Page 89 of Forever Flirting

As Alex swept her into his arms, dancing slowly with her, she felt a tap on her shoulder as his grandmother stood there.

“Don’t you think you should share the boy for a bit, since you’ll have him all to yourself in about ten minutes?”

“What do you mean?”

“Go wait by the front door,” his grandmother said slyly, winking at her. “And I want lots of feisty great-grandbabies to love on – and I ain’t getting any younger, Everly.”

Everly laughed easily, blushing, as she hugged the woman and saw Alex’s smile. He began dutifully dancing with his grandmother slowly on the dancefloor, and Everly took a few photographs for them, before she saw Alex wink at her, over her shoulder.

Sure enough, his grandmother took a seat heavily and sighed dramatically, causing a couple of people to rush over… as Alex moved towards Everly, standing by the front door.

“Omigosh, is she okay?” Everly gaped, starting forward towards the crowd in alarm – only to have Alex catch her arm.

“C’mon,” he whispered… smiling. “Nana is faking it.”

“Are you kidding me? That’s not even funny.”

“I know, but she’s stubborn. It’s like the firefighters, she won’t leave them alone and calls them out every Friday. She’s done that for years now, and I’ve told her to stop repeatedly.”

“Alex…”

“I know,” he chuckled nervously. “She does what she wants, when she wants, and always has. In fact, before she started her charade… she said ‘You two go and I’ll find a ride’.”

“Oh my goodness…”

Alex hurried her into the car, just as a couple of people left the café, waving bye. He rolled down the window, smiling, and hollered… ‘Thank you!’ before driving off, chuckling.

“Should we have left like that?”

“Do you think they were going to want anyone to head out while everyone is having fun?”

“Probably not.”

“And I want some time with my wife before I leave Saturday morning – and it’s already Thursday,” Alex said quietly as he drove, and reached across the seat to hold her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all.”

As they pulled up to her home, she nervously got out of the car – only to catch Alex’s pointed look.

“I was going to get your door, my sweet bride.”

“Oh,” Everly smiled sheepishly at him, suddenly anxious.

“Relax,” he urged softly, holding out his hand towards her. “But I do want to carry you over the threshold for luck. We are a superstitious lot, and I’ve got a lucky rabbit’s foot on my keychain, been known to toss salt over my shoulder, and I’ve even kissed the Blarney stone on a vacation once – do not recommend.”

Laughing at his unexpected comments, she nodded as he swept her up into his arms, surprising her at how warm and strong he was.

“You look good there, Mrs. Wilcox,” he said tenderly.

“This is nice.”

“This is heaven,” he countered, “but can you unlock the front door?”

“Oh!” Everly laughed, digging her keys out of her small clutch and turning it in the lock, before nudging it open as Alex took over. He stepped inside and set her down, before hesitating.

“I’ll be right back. I have something in the trunk.”

“Alright,” she said nervously, realizing that they were truly alone, and she was now his wife. He was going to expect more than kissing, and while she wanted to hold him close, having read several romance books, and she knew the physical act – but the emotional part?

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