Page 35 of Enemies in Earnest

“I’ve never been more out of my head than I am right now, Klaus. But the one thing I know. The one thing I’ve known every single day since you went outside in a blizzard and made me a birthday cake out of snow, is that no one can calm me, bring me peace, hold me up, or stand proudly next to me like you. It has always been you. Even as we navigated life before we met—there was always a place carved out in the universe where we were destined to be together. This crazy week has shown me that I never laugh harder than when I’m with you. My smiles are bigger, my joy is fuller, and every single day I spend next to you is a day fully lived and loved. I want to be your wife today, tomorrow, and fifty years from now. And when we look back on our lives, when we’re old and crotchety, I know I won’t have a single regret for the life I lived with you. You are my favorite human, and I’ll spend my whole life showing you how deeply I love you, and how proud I am to be your wife.”

There was a hush across the whole room. It felt as if even the storm had paused to hear Felicity pledge her love to Klaus. We all collectively held our breath while we waited for Klaus to begin.

“I love you,” Klaus murmured, emotion clogging his voice. “When I met you, I was at the lowest point of my life, Princess. Love was the foulest four-letter word. I’d resigned myself to living alone for the remainder of however many years I had left. Slowly losing sight of any wisp of joy until you came waltzing into my bathroom pointing those pretty little nails at me and accusingmeof breaking into your AirBnb. After my first marriage collapsed, I never thought I’d fall in love again, and I certainly never expected it to blindside me. But since that day, I’ve lived more in these two years than in a lifetime before you. You inspire me, challenge me to be a better person every single day. You love unconditionally and fearlessly, and you are ferociously in my corner always. The wordsI love youdon’t fit the breadth of emotion I have for you, my Christmas angel. But I will spend every day for the rest of my life ensuring you know just how deeply my love for you goes.”

Asher looked to both of them, clapping his hands as if witnessing the world’s best performance and announced, “by the State of Florida and the powers vested in me, I declare Felicity Miller and Klaus Baer married before these witnesses and apparently the heavens that are presently baptizing you in new love, and hopefully, the impending end to this storm.”

As if the storm agreed, the sky seemed to be split in two under the most capricious clap of thunder we’d heard to that point. It was so strong and so violent, we felt the walls shake. Though Felicity and Klaus didn’t seem to notice.

* * *

I startled awake,disorientated in the pitch black. I heard the deep rumble of Six-Toed Joe’s purr somewhere at my back, and the random, ambient sounds of others sleeping around me. It slowly came back to me. The storm, the wedding, retreating to the storage closet to keep away from any potential projectiles.

The space to my right was empty. The place where he’d been felt cold as if he’d gotten up a while ago and never returned. I grabbed my cell phone, and as carefully as I could snuck out of the storage room in search of Edwin.

“Hey.” He called to me as soon as I closed the door behind me. “What are you doing awake?”

He sat at a booth near the back of the bar. The power was still off, none of the ambient hums of the refrigerators could be heard. I could barely make him out sitting in that booth, if not for the slightest peek of moonlight that had winnowed its way between two of the storm shutters.

The tables and such were still set up for the party that didn’t happen. Not that I expected a magic fairy to have come while I slept and cleaned. But in all that had happened in the last few hours, I’d practically forgotten we’d been in the midst of trying to host a party.

I tried not to mourn that fact. There would be other Hemingway Days. And the important part was everyone was safe, and we rode out the storm. I could still hear it outside, though it was mostly just heavy rain and the occasional rumble of thunder.

“I woke up, and you weren’t there,” I told him. “So I decided to see what you’ve gotten into out here. Not nipping at my top shelf shit, are you? Because Taffy measures it with a digital leveler.”

He extended his hand, and I went to him, linking our fingers together.

“I was thinking about Klaus and Felicity,” his voice was lullaby soft as he ran his lips across my knuckles. “Something Klaus said—about how quickly he fell for her. And I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out when exactly that was for me. Is love a quieter kind of falling when you’ve known someone so long? Is it different from someone like Klaus and Felicity who knew their clock was ticking because they were on vacation?”

I wondered offhand what time it was. Without a clock, or even seeing how dark it was outside, there was no way to tell if it was the middle of the night or almost morning. Then I realized I held my phone in my hands, which was equipped with a clock. Three fifteen.

“But if we love each other, does it matter when it happened?”

“I care about you too much to hurt you, Acacia. I just want to make sure.”

“That’s love, Edwin.” That realization felt like the first sunbeam breaking through those storm clouds. “Like I said last night about pulling you down off the auction block. I couldn’t watch you in any form of pain. BecauseIloveyou. And it took this—” I gestured between the pair of us, “whatever we’re calling it, to realize that it was never about hating you. It was about slowly realizing I loved you, and being scared to get hurt if you didn’t love me back.”

Edwin held me tight against him, pressing his lips to my cheek and holding me. We sat in contemplative silence for long moments, listening to the tapering storm. Eventually, he swung his legs around, helping me slide off his body and next to him on the seat.

“So what do we do now?” he asked, gathering my hair in his hand, twisting it, and arranging it behind my shoulder.

“Right now, this very minute or now, in the sense that we’ve laid down our swords and are no longer adversaries but allies?”

I could see very little of him in the dark. But I caught his shadow as he threw his head back, letting out an entertained chuckle. The sound of it is the most soothing balm after a night of anxiety.

“I was thinking now that I know you love me, and I love you—and we’re too damn old to square dance around being together with one another. I want you, Acacia. Forever. Believe me, I’m far more romantic than a pitch-black proposal three days after we had sex for the first time, but I also know you’re it for me. I’m a simple man, and I know what I want. And what I want is you. Forever.”

I saw our life tumble out in front of me. Him with his boat tours, gratuitously flirting with me as he drove by every day, our nights filled with friends and books, and picnics on our knoll. Felicity had been right all along. She was going to be my family now. Something I found I looked forward to.

“And what about right this very minute?” I asked, hoping my voice sounded as seductive as I imagined it would.

“What did you have in mind, Sweet Acacia?”

Edwin’s hand went up my dress, running his fingers up and down the backs of my thighs.

“Well…we called parlay. We met and discussed the terms of our truce. But typically the host of the negotiations offers a gift as a show of good faith to their adversary.”

“Funny, I don’t remember reading about that in my pirate books.”

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