“Ugh,” Haley groans. She looks at me over her shoulder. “Let me help him so he’ll get out of here. Do you guys need anything?”
Holden steps closer and wraps his arm around my waist again. I’m not sure whether he thinks this will be our new thing, but I’m not totally mad about it. It’s intimate enough to make people think our dynamic is real, but distant enough not to melt me completely.
His fingers dip lightly into my side as he slides me closer to him. I’m not sure it’s necessary, really. But I figure it’s a normal husband-and-wife kind of thing to do right after a wedding ceremony, so I let it go.
“We’re good. Actually, we’ll probably head on out after we pay you all for your help today,” Holden says.
Haley laughs. “I’ll put it on your tab.”
“What’s that mean?” Holden asks.
“It means you’re going to have to pay for it in a way that she can’t take it back,” I say, shooting Haley a raised brow. “We will pay you eventually.”
“Good luck with that. And with him,” she teases as she tosses me a wink. “Now let’s go, Penn, you dummy.”
“Congrats,” Penn hollers over his shoulder before disappearing from the doorway. “Dumb? These bulbs are dumb . . .”
“You got the wrong ones . . . ,” Haley tells him.
Their voices fade as they disappear into the store.
“I’m going to be going now, too, if you don’t mind,” Mr. Cates says. “I have a big case tomorrow that I want to read some case law about tonight.”
“Oh, absolutely. Thank you for doing this,” I say.
He nods. “Haley took care of my bill before you got here. She’s a sly one, you know.”
Holden releases me to shake the man’s hand again. The spot he was touching tingles long after his palm is gone.
I lift the flowers from the bench and breathe them in again. The sweet smell gets lost as I catch the sparkle of my gramma’s ring on my finger.
A lump settles in my throat as I turn my hand from side to side. I wonder what she would think of this day, of this man I just married.
With a tear licking the corner of my eye, I look up at Holden. He has a hand in his pocket as he chats with the judge. They go back and forth, a two-way conversation, and I catch myself smiling.
The judge picks up his folder and gives me a little wave before disappearing through the doorway.
It’s just my husband and me, standing together in this sweet little flower-filled room.
A shiver runs down my spine.
Holden takes a step back. His teeth come down on his bottom lip. I can tell that he’s feeling me out, waiting on me to break the ice.
“What do we do now?” I ask, swinging my flowers back and forth at my side.
He cocks his head to the side and narrows his eyes. “Is this like asking what we are having for dinner? And there’s a complete right answer that I have to pick out of thin air?”
“Oh no. Trust me. I’ll always just tell you what I want for dinner. I don’t play around about food.”
His laugh makes me laugh.
“I think we completed our mission.” I glance at the arch again. “I’m so glad we came here, though. Can you imagine walking out straight into Honey Creek right now? The whole town would’ve known by the time we got to our car.”
“That would’ve been awkward.”
“You have no idea. They might’ve staged a parade or something for us before we were out of the courthouse.”
He grins. “I’ve always liked a good parade.”
I pull my eyes away from him and focus on my ring. “By the time we get back to town, it’ll be seven or so. Should give us plenty of time to get settled and used to all of this before tomorrow hits and everyone finds out.” I hold my hand up. “How did you get this, anyway?”
“Liv brought it to me at work. Said she was happy to loan it to us for as long as we needed.”
A tinge of regret fills me again for not having my sister with us today. I don’t know why. It’s not like this is a major milestone in my life or something.
And then I consider Holden’s wording. This gorgeous ring on my finger, like Holden, is temporary. On loan.
“Uh, yeah . . .” I drop my hand and blow out a breath. “Okay. You ready, then?”
He steps to the side and motions to the door. “Right after you, sugar.”
“You’re pushing it, Doc.”
He opens his mouth as if to say something, but closes it just as quickly. Instead, he halfway shrugs and heads to the door ahead of me.
I remember leaving the courthouse on the day I married Chad. I was so happy on the outside, but on the inside, there was a nugget of uncertainty. My gut was telling me something just wasn’t quite right.