Page 80 of Fall Over You

“Is there something about being reliable in wedding vows? I can put that in mine. I promise to be reliably entertaining.”

He grins. “You don’t have to promise that. I’m getting that whether I like it or not.”

We’re at the passenger door and Tyler opens it for me, offering a hand to help me in.

When he gets in on his side, I pout at him. “Ellie gets a forehead kiss after you buckle her in.”

Tyler blinks several times. “You can buckle yourself in.”

“Yes, and? I deserve a reward for that.”

Tyler turns the ignition and buckles his seatbelt. He twists and puts his hand behind my seat before he backs up to the turnaround spot in my driveway. “Are forehead kisses part of husbandly duties?”

“Yes,” I huff. “Among other things.”

He moves his hand from behind my seat and shifts the car into drive, but before he goes on, his hand cups my head. Those deep eyes drink me in until he leans over and strains to kiss my forehead.

I hum and kick my feet to his deep chuckle. “How do you have so much joy?”

“Doesn’t take much to make me happy. In fact—” I dig in my purse and get out two sticks of bubblegum, “sometimes it’s just this simple.” I unwrap both pieces. “You want one?”

Tyler shakes his head, so I put both in my mouth and start working them up for bubbles.

“So,” I say when we’re out the road a bit, “are all your wedding day dreams coming true?”

Tyler doesn’t answer, but he spends a few moments taking his eyes off the road and putting them squarely on me.

Tyler’s the silent, brooding type, but he also doesn’t say shit he doesn’t mean. So I take him seriously when he answers my question.

“I guess they are.”

“Aren’t you all dolled up?” Ernest croons when Tyler and I walk into his room at Creek Shores. “And you brought reinforcements.”

I make a shushing motion. “We’re taking you on a field trip.”

“You and Mr. Meat and Potatoes?” Ernest tips his head at Tyler.

“Hi. I’m Tyler. Becca’s, um . . . we met on the phone last night.” Tyler sticks his hand out and Ernest gives it a fishy shake.

“I know what you are,” Ernest says. “Where are you taking me?”

The nerves start to set in and I hold my wrist in front of me. “Um, well? To the courthouse. We’re getting married today and we’d love to have you there with us.”

Ernest cackles and shakes his head. “It wouldn’t be your wedding day if there wasn’t some law breaking involved.”

I wink at him. “How cool is your nurse today, would you say?”

“I’ve saved up some brownie points. Let’s at least leave her a note, though.”

My eyes feel hot when my mom walks my way with her hands full of soft pink and white cosmos, flanked by baby’s breath and tied with a ribbon.

“Mom, these are perfect. Thank you.”

When I step in to hug her, I smell her “going out” perfume. “I had to race home to get them, but it was worth it.” She holds me back by my arms. “Almost like you told me to plant them this year for a reason, huh?”

I laugh and blush, but there’s no way I could have seen this coming when I gave her those cosmos seeds in April. I just thought they’d look good in a vase in her kitchen. “I guess it all worked out!”

We wander to where Mamaw is talking to Ernest, looking at Tyler standing across the courthouse hall. Ernest takes my hand and wiggles it. “You sure about him?”