Page 110 of Star Crossed
With his face buried beneath her hair, he kissed behind her earlobe and breathed against her flushed skin. “Marry me.”
Jules stroked the sweat strands off his forehead, her fingers soothing against his scalp before she finally whispered, “Okay.”
* * * *
Freshly showered and shaved, Romeo sat in the passenger seat and stared at his phone in trepidation. He hadn’t dressed up. Jules said it was unnecessary, but he still wore his nicest pair of jeans and a clean, button-down white shirt. All he needed now were the directions to the nearest courthouse.
After spending all day and night doing nothing but making love to Jules, he was more relaxed than he’d been before they’d left. As the early morning sun shone past the windshield, he considered how out of his mind Wyatt would be not hearing from Jules for two days.
Finally he turned it on, deciding to try his hardest not to look. Once his phone powered up, the four most recent texts appeared on the screen.
Nova:Just bring Daisy Duke home.
Clay:mafia’s the least of your worries right now.
Tino:shit is deep.
555-487-6372:Stop living a fairy tale. Be a real man. Make Jules come home.
Even without a name on the last text, he knew who it was from. That had Wyatt Conner’s name stamped all over it. Romeo got the impression each text was a continuation of longer, drawn-out threats and explanations, but he’d seen enough. Once he slid his finger across the screen, he couldn’t help but look at the red bubbles indicating twenty-seven voice mails and two hundred and forty-seven new texts, which was epic enough to be impressive. He was almost tempted enough to turn on Jules’s phone and see how many she had.
He skipped past the main screen before curiosity got the better of him and worked on looking up the courthouse. He found one not far from them and was just getting directions when Jules slid into the driver’s side wearing a blue summer dress.
“Did you find one?”
“Yeah. It’s close.”
“Great.” Jules grinned as she closed her door. “I drive. You navigate.”
“You look nice.” Romeo gave her a smile as she started the car. “Something blue.”
“I don’t have any white dresses.” Jules laughed. “And even if I did, I didn’t wanna start off a new life lying to myself or the folks at the courthouse. I’m not innocent or virginal; no sense pretending I am.”
Romeo laughed with her and pointed out, “I’m wearing white.”
“Does that mean I get to corrupt you on our wedding night?”
“Absolutely,” Romeo agreed with a mischievous smirk. “But be gentle.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Jules teased as she pulled to the stop sign leading to the main road from the motel parking lot. “Where to?”
* * * *
On a gentle spring day Romeo and Jules got married under a magnolia tree outside the small West Virginia courthouse. The air smelled like flowers. The breeze forced Jules to hold her loose hair away from her face. They didn’t have rings, but the stately black woman who performed the ceremony said they didn’t need them.
Jules said, “I do,” and Romeo kissed her before the woman gave him permission because he didn’t want to lose the tight hold he had on his emotions. Jules let go of her hair and kissed him back, intertwining her arms around his neck, and neither of them cared they had an audience.
Everyone who worked at the small courthouse had come outside to watch Juliet Conner and Romeo Wellings get married simply because of the names printed on the marriage license. They seemed to feel it was something worth watching, and they weren’t disappointed by the performance. They all clapped, and several people took pictures with their phones.
Romeo wanted to give them his e-mail address, but he knew he couldn’t.
He wished Nova was there to memorize everything for him, but Romeo tried to do the best job he could with his ordinary mind. Everything felt so vivid. He knew most of it was going to stay intact.
Jules cried after it was over; then she hugged the woman who married them. Her name was Sara Jensen. Jules wrote it down so she’d remember.
Once they got away from the hugs and congratulations, they got back into Jules’s car, and she turned to him, tears still sparkling in her light eyes as she grinned. “Now’s the part where I corrupt you.”
He chuckled. “Corrupt away, Mrs. Wellings.”
Unable to resist, Romeo reached over and cupped his hand at the back of her neck and pulled her closer. He stole another kiss, this one more intimate. Their tongues brushed as Jules pulled open the first few buttons of his shirt and slipped a hand inside, placing her palm over the steady thump of his heartbeat.
“I’m so happy,” she whispered against his lips after a few breathless moments. “This is the best day of my life.”
Romeo smiled. “Mine too.”
