Page 5 of Betrothed To Love

There’s also a video? What in the entire fuck!

“Did you watch it?” I utter, the words bitter on my tongue.

“Nah. Watch what?” he asks, sounding just as surprised as I feel.

“There’s a video,” I say, then click play. When he hears the officiant’s voice, he stands and joins me behind my desk. That divine scent of his from earlier envelops me and I inhale, probably too loud. Shit.

“What the fuck,” he utters when our two faces appear on the video screen. I’m in my brown dress and he’s looking too good in all black. I’m clearly comfortable with him because I’m on his lap, his arms are around me, and we’re both grinning.

What the hell! I look too comfortable with him. I barely recognize myself.

In silence and mutual disbelief, we watch as we repeat vows and even kiss after being pronounced husband and wife. My damn mouth is on the floor and I’m speechless, truly speechless, as the officiant explains the next steps in the recording.

“As a reminder, online marriages are legally binding. Since we are located in Utah, we are legally authorized to facilitate ceremonies for people regardless of their location. Your marriage there in…” he pauses and I respond.

“Crescent Falls,” I damn near yell on the screen.

“Yes, Crescent Falls. It is legally binding there. Your online marriage license is complete and I will be filing the paperwork electronically as soon as we end the video call. I will also email you a copy of this and the license to the addresses you provided on the application. Congratulations again, Mr. and Mrs. Quintus Bako,” he says and we kiss until the recording stops.

I close my laptop and look back at him. I don’t know whose eyes are bigger, his or mine, because we are both in shock. Light taps at my door break our trance and we both turn toward it.

“Recess is over, Your Honor,” Kenya says.

“Shit,” I huff. “Okay, I’m coming.”

“What are you going to do?” he asks.

“About what we just watched?”

“No, my brother. The case,” he says.

“Even though we are annulling this, I still have to recuse myself,” I say, then turn to face him. “Immediately, after I do, we need to handle this nonsense. Meet me back here,” I say sternly but he doesn’t say a word. He simply steps back to allow me to stand. Then he walks to my door and opens it.

“Your Honor,” he says as I walk through.

He walks to the front of the courtroom to enter and I enter through the judge’s doorway. Getting back in my chambers with him and filing this annulment are my priority, so I don’t waste time with the case. In fifteen minutes, I recuse myself, refer the case to Judge Wright’s courtroom, and am back in my office, disrobed and waiting for him to join me.

“Is this anything I can assist with?” Kenya asks from my door.

“Nothing yet, but if something comes up, I’ll let you know,” I say and she nods. Before she turns and walks off, I quickly ask, “But can you please get me another matcha? This one is cold and I’m going to need it for my afternoon arraignments.”

“Alright. I can do that. I’m going to grab a bite of something too. That might help.”

“Perfect. Thank you.” She walks off and is back seconds later with him standing behind her. Before she announces him, I wave him in. “I’ll see you when you get back, Kenya,” I tell her and she nods and walks off. He strolls in, closes my door, and sits on the couch in my seating area.

“Won’t you come over here?” he suggests.

“I think I should stay here. I can work directly on the annulment on my laptop,” I counter.

“We need to talk first. Come sit with me, please,” he says. He unbuttons his suit jacket and drapes it open a little, and damn!

Why was that so sexy?

Although every ounce of my logic and common sense are screaming for me to stay my ass behind my desk, in my comfortable leather chair, I abandon them both, grab my laptop, and walk over to sit in one of the large armchairs instead of the couch.

After flipping it up, I ask, “Is Quintus Bako your legal name?”

“Before you work on that, we need to talk about last night and what happened. What’s the last thing you remember?” he asks.