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“It’s just that, our wedding, it’s not going to be the same,” she said softly.
“The same as what?”
“As Amber’s.” She swallowed and rolled her neck. “As your first wedding.”
I knew what my first wedding was like but had no idea about Amber’s. I couldn’t imagine any reality in which they would be similar.
“What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense.”
She huffed. “Our wedding ceremony. It won’t be the same as Amber’s, or as your first marriage. Our ceremony will be one of repentance because of your divorce.” She paused. “Why are you smiling? You think this is funny? You do know that the church doesn’t recognize the second marriage the same way it does the first?”
Suddenly, I understood all her excuses and hesitations. I grinned.
“Oh, I know. It just doesn’t apply. I got married at the courthouse the first time.”
Ruby froze, gaping at me for a split second before her face screwed up and she burst into tears.
I pulled her, sobbing, into my arms.
Chuckling, I rubbed her back.
“Ruby-mine, you have got to learn to communicate. I couldn’t tell you anything because you refused to talk about the past, but you have all these preconceived ideas that are just plain wrong.”
“Okay.” She hiccoughed. “Go ahead and book the church. I can do it now. I just wasn’t ready to face the other ceremony.”
“So,” I grinned. “Are we engaged?”
She sniffed and side-eyed me. “Not officially. You haven’t given me a ring or properly proposed.”
I laughed and tucked her under my chin. I rested my cheek on top of her head.
The sweetness was almost painful.
Nothing beat the feeling of driving home from work later that night knowing she and Jace were waiting at the end of the day, at the end of a week, and that my weekend would be filled with them.
The meeting had gone well, better than I had expected. All three of my senior consultants wanted in, with the condition that I stay on in an advisory capacity for up to three years. That gave me a working salary for the next three years while slowly scaling back to part-time hours.
Dylan also met with me privately and gave me the results of the location search for Spuds. It was better than I hoped.
I stuck my head in Jace’s bedroom door to find him asleep. Standing over his bed, it struck me how close I came to missing out on him entirely. I shuddered at the thought of what might have been, save for a chance encounter with an old friend, and my willingness to steamroll Ruby.
Thank you, God, for this child.
Quietly, I backed out of his room and headed to the master, anticipation a low burn in my gut.
Ruby sat up against the headboard with her knees drawn up wearing an oversized t-shirt. The smile she gave me lit up her whole face and warmed me from across the room.
I carefully closed and locked her bedroom door. When I turned back around, Ruby knelt on the bed in nothing but a pair of white lace panties, the t-shirt tossed onto the floor.
I let out a low whistle, then cocked an eyebrow at her and grinned.
“See, now that’s how you should greet me every night,” I declared.
Tilting her head, she lay down her challenge. “If you make it worth my while, I just might.”
Moving towards her, I unbuttoned my shirt.
Her body was a wonder to me. If we had been together all these years, I probably would have taken her for granted by now. Considering all that we’d been through, I doubted the marvel of her would ever fade.
