Page 75 of Roughing the Player
And I’ll not look for wine.
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine;
But might I of Jove’s nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.
He gets an enthusiastic round of applause for his ditty, though I doubt most of them understood it. “That was beautiful. Where on earth did you find that poem?”
“Ben Johnson. A contemporary of Shakespeare, I believe.” And he winks.
Close to midnight, we make our getaway. Mama, Steve, and Kaylee already retired to the two-bedroom suite that Brock booked for them, but the party’s in full swing doing a conga line.
When we get to our suite, he carries me over the threshold before dropping me back on my feet and kissing me. “All alone. Finally.”
“Yes.” No idea why I’m so nervous. It isn’t like it’s the first time we’ve had sex.
“Do you need help getting out of your gown?”
“Please.” Although I’d removed the train after the ceremony, I’m still in the silk organza gown. As beautiful as it is, I don’t want to damage it. Maybe Kaylee would like to wear it on her wedding day someday.
He slowly, methodically unhooks the dress. After he’s released the last prong, I lean on his arm and step out of it. And then I lay it across the sofa in the front room of our suite.
“You don’t want to hang it?”
“No. The weight of the gown will damage the lace.”
“You looked very beautiful today.”
“So did you.” The black tuxedo suits his blond hair and green eyes.
He cups the back of my neck and kisses me. I’m surprised not by the hunger or passion but by the trembling of his lips. He’s as nervous as I am.
“Can you unhook the corset too?” I whisper against his mouth.
“You’re so slender. Why would you strap yourself into this thing?”
“So the gown would look better. I only intend to marry this one time, so I wanted to look perfect.”
His hands pause. “I never thought about that.”
“About what?”
“That you would marry only once. You’re a great mom. Don’t you want more children?”
“Babies demand a lot of attention, Brock. With my career, I can’t afford the time.”
“You could hire a nanny.”
“That’s not happening.”
“Take a sabbatical then. I’m sure they’d hold the job for you.”
“Yeah, right! You know what happens to agents who go on the mommy track? They get relegated to the back office to do grunt work when they return. I didn’t sweat over three years of law school to work at a lower pay. I have school loans and a mortgage to pay.”
“No, you don’t.”
