Piece of My Heart (Fostering Love 4)

This was what I wanted.

When I reached Alex, he leaned down so our foreheads touched, and let out a shaky breath, his excitement palpable.

“Ready?” he whispered.

“Ready,” I whispered back.

As we turned to face the officiant, Alex’s hand found mine. We held hands through the entire ceremony.

* * *

I was married.

Married.

I stared down at my ring while Alex took his shower, and finally let the gravity of the situation sink in. I had a husband. I was a wife.

Any important decisions I made would forever have to be discussed with another person. I twisted the rings around my finger. I was going to have to share my space, change my schedules, and worry about someone else whenever I made plans.

Panic seeped in until I heard Alex singing happily in the shower.

I would always have someone to come home to, someone to share expenses with, someone who would kill spiders and change light bulbs. I’d never have to worry about putting an extra blanket on the bed, because sleeping with Alex was like sleeping with a space heater. I smiled to myself.

He also hogged the blankets.

“Well, wife,” Alex called out as he stepped from the shower and began to dry off. “Are you ready to head back to reality?”

I really wasn’t. Missouri was school and work and schedules and deadlines. It was calling my aunt and uncle and breaking the news that I’d gotten married when they hadn’t even known that I was engaged.

Growing up, I’d had my wedding planned out. I’d get married in a synagogue to a boy that my parents loved. My mom and aunt would help me get dressed, and my dad would walk me down the aisle. We’d have a big party afterward, and then my husband and I would go on some extravagant honeymoon that my parents had gifted us for our wedding. The details had always been vague, but the idea had been solid. It was how things were done in our community. Long engagements, fancy weddings, fabulous honeymoons.

Imagining any of that now made me want to scream. So I’d pretty much done the exact opposite. My aunt was going to lose her mind when she found out. I swallowed hard as I felt myself break out in a cold sweat. To say that I was dreading that conversation would be an understatement. Was there something worse than dread? Because the feeling in the pit of my stomach was definitely worse than that.

Aunt Adinah would be heartbroken if I told her how painful it was to even think about planning a wedding without my mother. That the thought of walking down the aisle by myself or with Uncle Isaac made me want to cry. She’d be understanding, and she’d never make me feel bad about it, but I knew it would hurt her. I was the only child she had, and I’d never want her to feel like she wasn’t enough. No, it was better this way. I would rather have her angry with me than sad.

“I am,” I said, standing up to slide my shoes on as he got dressed. “Are you ready to get back on a plane?” Our landing in Las Vegas had been bumpy, to say the least. The woman sitting next to us had said that it was pretty common when flying in and out of that airport. I’d thought Alex was going to vomit.

“Not looking forward to it,” he said with a humorless laugh. “But I’m ready to be home.”

“Missing work?” I asked, checking the room for anything we’d missed when we’d packed our things. We’d been there for less than twelve hours, but somehow the contents of our bags had exploded around the room.

“I’m just ready to be married, I guess,” he replied sheepishly. “You know, all the normal stuff. Getting you all moved in, coming home from work to see you on the couch with a frown on your face, going to see the Krakowskis, all of it.”

“Wait,” I said. “Why would I have a frown on my face?”

“Because you’re doing homework,” he replied easily.

“Oh.” That made sense. I was getting close to the end of school, and I definitely had what Hailey called “senioritis.” I was tired of the homework, tired of all the time I spent at the university, and tired of stressing about my grades. I was more than ready to graduate.

“It’s cute,” he said, coming up behind me as I bent to look under the bed.

I shot up like I’d been electrocuted when he lightly pinched my butt.

“I wish we had more time,” he murmured, fitting himself against my back.

“Me too,” I replied, letting my head drift back to rest against his shoulder as he rolled his hips.

“We should come back for our anniversary,” Alex said, kissing my neck before pulling away. “Go to some shows, gamble a little—you know, do Vegas right.”