Page 93 of Love and Other Trials
Thank God. Dax knew his family would love Ariel. “Good to hear. Now, let’s get back to wedding hell.”
Jeffrey wiggled in his seat. “Activating my tattoo and ready for takeoff, Captain.”
Dax chuckled the whole way back.
When they arrived, they put Tiffany’s wedding dress in Ariel’s former cottage, leaving the other items in the car to grab on another trip. Jeffrey arranged it nicely and then pulled out a flask of holy water and made the sign of the cross, making Dax sputter with laughter. TheLord of the Fliesboys were chasing each other around, screaming wildly when they let themselves out of the cottage.
Jeffrey was wiping tears, wheezing with laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Marshall yelled.
Ripp raced over, and the rest of the boys followed. Jeffrey exchanged a conspiratorial glance with Dax before drawing out his flask of holy water and shaking it at the boys. “Here! I bless you?—”
The boys started yelling, drowning out the rest of what he said.
Dax was doubling over with laughter when Rob found them.
“Hey! What’s the matter with you two? Did you get the fucking flowers?”
Dax pulled himself together. “Your bouquet is in the Mercedes SL parked in front of the lodge. It’s unlocked. Your dress whites are in the back with the tulips I bought for Ariel, and we put Tiffany’s dress in the bridal cottage.”
“Great!” Rob jogged off toward the parking lot. “Thanks!”
“You’re welcome,” Jeffrey called back. “I hope the flowers do the job, but Tiffany is a notoriously tough customer. Now, let’s deliver the rest of the items, with Ariel’s flowers being top of the list.”
He couldn’t wait to see her. “Sounds good.”
When he found her, she was standing a few yards from the tent setup, rubbing the base of her neck with Sherlock beside her. A large burly guy was talking to her, pointing to the array of poles sticking out of the ground. Men were setting up white folding chairs off to the right, and Dax spotted Scooter filling a large clear pool of water with a green hose. He called out a greeting to the old guy and then went over to Ariel.
He waited until the guy left before stepping forward and lavishly presenting her the bouquet. “For you, Elizabeth.”
She worried her lower lip, hastily looking down, but not before he caught the shocked pleasure in her blue eyes. “This is very unexpected, Stephan, but very sweet. So sweet I’m a little speechless.”
Speechless was good. More romantic gestures were in her future. “I aim to please.” He gestured to the setup. “How’s it going?”
Walking closer, she put her free hand on his chest, holding the bouquet in the crook of her arms. “I’ll tell you in a minute. Come here.”
He knew what she had in mind, so he lowered his head. She rose on tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his in a slow, languorous kiss. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He kissed her again because he could and looked over when he heard cheering. “Scooter apparently wants some flowers too.”
She laughed, the tension falling from her face. “Yeah. We all do. As for how it’s going, it’s going. The wet ground is still presenting problems, but we’re working it out. The crew has been great. And Scooter mentioned Bumper missing us. I told him we’d have to come by for a visit sometime.”
Lips twitching, he turned her around and put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing the knotted muscles there. “That’s nice. I like being wanted. Especially by a gator named Bumper. I plan to kiss you senseless in front of him to show him he can’t stop the inevitable. Also, I hear we’ll have to do a show-and-tell later. With our evil eye tattoos.”
She put her hand over her mouth to contain her laugh. “God, Jeffrey is so funny. I was like, do you have more? Like for every wedding guest? But yes, we will do a little show-and-tell when this is all over. Because come hell or high water, this wedding is happening today and I will be getting the deed to my grandma’s house. And then I’m going to put my feet up and…I don’t know, sleep for two days. Go to a silent retreat for a week. Get a permanent evil eye tattoo. You game?”
“For all of the above except the tattoo.” He waggled his brows. “As you know, I’m tattoo-free. If I were to get a tattoo, it wouldn’t be an evil eye.”
“What would you get?”
He didn’t hesitate. “I’ve met pilots who have their girl’s name tattooed on their arm. But Elizabeth might be confusing to some.”
She fanned herself. “I like us having a little secret between us.”
He leaned in and kissed the side of her neck. “Me too.”
His sexy whisper made her shiver. “Well… We can talk more about nickname tattoos after the wedding is over.” She turned to Dax and pressed her head to his chest, squashing her flowers. “Assuming I make it.”
