“I packed a Bluetooth speaker.” He turned her in his arms so they faced each other. “I know we had our first dance during the reception—”
“Thank goodness I talked you out of the tango.” She smiled and moved closer to him.
“I still think you can learn it. Maybe sometime you’ll let me teach you.” He drew her close. “I wanted to dance with you alone for a while. Just you and me, husband and wife.”
That sounded so good to her. They danced, not ballroom or anything fancy, just rocking back and forth together. She leaned her head against his chest, closed her eyes, and sighed. Perfect.
When the song ended, she looked up at him. “I brought something too.” She walked out of his embrace and over to her carry-on, opened a zippered compartment, and pulled out her laptop.
“You’re kidding me,” he said, his disappointment clear in his tone of voice. “You’re not going to work on our honeymoon, are you? Didn’t you learn from my mistakes?”
She laughed and opened it. “This isn’t for work.” Shepulled up a recording of his favorite movie,Casablanca, and set it on their bedside table. “A bit of nostalgia,” she said.
He laughed and sat down on the bed, pulling her onto his lap. “You really think we’ll be watching movies?” He shook his head, his gaze turning serious as he touched his forehead to hers. “Thank you for giving me another chance. I love you, Olivia Bedford.”
“I love you too.” He didn’t have to thank her. Over the past year he’d more than proved his commitment to her, while she had learned to embrace her spontaneous side. She still liked to keep a schedule, and there were days when he had to put in some overtime at work. But together they had found balance in their lives... and love.
She put her arms around his neck. “Are you sure you don’t want to watch the—”
His kiss silenced her.
Sigh.
***
“That sure was a nice weddin’ yesterday.”
Erma gave Jasper a surprised look. They sat in her kitchen, and she was just about to jump over three of his checker pieces, plus get kinged, making her wonder if he’d thrown a few of the games on purpose, because she was winning this round far too easily. “Wow” was all she could say.
He took a sip of decaf coffee and arched his brow. “‘Wow’ what?”
“You making a positive comment about a wedding.” Olivia and Kingston’s wedding was the third one they’dattended over the past year. The first had been Myrtle and Javier—they’d had a simple wedding at Amazing Grace, with Myrtle’s children as the bridal party and the BBs and their spouses and plus-ones also in attendance. The other one had surprised the entire town—except for the students at Ms. Abernathy’s School of Dance. Sunny Abernathy had become Mrs. Bubba Norton back in January. Sunny was still giving ballroom dance lessons, but Erma and Jasper had decided to take a break from the latest six-week program.
He squinted. “I ain’t never said nuthin’ bad about weddin’s.”
“You never say anything good either.” She picked up the red checker piece and held it over his black one, ready to strike.
“Maybe we should have one.”
The checker hit the game board and sailed over the side of the table. Erma gulped. “Um, what?”
Jasper fiddled with the handle on his mug. “I reckon we should have a weddin’.”
Her jaw fell open. “Weshould have a wedding?”
He hooked his fingers around the handle, not looking at her. “Yup.”
“Jasper Eugene Mathis, are you proposing to me?”
He lifted his gaze and met hers, and what she saw in his eyes made her gulp again. Over the past year and some change, they had settled into a routine with each other. Thursdays were still set aside for meeting with her BBs, but she and Jasper spent every other weeknight at each other’s houses, and usually did something together on Saturday. Sunday was church, where she would sit next to him during the service,then they would usually go to the Orange Bluebird for lunch, then back to her house for checkers. The butterflies she’d felt at the beginning of their relationship had simmered down, and she’d figured that was normal considering their ages. She didn’t expect him to paw her, but they hadn’t even really kissed yet, other than the perfunctory peck on the cheek before they left each other for the night.
But the way he was looking at her now... whoa.
He got up slowly—basically the only speed he knew—and moved to stand in front of her. He put his left hand on the table and started to bend down.
“Wait wait wait!” She put out her hands. “Are you kneeling?”
“I’m tryin’ to,” he grumbled. “But yer gettin’ in the way.”
