Page 42 of Past Due

“Young,” Besian said in a tone that conveyed he didn’t want to talk about it. “Luka, my nephew, is the head of the family.” He glanced at me, his eyebrows raised expectantly. “You understand?”

“He’s the boss, you mean? Like mafia boss?”

“Yes. Exactly that,” he confirmed. “He’s been sick, though, so if he isn’t very welcoming that’s why. It’s not you,” he hurriedly assured me. “He approves of us and is doing everything he can to get our marriage paperwork expedited.”

“Our marriage paperwork?” I shifted in my seat so I could see his face. I had a bad feeling I was about to hear something I wasn’t going to like. “What paperwork?”

“To get married legally,” he explained as if it should have been obvious. “There’s a lot of requirements to get married here, including a two week wait. Luka is using his connections to make those requirements go away.”

Confounded, I asked, “We’re getting married here? Like—now?”

He seemed surprised by my reaction. “Yes.”

“But...why the rush? If you want to get married here, we can always come back in a few months.”

“No, we can’t,” Besian refuted. “We can’t go back to Houston unless you have my last name to protect you. As my wife, no one will be able to touch you.”

The romantic shine on his spontaneous proposal faded some. Feeling a bit hurt, I asked, “Is that why you want to marry me? To protect me?”

“Yes, but that’s not the only reason, Marley. I love you,” he stated fiercely. Then, as if to make sure I believed him, he repeated it. “I love you, Marley. I want to be your husband. I wish things were different. I want you to have the long engagement and all the parties and the big wedding you deserve, but it isn’t practical right now.”

I processed his explanation. What he said made sense. The world we lived in—that shadowy place where rules were different and men lived by a criminal’s moral code—necessitated such a drastic step. I wanted to be brave and insist I wasn’t afraid to go back to Houston without his protection, but I wasn’t that brave. Or stupid. I needed Besian’s protection, the impenetrable shield that only marriage could provide.

And I wanted to be his wife. I loved him. I had loved him for so long. He was all I wanted in the whole world. So, maybe, this wasn’t the wedding I had dreamed about, but it was the marriage I wanted with the man I wanted. The details didn’t matter.

“Okay.”

Besian glanced from the road to me and back to the road again. “Okay?”

“Let’s get married now. Here.”

He seemed relieved but still a bit apprehensive. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“We can have another wedding in Houston,” he offered. “Do it the way you want.”

“Even if the way I want means an outrageously expensive wedding that burns through your bank account like a wildfire?” I teased.

“Whatever you want, you can have.”

“Well, luckily for you and your bank account, I don’t actually want a big, crazy wedding. I’m more of a small, intimate wedding girl.”

“I figured.” He eased off the accelerator as we encountered more traffic and neared the city. “Obviously, Spider can’t attend.” Hesitantly, he asked, “What about your mother?”

"What about her?” I tried to act as if the mention of her didn’t bother me, but he knew me too well.

“Should we try to contact her? See if she wants to fly over?”

“I haven’t heard from her in almost three weeks,” I admitted and shifted uncomfortably. “Wherever she is and whatever she’s doing, it’s more important than replying to my texts or answering my calls.”

“Did you leave on bad terms?”

“We had a fight before I left.”

“About?”

“Everything,” I said with a sigh. “And nothing.”

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