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Nova stared at him, waiting for him to say something.
“And what did Brooke have to say?”
“She offered to help me find and pay for a place to live.”
Gunner’s heart sank.
Nova stepped closer. “But I said no, thanks ... because I would rather marry you.” One more step toward him, and now she was so close that his skin vibrated. “Did you give it some thought last night?”
He hadn’t, not really. He hadn’t needed to. So he stared at her dumbly without answering.
She smiled up at him. “Okay, let’s do it, but on one condition.”
Part of him feared what this condition might be? A rock band coming to live with them? A house full of cats? Naming their first kid Phoenix? But another part of him knew that he would say yes to whatever this condition was. He cleared his throat. “Okay,” he managed.
She smiled. “You said there would be no physical expectations, but I can’t agree to that.”
What?He froze. Not only was he unable to speak, he couldn’t breathe.
“That’s not a marriage, and I’m not going to sentence you to a lifetime of celibacy. We have to at leasttrybeing intimate.” She stopped, giving him a chance to speak, but he had forgotten how. “Do you find me attractive, Gunner?” She stared again.
He had to answer this time, or she might think that his answer was no, which it most definitely was not.
“Yes, of course,” he said, and his voice sounded like he’d just swallowed a flaming sword. “You’re beautiful.”
She smiled. “So are you. So let’s give it a shot. Let’s be married in every sense of the word.” She shrugged. “We don’t know what is going to happen, but no one ever does, right? I’ve heard of couples dating for years, doing all the right things, being oh so sure, and then their marriage was a complete catastrophe.”
Yikes. He didn’t know anyone like that, but he was pretty sure he’d never had a single person tell him about their marriage—ever.
“So, how do you want to do this? Do you want to fly to Vegas? Or should we just go ask the pastor for a quick favor?”
He had no idea how to get married quickly. He didn’t know how to get married at all. “Don’t we have to get a license or something?”
She nodded. “I think so, but then I think we can get married as soon as we have it. So I think we could get it done today ...” She glanced around the barn. “If you have time.”
Something was bothering him, and it took him several seconds to pinpoint it.
“Or we could wait,” she said when he didn’t speak for a while.
“Nova, don’t you want to have a real wedding?”
She frowned. “Do you think Priscilla would be more convinced by a real wedding?”
It took him a second to remember who Priscilla was. No, he definitely hadn’t been thinking about her at all. “No, but I thought all little girls grew up dreaming about their big day and their big dress ...” Knowing he sounded like a fool, he stopped talking.
She smiled and leaned into him. “Oh, Gunner, haven’t you figured out yet that I am not like other girls?”
Uh, yes, he had noticed that. “Does that mean you don’t have your dream wedding all planned out?”
“Yeah, that’s what that means. I have never really wanted to get married. And if I did, I always figured it would be to some emotionally unavailable rock star.”
Gunner winced.
She giggled. “I’m not saying Iwantto marry an emotionally unavailable rock star. I just thought I might be in danger of ending up like that.”
He was glad that he was at least protecting her from that. “Are you sure about this?”
She smiled brightly. “I’m so sure. Once you know me a little better, you’ll believe me but for now, please take my word for it.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “Is that okay with you? Didyouhave dreams of a traditional wedding?”
