Starla sighed with what sounded like happy relief. Instead of going with the wedding party, Ashley and Mia ran straight to them, babbling excitedly. Starla cooed over how pretty they’d looked and what a good job they’d done, then showed them some of the pictures she’d snapped.
“So,” she began once they’d completely taken the phone away from her to thumb through the photos, “are we going over to the reception?”
“It’s up to you,” he said, lacing his fingers through hers. “I know you’d like to spend time with everyone.”
“I would,” she said half on a sigh. “But I’d like to spend some time with you too.”
Yeah, that was their only trial right now: finding the time to see each other around their work schedules, but they made it somehow. He was mostly the standard eight-to-five, but she was two-to-ten/eleven/twelve every night except Sunday and Monday. Sundays were really the only full days they had together; he lived for Sundays now. But today was Saturday, and both Dermamania locations had closed for the wedding. They had all night, and he didn’t want to spend it around here. Shelly was picking up the girls later so they could all drive to Dallas in the morning to visit her grandparents. It would be just the two of them.
“Then I think,” he began, stroking each one of Starla’s fingers, “we should make our apologies and get the hell out of here.”
She grinned and curled an arm around his neck. “I think that sounds like a helluva good plan.”
It turned out harder to get away than they’d planned. Ashley and Mia had found new best buddies in Ghost’s nephews. Jennifer Rodgers was her usual chatterbox self. Jared’s mom tied Starla up for a good twenty minutes already talking about Thanksgiving plans. Macy wrapped Starla in a tight hug and thanked her and Jared both for coming. Ghost, with a rather sheepish grin that looked totally out of place on him, shook Jared’s hand. “Appreciate you being here, man.” Maybe he was just being nice for his new wife’s sake, or Starla’s, or maybe he really meant it. Didn’t matter. But Jared meant his own reply.
“Congratulations. We wish you both the best. And, you know, if you ever need to go out on some late-night vigilante justice or anything…”
Ghost laughed, and that sounded genuine enough. “You never know. I haven’t lost your number, dude.” They were interrupted by Brian crashing through and clapping his arm around Ghost’s shoulder.
“You did it, you magnificent bastard.”
“I know you’re devastated that I’m officially off the market.”
“Ol’ married man.” Starla laughed. “He’s been off the market for a while now.”
“I don’t think I was ever actually on it. Like, ever. What the hell happened?”
“Macy went bargain shopping,” Brian said. He was rewarded with Ghost’s middle finger in his face. The two traded insults for a minute before Ghost tipped his chin up at Jared and moved on, but Brian hung back.
“Hey, listen,” he said, moving closer to Jared’s side. “It’s been a while, but I never really got a chance to thank you for what you did. I know it wasn’t so much for me, but still. Max is looking at a nice long ride.”
Starla shuddered. “Ugh, I hate even hearing that name.”
“I know,” Brian said. “I don’t know what I could ever do to repay either of you, but if there’s ever anything, just let me know.”
Jared shook his head. “It’s all good. Just glad to see you healthy.” He held out his hand, and Brian grabbed it with a firm shake.
“He’s not the only one,” Starla said, reaching up to give her boss a hug. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me when anyone else would have showed me the door. Seriously. I’m grateful every day, do you hear me? Every fucking day.”
“Yeah. Me too.” Brian held her tight for just a second, then released her with a dimpled grin and gave Jared a nod. “See you guys.” He wandered over to where Candace was standing with a group of guests, holding Lyric on her hip, and took him from her to give him a little toss in the air before hugging him tight. The boy squealed with delight.
“Perfect day,” Starla said happily. She leaned closer to his ear. “Now let’s get out of here. I can’t take any more emotion today.”
They finally managed to tear the girls away from their new playmates. Late afternoon was fading to evening as they strolled toward the truck, hand in hand as the girls ran ahead—everything was a race, after all. He watched them laugh and enjoyed the warmth of Starla’s hand in his and marveled at how fast things
could turn around.
“Thanks for this,” she said. “It would have sucked without you here.”
“Oh yeah? What was with all the ‘oh, you don’t have to go, I’ll go by myself, it’s fine…’”
She chuckled and lightly smacked him on the chest. “You know me by now.”
“Sure do.” He kissed her temple. “And I’m glad I came.”
“I had fun, Dad,” Mia said minutes later as he fired up the truck and Starla buckled up beside him.
“Me too,” Ash piped up. “I want to do that again. When are you and Starla getting married?”
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Starla’s movements freeze, and when he turned fully to look at her, she was staring dead at him with the most pathetic attempt to hide her “oh shit” expression that he’d ever seen. Damn. Out of the mouths of babes. He couldn’t help it; he started to laugh, and caught Ashley’s eye in the rearview mirror. “I’m not sure. When should we?”
“Tomorrow,” Mia said confidently.
“We have gymnastics tomorrow. We can’t miss that,” Ashley argued.
“What, we’re less important than your gymnastics?” Whatever panic had gripped Starla, it had passed quickly. She looked back at the girls and put a hand to her chest in mock indignation, and the twins giggled.
“Okay, I guess we could skip just this once.”
Giving Jared a smile, she turned back around. “It’s probably a little too short notice, sweetie.”
The two groaned in unison, but once they’d become distracted by something else—which took all of about five seconds—Jared leaned closer to Starla, loving the way her breath sometimes caught when he did that. “Seventy-two hours,” he said in her ear.
“What?” she asked, searching his eyes.
“In Texas, you have to wait seventy-two hours after you get the marriage license. And, you know, it’s the weekend, so the earliest we could get one is Monday morning. Anything after Thursday morning is fair game.”
“Are we really talking about…?”
Maybe he was crazy. Maybe it was too soon to be talking about it—she had her life just the way she wanted it. But, dammit, when she wasn’t with him, it kept him awake at night. “I only want you to know that’s where I see us going. I don’t care if it’s next week, next month, or next year…though I hope it isn’t that long. I don’t care if it’s big, though I’ve been there and done that, and I don’t care if it’s only the four of us there with a judge. But I want to marry you. I want to take you away and have you all to myself for a week or more. And then I want to spend my life with you.”
“Dammit, I said I couldn’t take any more emotion today.” But her voice was trembling with it. Her arms slid around his neck. “I want to spend my life with you too,” she whispered, and pure joy rushed through his heart. “With you, and with them—”
“Can we go?” Mia asked. “I’m hungry.”
“I want pizza,” Ashley chimed in.
“Are you sure about that?” Jared asked Starla with a disgruntled glance at his daughters, and she burst out laughing. It was music to his soul.
Then her lips curled in that naughty grin of hers that made him look forward even more to the night ahead, if that were possible. “Yeah, I am. Can you handle it?”
Jared caught her lips in a kiss—a common occurrence that by now escaped the twins’ notice, unlike that night in his living room all those months ago. When insecurities and heartbreak and uncertainty tainted the air between them, but they still decided to take a chance.
All of it was gone now. Security, love, and certainty were all that remained, all that mattered. He would nurture those from now on and forget all the rest.
But at that moment, he returned his future wife’s naughty grin and straightened up to put the truck in gear. And he had only two words for her.
“Watch me.”