18. Iced
Chapter 18
Iced
To Reece’s great relief, dinner was filled with so much loud chatter about the double wedding and upcoming honeymoons that the few times the focus landed on him or Neve, it didn’t stay there. True to their word, the pair of happy newlyweds didn’t reveal the third newly minted couple sitting at the table, though Reece knew Couple Number Three was living on borrowed time. Secrets didn’t remain hidden for long in this town. His mother kept sending him puzzled looks, as if she knew something was up but couldn’t figure out what. When she got him alone once or twice, her face squished as though questions danced on the tip of her tongue. But if she had something to say, she kept it to herself. He considered it a win, if only a temporary one.
On the way back to Neve’s house, he took his time. The snowflakes had turned fat and fluffy and sheeted the road with a slick layer. His mind once more wandered to people caught out in the elements that needed rescue, stuck like Diane and her son might have been had Neve not spotted them sailing off the road and stopped to lend aid. It pulled at him, like being stuck on the wrong end of a game of tug-of-war … only this rope was braided with guilt. He should be out there, ready to report.
He glanced at Neve, and images of her quickness and selflessness at the accident lifted the weight of his regret, easing him from his mind’s meanderings. God, she’d been such a stud! No shit, his admiration for her continued to grow a hundredfold.
She broke his train of thought. “I think Hailey and Joy will keep our … situation to themselves until we can get an answer from Elvin and Alma. I swore them to secrecy one more time, though, just in case.”
He nodded. “Same with Noah and Charlie. They gave me tons of shit about it, but they won’t say anything.”
She held up her hand for a high five. “Dodged that bullet. For now.”
“For now,” he agreed. He decided to hold on to his discovery of the engraving a while longer. They were relaxed, and his news would only upset Neve.
“We need to get back to Elvin’s and find out how we can get this annulled.” Distress lent a slight quaver to her voice. Long beats of silence passed. “Reece, what if we, you know, consummated it?”
“Thought we’d been through this already.”
“Do you remember any consummating? Because I sure don’t.”
He slowed before taking a curve. “No, but neither of us remembers exchanging I-dos either.”
“There was no proof, remember? No used condoms.”
One corner of his mouth hitched. “We were pretty wasted, Neve, not to mention naked when we woke up.”
“I’m trying to forget,” she grumbled and cinched her arms over her chest. “I can’t imagine we would … without … Unsafe sex, Reece? Really?”
He jabbed his thumb at himself. “This is all on me?”
Her answer came in the form of a hmph.
He reached over and tapped her slender shoulder. “Neve, lighten up. I’m just having fun. If I had slept with you, I would remember. That’s not a detail I’m likely to forget, no matter how shit-faced I was. ”
“Oh.” Her eyes misted over as she darted them away from him. “Well, we should at least be able to return the rings and get your money back.”
“You sure about that?” He wasn’t going to be able to put this off, was he? He returned his attention to the road.
“Pretty sure. Elvin and Alma’s store doesn’t have their refund policy posted online, but most other reputable jewelers have a thirty-day return policy, as long as the rings are in mint condition. And ours are.”
He lifted his butt off the seat and dug into his pocket. “Take a close look at the inside of my band.”
He sensed more than saw the pleats form between her brows as she reached for it. He knew her that well. “What? Why?”
“Just look.”
“I can’t. It’s too dark.”
She held on to his ring until they were back inside her cozy home. There, she made a beeline for the kitchen and turned on a lamp that sat on the counter.
He pointed at the ring. “It’s engraved. Can’t return it.”
She hissed a curse and retrieved the jewelry box that held her extravagant diamond and matching band. In his peripheral vision, he saw her mouth drop when she examined her ring under the lamp. “Oh no!”
“What does it say?”
“Same as yours. ‘Best ⒈／⒉ of Couple #3.’ We’re screwed.”
“Hey, at least we’re equally screwed. Get it? Same words? Equal?”
“Reece, this isn’t funny.”
“No, it’s not, but humor—lame as it is—helps keep things calm so we can keep working toward a solution.”
“Oh no,” she whispered. “There’s engraving inside the diamond ring too.”
Curiosity nudged him toward her. Soon he was peering over her shoulder, trying not to inhale her sweet scent. “What’s it say?”
“Another abbreviation. ‘ R he couldn’t decide which.
“Too much togetherness?”
“Ya think?”
“Not unusual for newly married couples.” He couldn’t resist the joke. “It’s only temporary, and you wouldn’t even have to pay me.”
“I would insist on paying you.”
“You already are—in room and board.”
Her eyes narrowed with caution. “How temporary?”
“Only until I pull out at the beginning of the year.”
Now her eyes snapped wide. “Where are you going?”
Oops. “Uh, Stowe Mountain Rescue.”
“In Vermont?” she screeched. “Why?”
“I was offered a job doing back-country rescue there.”
“Isn’t moving to Vermont a little drastic?” she spluttered. “You’re a Colorado boy. Why would you want to move to the East Coast?”
He shrugged. “Opportunity?”
“Who knows?”
“You, Shane, and my brothers, and I’d appreciate it staying that way.”
“One more secret,” she puffed. “Wait. You haven’t told your parents?” He shook his head. “And you’re serious.” He nodded. “You can’t find any opportunity anywhere in Colorado? What about Summit County? I hear they pay really well.”
“It’s too hoity-toity there. I don’t want to live someplace where I have to wear bedazzled jeans to fit in.”
She barked a mirthless laugh. “I think the bedazzled stuff’s mostly for women, but you go with that. Actually, don’t. When have you ever been concerned about fitting in? I thought you marched to your own drummer.” When he didn’t respond, she came toward him until she was right under his nose. Her perfume or shampoo or whatever that fragrance was wreathed him in a heady cloud. “Know what I think, Reece Hunnicutt?”
“Nope, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“You bet I am. I think you’re running.”
“From what?” he scoffed .
“You tell me.” They had a stare down that lasted one, two, three beats. He broke first.
She let out a long-suffering sigh. “You leaving is going to make our situation that much more complicated.”
Christ, she was right! How had he overlooked that part? He seemed to throw up a mental block whenever it came to ending their not-so-fake marriage. “Maybe. You might have to do the heavy lifting to get things rolling, and I’m sorry about that, but I’ll do whatever I can to smooth the way.” Why did saying that leave a bad taste in his mouth?
She had a smudge of dirt on her left cheek, and he absently brushed it with his thumb before tucking a strand of spun gold behind her delicate ear. His hand lingered. She blinked several times and stiffened, as if she might pull away, but she stayed rooted where she was and stared up at him, her big eyes searching. Eyes that could see all the way inside him. Through him. That didn’t flinch, even though she knew exactly who and what he was.
“Neve, I …” His mind fogged, and he leaned down, irresistibly drawn toward her mouth like metal to a magnet. One taste to remember what kissing her had felt like. Just one. Her lids fluttered closed.
A throat cleared, and Reece jerked back.
“I’m all done in back if you want to take a look, Doc,” announced the electrician.
Neve’s cheeks pinkened, and her eyes darted away before darting back. “I’ll be right there.” She placed her hand over Reece’s heart. “You’re hired, but if I find someone before you leave, I’m letting you go.”
As he watched her walk toward the back of the clinic, he couldn’t help but wonder exactly what she had packed into her final words.