The food came, thank God. I needed to eat and think. Jessica was kind enough to let me eat in peace, but after my last bite, before the check arrived, she asked more questions. "Where are you getting married on Saturday? Is it a church wedding? I know receptions can be expensive, but do you think I could watch the ceremony? I really do consider you a friend."
"Um, yeah, but we haven't planned anything. It was very sudden, and we were just going to ask the clerk on staff to perform a civil ceremony on Saturday since we both have it off. This Saturday is Tristan's weekend with his daughter anyway. She wanted to be there. Claire wants to plan a spring wedding. We thought we'd invite all our friends and family to that one."
"Oh? I didn't think county offices were open on Saturdays."
"What?" I didn't want to believe her. I took out my phone and googled the Carroll County Circuit Court. "Oh my gosh, you're right. It says appointments preferred, but they're only open Monday through Friday. I'd better call."
"You should," she agreed.
We paid the check, and I returned to work. Outside, before I walked back in, I told Jessica, "Thanks for not getting upset with me. This has been a crazy couple of days."
"Sounds like it."
I sighed. "I know I'm going to take heat for this, especially when I show up at work with a ring on my finger, but can you do me a favor?"
"Sure. Anything."
"Don't tell people we've only known each other a few weeks, please? No one needs to know how sudden this was."
Jessica took my hand and squeezed it. "Your secret is safe with me. I hope everything works out."
"Me too."
I STOPPED by Tristan's auto shop on my way home. I'd called the circuit court after work, five minutes before they closed, and found out they only had two options open this week. I had to tell Tristan I'd picked a time and I hoped he'd be okay with it.
I parked in front of the door marked "office." A younger guy, probably close to my age, made eye contact and asked, "May I help you?" I liked that he asked "may I" instead of "can I."
I said, "Hi. I wanted to know if Tristan was around. I need to talk to him."
The guy came up to the counter and said, "Okay, I'll go find him. May I get your name?"
"Um, my name's Grant." It seemed so formal, and I felt stupid for no reason, but then his face lit up.
"Oh! You're Grant. Tristan told us about you. Have you gone home yet?"
"What?" I asked, confused by the non sequitur. "No, why? I stopped here on my way home."
He smiled. "No reason. My name's Wes, by the way. I run the office and order parts and stuff." He held out his hand.
Suddenly I felt so much better. I smiled and shook his hand. "Hi. It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise. I'll go get Tristan." He headed for the door that led into the garage, but stopped at the door. "I'm glad to finally meet you. I've never seen Tristan so happy."
He left and walked up to another guy I could see through a large glass window that allowed people in the office to see into the shop. Maybe it was called a hangar, like for planes. I didn't know, but I rationalized calling it that in my head. The space in there looked big from where I stood. When Wes turned and pointed at me and then walked on, the other guy came into the office.
He held out his hand to me. "Hey, I'm Jeff. I've worked for Tristan the past ten years, and five years for his father before that. Tristan's a good guy. I'm happy for you both. Let me tell you, Tristan can be a little rough around the edges, but he's got a good heart."
"Yeah, I kinda figured that one out."
"Have you gone home yet?" Jeff asked.
It felt odd. Why would he ask me that, especially after Wes had done the same? "Um, no," I said. "Why?"
He shrugged. "No reason. Tristan said you lived close."
"Oh, yeah, I do. It's like five minutes."
"Convenient," he commented, nodding his head in that way people do when they can't think of anything interesting to say. Was he always like this, or did I make him nervous? And if he was nervous, I wanted to know why-because I didn't tend to make people nervous.
"Yeah," I agreed, nodding back in the same uncomfortable manner.
Tristan came through the door and smiled at me right away. "Hey, baby. I didn't expect to see you until later. Have you been home yet?"
"No. Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I asked, slightly irritated. I couldn't dwell on the weirdness. I needed to get to my point for showing up at his work. "Look, Tristan, can I talk to you? Privately?"
He glanced at the guys, and they left the room, closing the door. Tristan lifted the part of the counter that was attached with hinges and folded it over so he could cross to my side. He pulled me to him and hugged me. I felt his lips on my neck, and he nuzzled my ear. "It's so nice to see you. I've missed you. I've been obsessing over last night and hoped you weren't mad with me."
He released me, and I looked him in the eyes. He had such lovely eyes. "No. I'm not mad. You were right about me being scared, but I have to admit I liked most of it. I want you to ravage me like that again, only with less teeth."
He grinned. "I can do that."
"I also like the idea of ice cubes." I blushed and looked away, but I couldn't not look at him-no matter how embarrassed I was to admit it-so I brought my gaze back up before he could do it for me.
"I'll see what I can do later." He kissed me softly several times, but it progressed quickly. In moments, he kissed me deeply and moved one hand up to the back of my head so he could keep me there.
I had my arms around his neck, and I can't say I minded his relentless tongue, but we were in his office-the office with a huge glass window. As soon as he reached down and cupped my ass with his other hand, I jumped.
He apologized, "I'm sorry. You're hard to resist. I want you so bad."
"It's okay. I think it's the large window that's making me skittish." I pointed. He turned to look with me at the three guys on the other side, laughing and making obscene gestures and kissy-faces and touching themselves in ways that made me blush again.
I hid my face against his chest as Tristan laughed and waved them away, encircling my waist with one arm and refusing to let me go even though we were being watched.
"Who's that other guy?"
"Will, my other mechanic. Will, Jeff, and I do the labor, while Wes takes care of the office. We've all worked together a long time. I went to school with Jeff. Will and Jeff met at a hockey game, and Jeff suggested I give him a job because he was looking for work. He's been here six years."
"And Wes?"
"Four years. But he fit in so well with our group that I can't fathom a time when he wasn't here. He's like the glue that keeps everything together."
"Sounds nice."
"It is, but meeting my guys is not why you came by."
"No."
"Then tell me. Everything's okay, isn't it?"
"Yes and no." He narrowed his eyes but waited for me to explain. "I called the circuit court because my friend Jessica from work said she thought they were closed on Saturday. Turns out they are. Appointments are encouraged, because they can be busy, I guess, so I asked about getting married and they had two times slots available. Tomorrow at eight thirty, or Friday at eleven."
Tristan opened his mouth to answer and then promptly shut it. He stared at me a moment. The information must have thrown him. He finally said, "I, um, wow. I'm rebuilding a transmission on Friday, and it's going to take all day. I don't know how I can slip out in the middle."
"Which is why I booked eight thirty tomorrow morning. I hope that's okay."
Tristan let go of my waist and stepped back. "Um, yeah." He leaned on the counter behind him and rubbed his head. "Tomorrow," he reiterated. "We're getting married tomorrow."
I nodded. "Yup. Unless … unless you want to call it off and plan something in the spring."
"I don't know."
Just then, the main door to the office opened behind me. I turned, expecting to see some guy or other coming in for an oil change or something, and nearly choked on my own saliva when it was Teresa, the baby momma. I gasped.
She sneered, "Oh, jeez. I didn't expect you to be here." She gave me a look of disdain and then turned her wrath on Tristan.