Page 12 of Falling for You Again

Aaron noticed and his face folded with concern.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” I ducked my head, embarrassed and bewildered. I was getting emotional over something that was supposed to be a joke, nothing more than us being fun and adventurous.

Aaron had the audacity to make it more uncomfortable for me. He gently brushed away the tear with his thumb.

Damn. I was going to start bawling.

“Your turn, Melissa,” the officiant said.

I took an unsettled breath and gathered my wits and yellow roses. “Aaron, I promise to dance with you, read beside you even when you prefer to watch football over reading with me.”

“Baseball.” He winked at me.

“Baseball,” I corrected with a soggy laugh. “I promise to try new things with you, and when nobody else can, I promise to get you, to understand you better than anyone else.”

Aaron’s eyes welled, startling me. I wasn’t the only one getting emotional. He pinched the inner corners of his eyes with a short, throaty laugh. “Don’t mind me.”

“Beautiful,” our officiant exclaimed. “Are you exchanging rings?”

“Rings?” My eyes widened in surprise as I stared up at Aaron.

“Rings.” He patted his thigh as if he might just happen to have a pair of wedding bands. “We forgot rings.”

“I got rings. Got ’em right here.” Calvin set down the phone and tugged off a dented silver pinkie ring and, from his middle finger, a polished wood band.

“Are you sure?” Aaron closed his fist over the rings Calvin dropped in his palm.

“Absolutely. Just tip me well.” Calvin picked up the phone again. “We’re rolling.”

“Aaron,” our officiant began, “do you take Melissa to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

Something between a giggle and a gag escaped me as he slid the dented silver ring onto my finger. And another tear fell down my cheek.

Aaron cupped my face. “It’s all right,” he said in a gentle whisper. I was about to lose it, and he seemed perfectly okay with that.

Damn, this man.

“Do you, Melissa, take Aaron to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” I said, reminding myself we weren’t committing to forever as I pushed the wood band onto his finger. “You’re shaking,” I murmured, mystified by his display of emotion. He clenched his hand.

“By the power vested in me by the State of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Aaron, you may kiss your bride.”

My gaze snapped to his beautiful mouth. We hadn’t talked about kissing.

Aaron didn’t give us the chance to overthink it. He cupped my cheek, locked his eyes on mine, and lowered his head. When our lips met and eyes closed, it felt like our hearts collided, and all I could think was that I wanted him to kiss me. I’d been waiting for this, and for him. It was nothing like I’d felt with Paul, which only reaffirmed how wrong I’d been to accept his proposal and how right I was to not marry him. I wouldn’t have made him happy.

But with Aaron ... It must have been the dare, or our spontaneity. Maybe it was the mystery of the man I was now legally bound to, or the enormity of what we’d done. But something about this and us, what we were doing, heightened everything—my emotions, my senses. My desire. His tongue delved into my mouth, caressed my lips. And I kept thinking over and over,You, you, you.I’ve been waiting for you.

I didn’t want him to stop kissing me.

It wasn’t until Calvin hooted that Aaron finally lifted his head with a guilty smile. My fingers were in his hair, and my other hand, the bouquet forgotten in my lap, gripped his shirt. Our kiss had been indulgent. Our kiss could have gone on for hours or could have lasted only seconds. I just knew I hadn’t experienced anything like it before.

Aaron bit the corner of his lower lip, looking as awestruck as I felt. We stared at each other, at a loss for words.

“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Borland!” Calvin cheered.

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