Page 92 of The Bodyguard's Fall
But today?
Nobody expects their wedding day to feel like an ordinary Monday. Even though our marriage would eventually be annulled, that day wasn’t today. It was still a wedding day, and it looked like it was up to me to make the day something I’d remember.
Just in case I ever wanted to.
“Hold up. No husband of mine would take me to eat fast food on my wedding day.”
The grin was reluctant, but it came all the same. The reckless kind that frayed my nerves and made my heart beat a little faster.
“Alright. What do you want?”
“Steak.” I smiled cheekily at him. “Maybe lobster. Maybe both. I’ll see how I’m feeling.”
“So, is this what we’re doing, then?” He looked at me with pointed interest. “We each get to pick one thing we want to do on our wedding day?” Before I could wipe the startled deer-in-the-headlights look off my face, he added cheerfully, “Maybe I’ll cash mine in tonight.”
I blinked. If he was after a reaction with his words…he got it. My face flooded with heat, and my mind drew a blank the moment his teasing drawl settled over me.
“As long as it’s steak or lobster, you can cash it in right now.”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?”
“No.”
“Because no wife of mine wouldn’t want to—” He stopped there and gave me a pointed look before I swatted his arm, delighted at his low chuckle filling the truck.
“You love steak! This is both of our picks. Dinner is the only thing we’re doing tonight!” I declared before my face blazed yet again.
“Naw, this is all you. I’m more of a chicken salad kind of guy.”
“You are not!”
He smiled and thankfully let our conversation fizzle after promising to pull over at the next decent-sized town that would have a few options for food. I concentrated my gaze out the window, willing my flushed cheeks to cool and the smile on my face to lessen.
We crossed the border back into Vermont. And as much as I loved this state, I wasn’t ready to face reality just yet. This whole day had felt like an escape, which didn’t make any sense. But now, I got to pretend I had a husband and we were out on a drive like any other regular couple, and I hadn’t looked over my shoulder once since we’d been in the truck. I’d forgotten there was even a need to do so.
“I almost forgot I had a stalker today.”
His brow furrowed. “We literally got married because of your stalker.”
“I know. I just…besides that.”
There was a beat of silence between us where I got the impression he was trying not to smile.
“It just… It felt like an escape, you know? Just going out for a drive in a new town, looking at new things. It felt like I was me again, back before…” I drifted off, not wanting to say the name that would spoil all of it. “Anyway, it was nice.”
He sobered before rubbing his hand on his chin.
I turned my face to the window, determined to stop talking. The hills, nestled on each side of the road, were lit in a riot of reds, oranges, and yellows. Brief flashes of another life showed me riding in the hills by Autumn Ridge, pretending to be tourists and leaf peeping with Ari and Reese—with the windows rolled down and the music up as loud as possible.
The truck began to slow. I looked over at Tate as he pulled off the 89 interstate and onto an exit marked for a town called Woodstock.
“Alright, we can’t be gone for long. It’s getting late, and the longer we’re away, the more nervous I get. But there haven’t been any cars following us all day, so I think we can swing it. Are you up for some dinner and a honeymoon date in a random town?”
A grin split my face. “Yes.”
“Now you’ll be able to commemorate the day you hitched your wagon to mine,” he said as I watched his manly hands maneuver the wheel.
We arrived in the town as the sun was nearly setting. The red-and-orange glow from the sky set the stage, highlighting the charming town’s beauty. When I saw the adorable streets lined with shops and trees, and sidewalks filled with colorful leaves, and the most beautiful covered bridge I’d ever seen in the middle of town, I declared we had to go on a walk first before all the shops closed for the day.
