Page 32 of Don't Make Me Beg
There’s an almost imperceivable smile pulling at her rosy lips as those big princess-looking eyes never leave mine.
Time seems to stand still, and any thought of revenge I was feeling is long gone as I feel my soul fully surrender to the moment.
And it’s there, underneath that old treehouse, as the sun slowly disappears behind the horizon, streaking the sky in hues of orange and pink, that I feel my whole world shift on itself.
Miss Scarlett’s voice pulls me back to the moment when Scout finally reaches me. “Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony.
“Marriage is a sacred bond, not to be entered into lightly, but reverently, deliberately, and with full understanding of its responsibilities...”
My thumbs move of their own accord, gently caressing her hands as I hold her gaze. There’s so much history between us, so many words left unsaid, and yet, my brain can’t come up with a single thought outside of this moment.
“Today, Luka and Scout stand before us to declare their love and commitment, and to pledge their lives to one another…” Miss Scarlett continues, and I feel the irony of her words like shackles around my limbs.
“Do you have the rings?” she asks, and Jett pulls the velvet ring box from his pocket and passes it to me.
I open the box, removing the rings before passing it back to Jett, not missing the look of surprise that flashes across Scout’s face when she sees the large solitaire diamond ring. The stone is large enough, considering the tight timeline, and it’s set on a simple, classic gold band with another band wrapped in pavé diamonds.
“Repeat after me. I, Luka, take you, Scout, to be my lawfully wedded wife…”
I hold the ring in front of her finger, my eyes locked on hers as I vow to love her, protect her, and cherish her—in good times and bad, in sickness and in health.
The words come easily but they settle deep. A promise that ties us together, whether we realize it or not.
Because even a dirty contract is still legally binding.
Scout’s eyes glisten with tears as she repeats the same vows. She’s good at this.
I’d almost think they were real…if I didn’t know better.
“With the power vested in me by the state of West Virginia and the Universal Church of Life,” Miss Scarlett grins, holding out her hands. “I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride.”
Miss Scarlett’s voice cracks through the air like a whip, snapping us both back to reality. And it’s only then that I realize we never discussed our first kiss.
Before I can second-guess it, instinct takes over.
I reach for her, hand curling around the back of her neck as I draw her in. My lips graze the corner of her mouth in a painfully torturous, almost-kiss that sets my whole body on fire.
Everything in me screams to keep going, to slide my tongue along her plush bottom lip, to see if she still tastes the way I remember. Just once. Because if it’s ever going to not count, it’s right now.
But I can’t do it. Not like this.
When I finally pull back, I’m relieved to see that she looks just as wrecked as I feel. Pupils blown, chest rising with a sharp inhale like she forgot how to breathe.
A high-pitched ringing fills my ears as I wait for my pulse to slow. We both just stare at each other, neither fully grasping the line that’s just been drawn in the sand.
I may not know what this means.
But there’s one thing for sure…
For better or for worse, my life will never be the same.
The crystal rock glass dangles from my fingers as I nurse my Jack and Coke, contemplating everything that happened tonight. After the wedding, we plastered on our most convincingfake smiles and thanked Miss Scarlett for performing the ceremony. Then we rode home without speaking a single word.
As tempting as it was to go our separate ways tonight, to decompress privately, I could tell Scout was starting to spiral. Her guilty conscience was already eating at her, and the last thing I want is for all of this to be for nothing because she can’t handle the pressure.
So, against my better judgment, I proposed we celebrate our nuptials over a couple of stiff drinks while we figure out our next steps…
But I may have overestimated her ability to hold her liquor because she’s three drinks in, and it’s clear that there will be no planning for our future happening tonight.
