Page 33 of Perfectly Wedded

Vale leans toward me, and his eyes flick to mine, then down to my lips. For a moment, there’s a ripple of something in his gaze, and I nearly drop the spoon.

“Vale!” I mumble.

He reacts with his lightning-fast reflexes, his lips brushing over the spoon before the utensil drops completely, clattering across the floor and settling under a chair.

Vale licks the whipped cream from his lips. “That still counts,” he says. He got a half-bite, and we somehow managed to avoid lip contact.

“Maybe,” Leo says. “But we aren’t helping you get the spoon back for your turn.”

Vale glances down at the spoon under a chair.

“You’ll never fit under that,” I tell him. The legs are too narrow for his shoulders.

“Watch me,” he says with a wink. Vale loves a challenge, and nobody is going to tell him he can’t do something.

He drops to the ground, his hands awkwardly tied behind his back, and wriggles his body like a snake.

His wide shoulders strain against the chair legs, but the spoon is just out of reach of his mouth.

“I like seeing you on your face,” Leo says, crossing his arms. “It’s a good look for you.”

Vale scoots out from under the chair and glares at Leo. “You’re gonna get your butt kicked on the ice later.”

Leo laughs. “Not if I’m too fast for you."

Vale eyes the whipped cream. “Got any other ideas?”

“How about using your feet?” Rourke suggests with an eyebrow wiggle.

“Ew. No,” I say, frowning. “I don’t do feet.”

A few of the guys throw out their ideas, which mostly involve things I know Vale wouldn’t subject me to.

Vale hesitates, looking for any way to save me from embarrassment. I know the only options left are ones that will make my cheeks flame like I swallowed a torch. I know some girls are good at hiding their feelings, but I’m not one of them. I’m a heart-on-the-sleeve, show-your-emotions kind of girl. If I ever get taken in by the cops for questioning, they won’t have to ask me a single question. They’ll just look at my face for the answer.

“Trust me on this, okay?” he says.

“What are you...” I begin, but Vale doesn’t hesitate. He leans forward and presses his cheek into the whipped cream. The side of his face is now snow white, covered with whipped cream. All I have to do is take one bite.

I smile, then lean forward and let my mouth taste the sweetness. When I do, a thrill surges through my body. I can smell Vale’s cinnamon scent mixed with the vanilla as the room erupts into cheering.

“Smart,” I say, licking the whipped cream from my lips. “I knew there was a reason I married you.”

“We make a good team,” Vale says to me with a wink. Every time he does that, it’s like the knot of tension in my body unravels a little bit.

After we’re freed from the zip ties, we cut into the teal-and-gold cake, reminiscent of the Crushers’ colors, and I attempt to follow the rules we set up. I stick close to Vale’s side, sometimes brushing my hand across his arm, or looping it under his elbow. At one point, Vale wraps his arm around my waist so casually, it makes my heart bounce around in my chest. He might be used to touching women this way, but I’m not. I feel like a total imposter at this marriage thing.

We finish the cake and ice cream, and Jaz motions me toward the front of the room with Vale. “We have one more surprise to present to you both.”

She pulls out a large envelope and hands it to us. “The whole team went together on this. Even though the guys like to give you grief, we really do want you to live happily ever after. It’s a gift to say how happy we are that you’re together. There’s no one on earth I trust more than my brother-in-law.”

The guilt swells in my chest.I don’t have any reason to be nervous, but something ticks inside me, like a time bomb.

Vale looks at me. “Open it,” he says quietly.

I tear the flap and reach inside the envelope.

It’s a gift certificate for a hotel room in Cancun, Mexico.

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