Page 245 of That Rush

“They’d better be.”

The rings slide into place. The final words are spoken, everyone rises, and Aiden waits until I nod before he cups my face and kisses me.

His mouth is warm and restrained for approximately two seconds. Then his arm tightens around my waist, and the applause is a distant hum, lost to the heat of his mouth.

I walk out of the library as Paige Whitaker, carrying every private piece of myself with me. I reach for my husband and kiss him back in front of everyone we love.

The witnesses hear the answer. The choice still belongs to me.

By the time the last car disappears down the ranch road, my feet ache, my lipstick is gone, and Aiden has stopped three relatives from taking the leftover cake.

“We can’t eat an entire wedding cake,” I tell him as he carries the final container into the kitchen.

“We absolutely can.”

“It’s enough cake for thirty people.”

“Then it should last us until Sunday.”

I lean against the counter and watch my husband rearrange the refrigerator until the cake is protected from whatever danger he believes threatens it. His tie hangs loose around his neck, his sleeves are rolled to his elbows, and a flash of gold from his wedding band catches my eye every time he moves.

The word husband is strange. Wonderful, chosen, and slightly dangerous to my ability to behave around him, but strange.

Josie left with Hudson and Deven ten minutes ago, still wearing Krista’s locket and carrying the overnight bag she packed herself. The foreman’s house is quiet. Flower petals cover the porch. Half the dishes are clean, my bouquet is beside the sink, and someone left a shoe beneath the dining table.

Apparently forever begins with cleanup.

Aiden closes the refrigerator. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m evaluating your early performance.”

“As a husband?”

“You’ve been one for about two hours. There’s still time for improvement.”

His gaze drops to my dress. “I have several ideas.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“You’ll like them.”

“That confidence could cost you points.”

He braces his hands on the counter on either side of my hips, leaning in until I can feel the heat from his chest. “You married the confidence.”

“I married the man. The confidence came attached.”

“So did everything else.”

Heat curls low in my stomach.

I try to sound unimpressed. “That was terrible.”

“You liked it.”

I smooth the front of my dress. “Unfortunately.”

The corner of his mouth lifts, a slow, knowing smile that I recognize all too well. I slip beneath his arm before he can kiss me because if he does, the dishes will remain in the sink until tomorrow.