“Is it time to gonow?” June asked, barely restrained frustration echoing in her voice.
“Almost, Junebug,” Asher said. “You got on your dress pretty early. We won’t be leavin’ for a bit yet.”
“Actually, that might have changed,” Nat said as a text came in from her mom.
Asher glanced at her, the first time he’d made eye contact for more than a fleeting second since Cockgate, and raised a brow. “As long as it’s not you backin’ out on me, we can figure it out.”
Nat laughed and batted aside his concern. Surprisingly, the thought of not going through with it hadn’t even once entered her mind. But that was something she could unpack later. Right now, they had other things to deal with.
She turned her phone to face him and gestured to it. “My momma’s guilt-trippin’ us into coming over for pictures. What, since we didn’t care enough to invite her to the ceremony and all.”
Asher huffed out a laugh and rubbed a hand across his trimmed beard. “All right. If we’re gonna do that first, we better get a move on. How long till you’re ready?” he asked with a raised brow.
“All I need to do is put my dress on, but she’s ordered me not to do that either, so it doesn’t get wrinkled. So…I guess I’m ready now? How about you? You thinkin’ about maybe cleanin’ up a bit?” she asked, somehow managing to keep a straight face even through her blatant lie.
He looked ridiculously hot in his dark jeans, vest, and a light gray button-down shirt rolled to his elbows, showcasing the toned forearms she hadn’t ever really paid much attention to before. But now, after seeing them flex as he’d pumped his cock mere hours prior, they would most definitely be starring in her nighttime fantasies. He’d left his hair loose like she loved, and she had the strongest urge to run her fingers through it. Gather a fistful just to guide his face close to hers.
“Thought I’d go like this,” he said with a shrug. “Hope it won’t be too much of a burden to sayI doto someone who looks like a bum.”
“I’ll force myself to suffer through.”
“I appreciate that. We can leave as soon as Owen wakes up and swing by your parents’ on the way to the courthouse.”
No sooner had the words left Asher’s mouth than the baby monitor crackled with Owen’s happy, sleepy baby murmurs.
“I’ll pack the diaper bag,” she said, having no idea who the hell she’d become that that had become her first instinct.
“Already ahead of you, wifey.” Asher winked and gestured to where the diaper bag sat by the side door.
Nat ignored the way her stomach bottomed out before soaring thanks to the nickname that didn’t actually mean anything. And she absolutely didn’t watch him walk down the hallway toward Owen’s room, or admire the way his jeans hugged his ass, or bite her lip over his confident stride.Did not.
Getting everyone out of the house still wasn’t a speedy affair no matter how many times they’d done it, so it was almost an hour later before they walked into her parents’ house. Her mom wasn’t exactly the kind of woman who’d let her guests show themselves in without a word—her Southern hospitality too ingrained for that—which was why it was so bizarre no one greeted them when they walked in the door.
Nat furrowed her brow, glancing around at the empty house. “Hello?”
“Nat, you’re here!” her momma said, overly loud, a bright smile on her face as she rounded the corner from the back of the house. She strode toward them in a light gray skirt and a sleeveless navy-blue silk blouse, her heels clicking on the hardwoods—the woman didn’t know the meaning of loungewear.
“What’re you all dressed up for?” Nat asked. “You’re not aimin’ for an invite to the courthouse, right? It’s seriously not a big—”
“No, no.” Her mom waved her off. “Nothing like that. I just, um, have a meetin’ later with the historical committee.”
Nat narrowed her eyes. While it wasn’t unusual for her mom to have a meeting of that nature, itwasunusual for her to stumble over her words. Something was off here—Nat just wasn’t sure what. Before she could ask what the hell was going on, her mom grabbed June’s hand and spun the little girl around, the skirt flaring out around her.
“I’m so glad Ava’s old dress fit you,” Momma said, grinning down at June. “You look just like a princess!”
“I do?” June asked, awe in her voice as she stared down at herself with wide eyes.
“You most certainly do.”
June glanced back at Nat and Asher, a grin splitting her face. “I’m a princess today!”
“You’re definitely pretty enough to be one,” Asher said while expertly dodging Owen’s flailing arms.
“Why don’t you give me this one?” her momma said, grabbing Owen from Asher’s arms without waiting for the okay. “I’ll take the kids out back so you can get changed, Nat. Asher, would you mind stickin’ around in here in case she needs help? Plus, I’d like to get a shot of you two walkin’ outside, all right?”
Just like yesterday, her momma didn’t wait for a response before striding down the hallway toward the backyard, June’s hand clutched in hers as Owen grinned at them over her shoulder.
“Well, I guess we have our orders,” Nat said with an eye roll. Truthfully, it was a testament to how far she’d come that hearing something like that didn’t immediately send her fleeing in the opposite direction.
