Page 72 of Ancient Obsession

“We understand.” Oliver tried for a smile.

They returned to the car in silence. Dave rested his wrists on top of the steering wheel and stared at the hall. “Any ideas?”

“Not yet.” Oliver slumped in his seat. “I’m trying to reboot my brain.”

“Should we cancel?”

Oliver studied his profile. “Do you want to cancel?”

Still leaning forward over the steering wheel, Dave rested the side of his head on his wrists and met his eyes. “No. But Mercury must be in one hell of a retrograde or something right now, because it feels like the universe is doing everything in its power to prevent us from getting married.”

“These past weeks have been an uphill battle.”

They were both quiet for a long time. Through the open doors of the building, Oliver could see Gina and her husband, Steve, working inside. A pump was running somewhere in the building, and a long, dirty hose ran out the door into a sewer grate at the curb. They’d been excited to find the space for a reasonable price, but they’d both admitted to some minor limitations. The kitchen wouldn’t be fully functional in time, and the bathrooms needed to be remodeled.

Something stirred inside Oliver. It was small, but it came up out of the despair and confusion glowing with warmth and hard edges. He didn’t want the police or the mummy or the fucking flooded event space to take any more from them than had already been lost.

“I don’t want to cancel,” he said.

“You don’t?”

“Not a chance. You’ve been the one constant, steady thing that’s kept me going through all of this. And that needs to be celebrated with our families and friends. Even if we have to do it in the community center out at Parson’s Pines like Demetrius and Cody did.”

Dave chuckled before he moved in for a soft kiss. “I am so in love with you.”

Oliver touched the side of his face. “I’m very much in love with you, too. We’ll figure this out. We’ve both got lots of connections in this town. After all we’ve done to save it in the past, there’s got to be someplace we can host the wedding and reception.”

“With less than a week’s notice?”

Oliver kissed him. “Come on, let’s go to Demetrius and Cody’s house and talk with them. Maybe they can think of somewhere we can check into.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

With a heavy sigh, Dave started the car and pulled out of the lot. Oliver watched trees and utility poles go by. He really did want to marry Dave, but maybe he’d been right and it wasn’t the right time. Then again, Oliver didn’t even want to imagine what Roman might have to say about having to cancel his flight at the last minute.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Oliver blinked awake to morning sunlight. With a jaw-cracking yawn, he rolled over and reached for Dave. The other side of the bed was empty. The sheets were cool. Oliver squinted as he took in the room, everything blurry without his glasses. No sign of Dave anywhere, but he did smell coffee.

He yawned again as he plucked his glasses from their case. Checking his phone, he found a text from Robin that had come in sometime late last night. Leaving it for later, he got up, stretched, and dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. After a stop in the bathroom, he headed for the kitchen. Dave sat at the table, his head in hands, phone on the table before him. A cup of coffee sat by his elbow, and from the lack of steam rising, Oliver determined it had been poured a while ago and forgotten.

“Morning, handsome.”

Dave gave him a tired smile. “Morning.”

Oliver placed a kiss among the corkscrews of his hair. “Whatcha doing?”

“Trying to find a place for us to get married. Do you think we could fit fifty people here in the apartment?”

“I don’t even want to imagine it.” Oliver poured himself coffee and held up the pot. “Need a warm up?”

“Oh.” Dave sampled the coffee and made a face. “Yes, please. Forgot I even poured it.”

Oliver got down a fresh cup, filled it, and took both to the table where he sat across from Dave. “Having any luck with the suggestions Demetrius and Cody gave us last night?”

“Nope.” Dave took a drink. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”