Page 38 of Liar & Champion
I gave him a chilly smile. “What’s my usual type?” Was she supposed to take so long? Maybe she’d taken off into the desert without a canteen. I’d definitely have to go after her, but I’d call in the calvary first. My crew could round her up in no time. And then traumatize her to death. The thought of Jezebel with Sunshine gave me chills.
“Experienced, like one of your crew, but you never dated them. Hm. Not sure you have a type, Nix. She’s nervous. No one ever thought you’d end up at an altar even if you got a nice girl pregnant, but she looked more nervous than you.”
I glowered at him. “We’re madly in love.”
He gave me a large smile. “Of course you are. Good to see that you’re stepping up, being responsible for all that.”
“She’s not pregnant.”
He held up his hands like he didn’t mean to offend.
She came into view wearing a white lace dress, cinched in the waist and flaring out beautifully, like Grace Kelly, classic as a banana sundae. She was so beautiful. I stopped breathing for a second. What was I doing? This didn’t feel like a job, not when she looked like a virginal bride, gazing at me demurely, too nervous about going to hell for taking marriage lightly to smile at me.
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t marry a woman that beautiful and sweet when she might be a crocodile to end all crocodiles. Or worse. What if she really was a sweet virgin who would break herheart on me? It wasn’t going to last forever, and her heart was delicate after all that time fending off psychos.
I stood there paralyzed while she stood across from me, and José started talking. The ceremony was very traditional, very short, and somehow I said the right words, and then we exchanged rings.
She smiled sunnily for the first time during the ceremony when she grabbed my hand and slid a very nice carved ring on my finger. I took a little more time pulling mine out of my pocket. She looked slightly betrayed when she saw the band with embedded diamonds, tiny wood elements, yes, but the framework was platinum, and the diamonds were as real as she seemed to be.
I held her hand tightly while I slipped the band over the appropriate finger, but her lips were trembling, and so were her fingers. I pressed a quick kiss to the palm and that was it. The wedding was over.
We were ushered onto the small dining patio in the back where a banquet was laid out for us, just the two of us, to be panicked and shocked together.
I piled a plate up with food and handed it to her, then did another for myself. And another when that was full. And another.
“Nix, you must be really hungry after having nothing but fish and loaves all week,” she said, staring at my fourth plate.
I cleared my throat. “They’re for you. I’m the hunter gatherer.”
She slowly, tentatively began to pile all the plates one on top of the other in a balancing act as impressive as the first time she’d skated down that rail. “Like you hunted gathered my ring. Now I’m a little ashamed of mine. When did you get it made?”
“After that first time, when you said what you wanted, I called an artisan I know. I’m sorry it’s not the one I made, but it was terrible.”
“But you made it. Never mind. Thank you for giving me what I said I want. I can’t fault you for that, and it is truly lovely. I’m a little sad that it’ll last longer than our marriage, though. So, all these plates, are you trying to fatten me up, or do you think I need that much energy for the hayride?”
I blinked at her. “Hayride? You want to have a hayride tonight?” I cleared my throat. I wasn’t a bashful type who had a problem using clearer words for things, and I’d wanted her from the first time I’d seen her, but what if she was a virgin? No, she couldn’t be. It was fine. We’d have a hayride, and I’d help her get over whatever Dupre had done to her, and get her all ready for the next big, real relationship she’d have after we were finished. We hadn’t really explored each other. I was still careful with her, and of course that’s what I’d always be. I really, really wanted to forget about everything and just drown in her, but was that really on the table for tonight?
“I mean, that’s why we got married, isn’t it?” she asked, still balancing all those plates as she maneuvered over to a table.
“Oh. Right.” I thought it was to get more money out of me, but of course she’d pretend it was about morality. Unless it was actually about morality, and I wasn’t giving her enough credit. And she was an actual virgin. I broke into a cold sweat while my mouth went dry.
She laughed and shook her head then sat at a little table next to the pots of geraniums, under the twinkle lights. “I know that you married me to keep me safe. Thank you.” She gave me what felt like a real smile and I poured us glasses of wine before I remembered that she’d said she didn’t drink.
“Go ahead. I can drive,” she said with another smile then dove into the tamales. “Mm. These are so good! Can we comeback here even if we’re not getting married? Maybe I should make some friends who are engaged so I can help them plan their weddings and aim them here. Nix, this is really great.” She gave me another bright smile before taking another bite. I wouldn’t have believed her enthusiasm, except that she ate everything on four plates, taking breaks to feed me while I stared at her, the world collapsing around me. She couldn’t drive, because I’d have to get us into the hotel without things getting too intense. We’d have to go in the back entrance so none of the fans or tourists could ask for an autograph. I’d have to carry her over the hotel room’s threshold and then give her a hayride. Seduction. Slow and thorough.
What was I forgetting? Dean Martin was crooning about romantic things. I should give her some of that romantic stuff if this was a seduction. Is that what it was? I’d seduced women, but they were usually the kind that were already mostly seduced. Whether she was a virgin or not, she didn’t take intimacy lightly. I cleared my throat and stood up, holding out my hand. “May I have this dance?”
She looked shy and sweet while I led her to the open area on the side. The music was slow and romantic. Classic. I slid my hands over her, nothing too obscene, and she returned the favor, melting into me.
“You feel so good,” I murmured as we moved together, the spark between us growing into a flame the longer we danced. I could say that, right? I wasn’t sure what a sweet woman like her would want to hear. I’d given her the ring she said she wanted, but she was disappointed. Maybe she didn’t know what she wanted. Or maybe she was nervous because she didn’t want to want too much. I was definitely overthinking.
She laughed and ducked out of my arms, eyes bright with excitement and nerves. “Let’s go home. If that’s okay with you.Unless some of your friends are coming to congratulate you. No? Good.”
She dragged me after her, away from the safe wedding hall, and back to her yellow car.
“Do you want to have a hayride in the back seat?” she asked once we got close to it.
I inhaled sharply as an image of her filled my mind. She seemed unashamed of the idea, but she still called it a hayride. There was dissonance there that I needed to unravel. “No. I want our first time to be somewhere less public. Also, we’re going to sleep and have hayrides for days.” I nipped the back of her neck, soft, gentle, but still possessive. Mine. She had survived being married to me and deserved all the time, love, and sweetness in the world.
