Page 124 of A Deadly Game of Cat and Mouse

“Because I’d like you to change.”

“You don’t like my dress?” I asked, unsure.

“I do. It’s a beautiful dress, but this isn’t you. And I want my Jelly Fish, warts and all.” I stared at him with a hitch in my throat.

“All right.”

I changed into my usual leathers, erased the light makeup they put on my face, and put on purple lipstick and dark eye shadows.

I left my hair as it was because there was nothing I could do about it. The stylist had put an entire bottle of hairspray on it, and it would take too much time to wash it out.

I walked to the beach after putting on my combat boots and blinked when I saw Eric standing in the moonlight, surrounded by a bunch of candles. He had changed too and was now in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

“What is this?”

“It’s my wedding, I wanted to make it special,” he replied with a blush.

I laughed and pulled out my phone to search for my playlist. Eric looked at me in surprise when Ed Sheeran’sThinking Out Loudbegan playing.

“What? It’s my mom’s favorite song,” I stated a bit defensively for showing my cornier side.

“My mom used to tell me she dreamt of seeing me walk down the aisle to the ballad one day. This is my way of including her on this special occasion.”

“It’s perfect.”

Eric dug into his pockets and pulled out two rings out of nowhere.

“Where did that come from?”

“The Hotel lobby.” I laughed at his answer.

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead, laugh. But these two bits of metal cost me six months of salary.”

I whistled because I knew how much my man makes. The circular bands were beautiful and made from platinum gold. Mine was encrusted in diamonds, while his was a solid band.

“You know you got screwed,” I answered because I enjoy teasing him and old habits die hard.

“Technically, you got screwed, babe, because you won’t be taking it off.”

I laughed and gave him a kiss.

“None of that, now. What do you take me for?”

“My future husband?”

“Damn right. Shall I continue?” I nodded happily.

“We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony,” Eric began and pointed at himself and then at me, making me tear up.

“Because this ceremony has been a long time coming, we are going to skip all the niceties and go straight to the vow part before a certain girl I know changes her mind.”

I smiled. This was the weirdest ceremony ever, don’t you love it?

“Absolutely.”

“I, Eric Winslow, take you, Sarah Murdoch, to be my wife, to live together in matrimony. I promise to love you, to honor you, to comfort you in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, from this life to beyond.”

“That’s not how it normally reads.”

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