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Brett Young—In Case You Didn’t Know starts playing the minute we reach the middle of the linoleum flooring.
The lights above us make it feel like we’re under a spotlight with the people in the bar harder to make out.
Ryker pulls his right hand around my left side and then takes my right hand into his as he begins to sway with me. I let him lead as my left hand travels up his right arm and settles on his shoulder.
I exhale at the sensation of being held safe in his arms. The safest place I’ve felt in so long. I just hope my heart is safe here too.
His eyes lock onto mine and everything around us drowns in a sea of black. In only a second, Ryker changes an uncomfortable experience into a moment I’ll remember as our first dance.
We find our groove as Ryker sways me back and forth in a slow circle, his eyes not breaking from mine for even a moment. He’s a good dancer, but that doesn’t surprise me. What surprises me is how much I don’t want this song to end.
“Did I ruin everything?” he asks softly.
The question takes me off guard. Did he ruin everything? If anything, he’s made everything better.
My business.
My brother’s living situation.
“How could you have ruined everything?”
“I should have given you a real wedding, Juliet. You’re not the kind of woman that I should’ve hidden away in a courthouse with two witnesses. I should have done this right from the beginning.”
There’s almost sadness in his eyes as he speaks. A regret for how he handled our nuptials. But I don’t see why he should feel that way when we had agreed to it.
“We agreed to a courthouse wedding. It’s ok—”
“It wasn’t ok… and it’s still not ok. My sister was right.”
“It was just a wedding. It was supposed to be fake,” I say, but the minute I say it, I regret it.
He flinches at the word fake, and I don't blame him, because now… nothing about us feels fake.
“Does this marriage still feel fake to you?” he asks.
“No,” I say. "Nothing about us feels fake anymore.”
He searches my eyes for a second and then asks another question.
“Do you like being my wife, Juliet?”
This answer only requires one tiny word, but the word means so much.
“Yes.”
Ryker lowers his head and kisses me, releasing my hand and wrapping both of his arms around my back to pull me closer to him. I press into his kiss, giving back as much as I receive, running my hands over his shoulders as he continues to sway us in a circle.
Finally, the song ends and the crowd cheers.
Ryker pulls his lips reluctantly from mine. My eyelashes flutter open to find him waiting for me patiently.
“Congratulations, you two,” the DJ says. “Alright, you crazy people. Let's get back on the dance floor and get this party going.”
The music returns to its high energy as people rush back onto the dance floor, passing us as we head for the dance floor exit.
Ryker leads me back to our table where Harper is no longer sitting.
We both look around and find Camden, Everett and Harper pouring over the BBQ menu.
