The magistrate cleared his throat and repeated, “You may kiss the bride.”
Ethan held Amy’s hand for a moment and then reached out and pulled her against himself. Before kissing her he whispered, “Convince me.” He pressed his lips against hers. His kiss felt softer than it had in her office, somehow more tender, and she felt calm and safe as he held her against himself.
Ethan kept his lips locked against hers for a while longer. Soon the comfort gave way to excitement as Ethan ran his tongue against her lips. She half wanted to slap him, but instead she kissed him back, sliding her tongue against his. She wanted to see how he’d react. She wasn’t just going to swoon and fall apart every time he kissed her. Amy let her lips linger against his for just a moment before pulling back.
Ethan wrapped his arm around Amy and walked with her to the exit. He kissed her cheek as they walked down the hall and whispered to her as they walked out of the building. The first step of their marriage was almost complete. After they were safely inside the limo, he said, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you liked that.”
“Is that a problem?” Amy asked.
“Not for me,” Ethan said. “Even the magistrate seemed to think it was real. Imagine what he’d say if he knew our arrangement.” Ethan leaned in closer to Amy, brushing her hair to the side as he said, “You were great. For a second there, you even had me wondering if you had feelings for me.”
As their limo pulled away from the courthouse, Ethan slid over to the bar and pulled out a bottle of champagne from a bucket of ice. Amy watched him pour two glasses. What was he thinking? she wondered. Was this all a game or was some part of that real? She could tell that Ethan was enjoying the ambiguity.#p#分页标题#e#
She had made a schedule for the day, and he had broken it, and now he wanted to celebrate. He was practically gloating as he smiled and handed her a glass. Amy sunk down in her seat and let out a deep sigh of frustration. She didn’t know if she was angry or sad, but she sure hadn’t imagined feeling this way so quickly. Amy waved off Ethan’s offer of champagne. She didn’t feel like they had anything worth celebrating.
Ethan placed the champagne flutes down and turned to Amy. “What’s wrong? That’s a four hundred dollar glass of champagne you’re ignoring.”
Amy shook her head. She looked again to make sure the divider between them and the driver was up before she spoke. “I don’t know. You showed up at my office and hauled me down to the courthouse. I get that you needed things to happen quickly, but this is an equal partnership. I need you to run things by me. No more surprises. I have enough of that at work. I don’t need this drama in my personal life.” Amy paused for a second as she realized that things had become a lot more personal than she had intended. This wasn’t just a business deal; this was something more.
In truth, she hadn’t completely minded the surprises. They had kept her off-balance in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time. When Ethan showed up at her office and kissed her, she had felt a thrill. Deep down, she knew there was something between her and Ethan, something more than just a marriage of convenience. She just wasn’t sure if she was ready to find out what exactly that something was.
Amy watched as the scenery changed outside her window. The stately buildings of the capitol had given way to townhouses and then suburbs. “Where are we going anyway? I’m all for enjoying ourselves, but don’t you think you should at least let me know where we’re heading before we get there?”
Ethan grabbed the glasses of champagne again and handed one to Amy. “Ok, I’ll run things by you. Let’s toast to an equal partnership.” He clanked his glass against Amy’s and took a sip. “Promise me that you’ll let me know when I’m asking too much of you,” he added. “You know, it hadn’t even occurred to me to ask what kind of wedding you’d want. I just wanted to get everything in line before we have to head out to meet Hank.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Amy replied. “I’m just not used to other people making decisions for me. I’ve spent a long time building a life for myself, and it’s just hard to see how easy it was for you to upend everything without even thinking about it. The funny thing is I never wanted a big wedding. I always pictured myself getting married somewhere quiet, with my closest friends and family there. So, I guess you weren’t far off.”
Ethan looked at Amy for a while before responding. She wondered if he was sizing her up. So much had happened between them in the past few days, and she really didn’t know where they stood or what he thought of her. Were they business partners? Were they lovers? Were they husband and wife? As she looked into his deep blue eyes, she found no answers, only more questions. Ethan’s response didn’t make things any clearer. “Amy, you’ll have the wedding you deserve. Some day, you’ll get to stand across from the love of your life and say ‘I do.’ I’m sure of it. Don’t think for a moment that today was the last chance you’ll get at it.”