Page 78 of Blue Jean Summer

“I did,” I said, stealing a peck as our wedding guests lined up with sparklers for the send-off.

“Hayes…” Catherine cupped her hands over her mouth. “This is too much.”

“So, you’re saying you don’t want to drive us out of here?”

Catherine grabbed the key. “I didn’t say that.”

We ran hand in hand through the tunnel of sparklers, straight to the 1965 Mustang convertible—in candy apple red, of course. I opened the driver’s side door, and the photographer snapped away as Catherine got behind the wheel.

Someone had attached a banner that read Just Married on the bumper. The likely suspects were Mason and Levi, since they had hidden the car for me and brought it out during the reception.

The top was down, so I hopped over the door and dropped into the passenger seat. “Do you know how to drive stick?”

Catherine grinned as she smoothed her hands over the perfectly restored steering wheel and leather interior. “Yes, I do.”

I pulled the cowboy hat off her head so it didn’t blow away and held mine on. “Alright, Mrs. Wilder. Let’s get out of here.” I cupped her chin and kissed her. The rapid click of the camera shutter and raucous cheers reminded me of the optics, but that’s not why I was kissing her.

The crowd whooped and applauded as Catherine revved the engine. We peeled away from the tent and headed down the lane toward the gate.

Since we weren’t going on a honeymoon or even leaving town, we cruised around Honey Hollow for the inaugural ride in the Mustang.

The two of us stayed out just long enough for the guests to clear out of the estate, enjoying the cool mountain breeze as the stars came out to celebrate.

“So,” I said when Catherine neared the estate again after an hour of cruising. “Lewis got married.”

She gasped. “You’re joking.”

I chuckled. “I wish I was.”

Her shock turned to laughter. “You know, you have yet to tell me where the bad blood started. Because marrying people to one-up each other isn’t normal.”

“And yet, you married me anyway.”

Catherine grinned. “I said it wasn’t normal. I didn’t say it wasn’t fun.”

I draped my arm across the back of her seat, grazing her shoulder with my fingers. “It wasn’t a competition between us until my parents—our dad—passed away. Lewis’s mom had married his stepdad before I was born, but my dad had always made time to be present for Lewis and kept him and his mom very financially comfortable. My mom loved him and treated him like her own so he never felt weird coming to stay with us. We were brothers in every sense of the word.” I sighed. “After my parents died, Granddad took it upon himself to make sure the financial support my dad had given Lewis and his mom continued. From what I heard, Lewis’s stepdad saw it as a payday and put pressure on Lewis’s mom to ask for more and more money. Granddad knew what was going on and refused. But Lewis saw it as me getting more than him because I had to move here to live with our grandparents.”

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel. “It’s not like it was your choice. Your parents died. I’m sure you would have given anything to keep that from happening.”

“Anything” was an understatement.

I traced abstract shapes on her skin. “After that, he stopped being my brother. Nothing was ever good enough when he had voices whispering in his ear that he deserved more.”

“Yeah, but now he’s a grown man who’s still acting like a little shit,” Catherine snapped as righteous anger flooded her perfect face.

I chuckled. “Alright, pipe down, slugger.”

Lights appeared as we crested the last hill that peeked over the estate. Vendors had almost cleared out the tent, and the guests had disappeared. Catherine pulled around to the back of the house and parked beside my SUV. As soon as she cut the engine, reality and the weight of what we had just done came crashing in.

She let out a slow breath. “This was the best surprise.”

“I’m glad you like it. And it’s road safe, unlike your bucket of bolts. But it is rear-wheel drive, so no snow or heavy rain. I want you to drive my SUV if the weather is bad.”

Her tone mellowed. “I can’t accept this, Hayes. It’s too much. You’re already bankrolling my life and my social initiative. It’s—”

“Cath.” I captured her attention by drawing her gaze to me with my hand on her jaw. I kissed her, deep and slow. This one wasn’t for show. This was just for us. Her lips opened on a gasp. I traced them with my tongue before pulling her closer and tangling my hands in her hair. I wanted more. Needed more.

But I backed away.