.
“YOU’RE A BARRETT now.”
“Shh. I’m not sure what to make of that yet.”
Taylor’s pursed lips slid to the side, and then he said, “So it’s not a good thing?”
“It’s a wonderful thing, but now there are two of us we have to save from a certain fate.”
“Ohh, like attending charity events to be seen, instead of for the cause?”
“Precisely. And as a Barrett, I will never abandon the love for my husband to make an impression on strangers to gain social standing.”
Taylor added, “As a Barrett, you will not only make the world a better place, but my world a better place.”
She smiled, her happiness brighter than the sun. She touched him, not able to not touch him. “I will always be here for you. I promise, as a Barrett.”
He took her hand and kissed each finger. “You already did that as a Boehler.”
“Maybe Barrett is just Boehler 2.0, a better version.”
“I think you were pretty spectacular already.”
“Charmer.”
“You know it.”
An hour later, Taylor was sitting at the bar, watching Jude as she made omelets. “Why do you have to go today?”
“I don’t. But I want to get it over with.” With the spatula pressing down on the eggs in the pan, she turned to look at him. “I’m nervous and my stomach’s upset over this. I just want to get it over with.” Focusing on the food, she turned off the stove, plated their lunch, and joined him.
His hand rubbed her back and brought her closer for a kiss. “You know you don’t have to cook for me all the time.”
“I like to cook for you.”
“I appreciate it. I just want you to know—”
“Eat before it gets cold.”
He took a bite and chewed, savoring the taste. After he swallowed, he asked, “You’re not going to eat?”
“I’ve lost my appetite.”
Taylor set his fork down and rubbed his hands through his hair, then turned his body toward her. “Look, I’ll go with you. It will be easier with both of us there.”
Picking up her fork and knife, she cut a small bite, but right before she ate it, she paused to think through her plans. She needed him safe and if that meant staying here, she would make sure he stayed. “It’s our wedding day. Let’s not ruin it with talk about this. I’ll go tomorrow or the next. There’s no hurry. We’re married now. There’s nothing they can do to hurt me anymore.”
They spent the afternoon between the sheets, marrying their bodies. As they lay on their backs, trying to catch their breath, Jude rolled over and smiled. “I feel like I’ve been let in on a great secret and now I want to tell everyone.”
Taylor smiled despite how exhausted he was. Peeking over at her, he asked, “Are you going to share your secret with me?”
“You’re the one who shared it with me, my love.”
Reaching over, he rubbed her thigh, his fingertips dipping between her legs. “And what’s that?”
She closed her eyes, her body relaxing under his touch. “Sex.” She wriggled so his fingers were closer to where she wanted them. “It’s the greatest secret of all. I can’t believe I waited so long to feel this good.”
His hand stopped moving and his brow furrowed. “Hey, hey now. Let’s not go that far.”
Touching his cheek, she laughed. “I don’t mean it like that. I just mean it feels so amazing. You feel amazing and you will be the only one I will ever feel this way with. That’s even more powerful than the orgasms you give me. And those are pretty damn amazing.”