Chapter Seventeen
Present Day
“You may now kiss the bride.”
The officiant probably had no idea those six words impacted the two people standing in front of him so much. Eve could feel
Madden brace, like he’d been hit by a strong wind. Flutters of various sizes and shapes traveled up her midsection and ran
in chaotic loops around her throat and wow. Wow. She couldn’t help but be glad this wasn’t their first kiss, because at least
she knew it would scramble her senses.
Forewarned is forearmed, wasn’t that the saying?
Besides, Madden wouldn’t kiss her in front of everyone the way he kissed her when they were alone in his grandmother’s house,
right?
Nah.
Eve took a deep breath and faced her husband for the first time.
How did he want to play this?
They probably should have discussed the kiss beforehand. A prolonged peck seemed to be the norm, even for couples who were
planning on the long haul. Real couples, unlike them, who were simply uniting for a while.
That’s how I see you. A little guarded, a lot full of life. Protective of the people you’re looking at, but not willing to let them know too often, because the secret would get out, wouldn’t it? That you’re tough as fuck, but you’re sweet and soft too.
Madden’s speech from the parking lot made back-to-back U-turns in her brain. Part of her wanted to chalk his evaluation of
her up to luck. Ha ha, lucky guess, champ. But no. No, he’d been studying her even closer than she realized, and the fact
that he was still standing there, despite knowing her flaws, made Eve’s knees feel loose and shaky, vulnerable in her entirety.
Especially when he reached for her hip and gripped it, like he’d done it a thousand times before, drawing her forward at the
same time he invaded her space, his mouth dipping down to find hers and fusing them together, his palm sliding into the valley
of her waist. Then around to the small of her back to pull her even closer. Flush with his body. Meaning she had no other
option but to tilt her head back so far—and he caught it, the back of her skull. Cradled it in his free hand, fingers splayed.
Opening his mouth over hers while his other hand slipped just an inch lower to the beginning swell of her bottom. Stepping
closer, even though there was no more space to eliminate.
Mouth slanted over the top of Eve’s, Madden kissed her like no one was watching.
She didn’t expect the carnality of it or to feel the graze of his tongue against her own, so a rough sound slipped out of
her, before she could catch it, her hands flying to the lapels of his jacket, fingers curling into the material to hold herself
up.
It might not be tonight, Eve. But there will be a proper wedding night.
This kiss was the physical version of that statement.
And she didn’t want to acknowledge this, but the fact that they weren’t the only ones in the courthouse while this man tasted her mouth was breathing life into the part of herself she always kept hidden.
The part of herself that was restricted to fantasies she only allowed herself to have while lying in bed by herself at night.
Abruptly, Madden stopped kissing her, but he kept her head cradled in his palm while he settled their foreheads together,
searching her eyes.
“If this goes on any longer, I’ll never be able to leave.”
“And you must.” She sounded like a buzz saw. “There’s no choice . . . right?”
His lips twitched against her mouth. “No, but I’m glad you’re wishing otherwise.”
Eve tried to sound breezy. “Am I?”
“You having fun with my pecs, love?”
Eve dropped her gaze and blinked, discovering her wayward hands were caressing the thick double hill of Madden’s pectoral
muscles, massaging them through the front of his dress shirt. “Just helping you warm up for the game,” she muttered.
“Game’s tomorrow.”
“That’s why I’m being so thorough.” She started to drop her hands, but he caught the right one, bringing her wrist to his
mouth for a kiss, right on top of her erratic pulse.
“That does it. I need a drink,” Veda announced.
“You guys know we’re still here, right?” This, from Elton.
“I’m here too,” said the officiant.
Eve took a giant step back, attempting to fix her hair while Madden watched her in all his characteristic stillness. Observing.
Memorizing.
“We’re supposed to get a certificate, I believe,” Eve prompted the officiant, her fingers clumsy in their attempts to fix
her braid.
“You should get a medal,” Elton pointed out. “Who kisses like that at a wedding?”
“We do,” Madden answered, calmly.
Veda shook her head. “My situationship never kisses me like that.”
“He should.” Elton seemed to startle himself with that comment. “I mean . . .”
The younger woman turned slightly to face Elton. “You mean . . . ?”
Elton looked long and hard at Veda before clearing his throat. Hard. “You don’t happen to have an older sister, do you?”
Veda’s shoulders drooped, but she appeared to force a smile. “I do. You’d love her.” She fluttered her lashes a little maniacally.
“Everyone does.”
Oh boy, Eve thought. Oh boy.
“As soon as we sign the certificate, I have to get on the road,” Madden said in her ear, distracting her. “I’m going to call
the family liaison while I’m driving, so they can get whatever documentation you need for the insurance.”
The reminder of the insurance was good. Well-timed.
She’d almost forgotten why they were really there.
“Thanks, Madden,” Eve said quietly, a few minutes later, as the foursome piled out of the courthouse, Veda and Elton suspiciously
quiet.
“You don’t have to thank me,” Madden said.
“Sorry, my gratitude stands.”
His nod was reluctant, but his eyes held a promise as he climbed into his truck. “I’ll be back soon, Eve,” he said, before
closing the door and starting the engine.
Madden pulled out of his parking spot to reveal Elton on the other side of the truck, getting ready to enter his own vehicle. “I’ll be in town for the night, if you need anything,” he said, winking at Eve. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Eve said dryly. “Come to the club for a drink if you’re bored.”
“I’ll see if I can convince my sister to come too.” Veda pushed through a smile.
“Great,” Elton said, after a beat. “Will your situationship be there?”
“I don’t know! Maybe!”
“Okay!” Elton jerked open the door of his car with a smidgen too much force, smiling back at them with a full mouth of teeth.
“See you later, then.”
Veda and Eve stood side by side in the parking lot, long after both men’s vehicles had disappeared from view.
“It’s been a weird morning,” Veda remarked, sounding a little tired.
“Yeah.”
“We should go to iHop and grub.”
“That’s the best thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Oh yeah?” Veda turned her grin on Eve. “I haven’t given you your wedding present yet.”
“Wedding present?”
Veda rolled her lips inward to wet them. “I know it’s premature, because we haven’t heard back from the inspector yet, but
sue me, I’m an optimist.”
“I don’t like where this is going.”
“Deal with it. I just watched you make out for a full minute with an Irish god and have no current plans to get laid.”
Eve’s tummy muscles cinched up like a pair of handcuffs. “Fine, that’s fair.”
“He wants to impregnate you. You realize that.”
She fanned herself as discreetly as possible. “Stop sidebarring.”
“Fine.” Veda squared her shoulders. “I started the GoFundMe for the Jam Jar at the Gilded Garden. That’s what I’m calling
the music venue for now, by the way.” She rubbed her hands together. “We’ve already raised thirty thousand bucks.”
Disbelief had Eve’s mouth falling open. “Thirty thousand?”
“I told you. Musicians have rich parents who want them out of the house!”
And while Veda commenced dancing the Charleston, belting out “We’re in the Money,” Eve heard her new friend’s singing voice
for the first time.
“Holy shit.”