“Yeah, well, that’s understandable. Wedidhave a wedding sprung on us. And what we thought was gonna be a tiny ceremony in a courthouse with just me, you, and the kids as witnesses turned into quite a different ordeal. And now this reception? Don’t be so hard on yourself. I knew where they were. That’s what makes us a good team.”
“What? So only one of us is able to lose our shit at any given time?”
I nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right.” I lifted my beer up for another drink, and Nat’s gaze was snagged on something, her breath catching. “What is it?”
She blinked and shook her head, glancing to the side before meeting my gaze. “It’s so weird seein’ you with a wedding band. And what’s even weirder is knowin’ it’s mine.”
Funny, I’d felt the same way, sliding the ring I’d bought onto her finger and saying the words—whether we intended them to be real or not—that bound us together by law and under the eyes of God.
I dropped my gaze to her lips, remembering how soft and pliant they’d been that morning. The sound of her throatymoans. How she’d felt beneath my questing hands, the full roundness of her ass gripped in my palms.
Without thinking, I leaned toward her, intent on pressing my lips to hers, when a sound of surprise interrupted us.
“I’m so sorry!” A woman I didn’t recognize stood off to the side—a photographer, I’d guess, thanks to the camera hanging from her neck. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. Mrs. Haven would just like me to get some pictures before it gets too late.”
“Before everyone has too many drinks from their open bar, she means,” Nat said out of the corner of her mouth. Then beamed a smile at the photographer. “Great! Show us where you want us.”
Forty-five painful minutes later, we’d finished all we were able to. Though, if the photographer had managed to get any without Nat’s face contorted thanks to her grumbles, it’d be a miracle.
“Can’t believe they hired someone,” she said.
“I heard that,” Rory said. “Yes, Nat, we all know you’re ridiculously talented, but even you couldn’t take your own wedding photos.”
“Saysyou. I could take pictures of everything no problem.”
“Yeah, everything but the bride.” Mac rolled her eyes.
“Which isyou, by the way,” Will said.
“Whatever,” Nat grumbled as she leaned her back to my chest, as if she needed someone to hold her up for a little while.
I obliged, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and holding her tight to me. The entirety of the time we’d been doing pictures, I could see how much she’d itched to be the one behind the camera. For as gorgeous as she was—and she wasgorgeous—she’d never liked having her picture taken, always preferring to be the one behind the lens.
Though it had crossed my mind that when she said yes to me, she’d be saying no to so many other things, I hadn’t reallyallowed myself to realize the gravity of exactly what she was giving up by agreeing to marry me. I saw that now, though, when I looked into her eyes as someone else captured memories for us when it had been her job for so long.
“You okay?” I asked when everyone else had scattered and we finally had a moment of peace.
She lifted one bare shoulder, the move drawing my eyes to her silky, tanned skin. Making me wonder, not for the first time, exactly how it’d feel under my lips. “I’m just not used to bein’ on this side of things, you know?”
“Yeah, I do. But it’s more than that, isn’t it?”
She huffed out a breath and rested her head back on my chest, curling her fingers over my forearms still wrapped around her. “I honestly haven’t had time to think about it much since I’ve been here. But…I miss it. I’ve snapped a couple pictures of you or the kids, but that’s been days ago. This is the longest I’ve gone without taking a picture. And now…all these people around. My family… Even if this marriage isn’t real, the emotions are. I’m just bummed about it.” Her eye roll could be heard for miles when she continued, “And I know Misty will capture them or whatever, but she won’t capture what I saw, you know?”
I hummed and tightened my arms around her, pressing a kiss to her temple before lowering my lips to her ear. “It’s a good thing I grabbed your camera bag before we left, then, isn’t it?”
She spun around, her eyes wide, as she shoved me hard in the stomach. “Shut up. Are you serious?”
I grabbed her hands to stop her from attacking me again and chuckled under my breath. “Diaper bagandyour camera—that should score me some points, huh?”
“You are the actual best,” she said before reaching up, hooking her hand around my neck, and tugging me down to her level. She pressed her lips to mine, and though it certainly hadn’tbeen the only kiss we’d shared today—far from it, thanks to this reception—it had been the only one that had been spontaneous.
I could tell by the way she stepped back, her eyes a little wider than usual, that she’d done it without thought. Which was great for all the prying eyes of Havenbrook to see—Judge Seville included—but not so great when I was trying to maintain boundaries.
She hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “I’m gonna go grab it from the car.”
I nodded, watching her walk away, doing everything in her power to avoid partygoers as she went.
Nash stepped up next to me, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “Looks like you two crazy kids are slidin’ right into marital bliss.”
