Turning to look at him, I give him a reassuring smile. “I’ve never been more sure of anything. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I had a nightmare last night that our dads came rushing through the doors of the courthouse to stop us.”
“Well considering we chose this day because it fell on a day my father would be out of town, I highly doubt it’ll be the two of them stopping us together. But didn’t you say your dad was doing a baptism this morning?”
I nod. “He is.”
“Then I don’t think your nightmare is coming true. Anything else I can put your mind at ease about?” He chuckles before placing a delicate kiss on my cheek.
“Well this is all feeling very Nathan and Haley-like, so does that mean we’re going to move into a little apartment together after our wedding?”
His brows screw together. “I’m so confused right now.”
“About what? Moving in?”
Jax shakes his head. “No. I mean, I have no clue who you’re talking about, so I’m not sure whether or not we’ll be like them.”
“Wait. Are you telling me you’ve never watchedOne Tree Hillbefore?”
“No,” he says hesitantly, likely knowing where this is going.
“You just signed yourself up for an OTH marathon on our honeymoon, Bear.”
“Sounds like a dream come true. Can’t wait,” he deadpans.
I clap my hands like the overly excited fool that I am. “Oh, just you wait. I’m going to love this way too much.”
Leaning in, Jax whispers, “If you think we’re spending our nonexistent honeymoon binge watching a show, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“Me. Hopefully I’m the thing coming.” I hold my hand up to cover my laughter. “Oh my goodness, that was terrible, wasn’t it?”
“It was, but I still love you.” He laughs and rolls his eyes at my antics. “Don’t worry, I’ll have you coming plenty, baby. And to answer your question from earlier, we probably won’t get an apartment until sophomore year. But if you want to live together before then, I could look into our options. I think most freshmen are supposed to stay in student housing, but maybe because we’ll be married I could get an exception.”
“I’m fine either way. Just knowing we’ll be in the same city is enough for me.”
“Married. We’ll be married and in the same city.”
Just then the courtroom doors open and our names are called.
Jax stands and buttons his suit jacket before holding his arm out for me. Holy smokes, he’s beyond attractive in his tailored blue suit. He’s attempted to tame his unruly hair in the most delicious way—somehow still tousled like he’s run his fingers through it. I love the way his crisp, white dress shirt contrastsagainst his tanned complexion—that, in combination with the color of his blue suit, only makes his eyes more striking than they already are.
“Here’s your last chance to run,” he offers just as I stand and slip my arm through his.
“I’d never,” I promise.
“Whirlwind days deserve to be celebrated with ice cream,” I declare, holding up my waffle cone for Jax to cheers against.
His brows scrunch at first, but he smiles as he taps his cone against mine. “I feel bad that all I’m able to get you to celebrate is ice cream. On our two-year anniversary, I’m buying you an expensive bottle of champagne to celebrate,” Jax promises, scooting closer to me on the bench we’re sitting on at the park across the street from The Sprinkled Cone.
I pout at that. “I still won’t be twenty-one on our two-year anniversary.”
“Exactly why I’ll be the one buying it,” he says, adding a wink for good measure.
Taking a giant lick of my ice cream, I look up to find Jax watching me with hooded eyes. “You’re a little temptress in that gorgeous white dress eating your monster cookie ice cream.” I look down at my cotton, mid-length white dress with a square neckline that to me looked pretty plain when I picked it out, but with the way he’s looked at me since he picked me up, I can’t bite back the sultry smile that takes over my face.
Leaning into me, he places a kiss on my cheek before asking in a hushed tone, “Have I told you how stunning you look, baby? You took my breath away several times today—when I saw you walk out of your house earlier, when we recited our vows, andthen when we walked back down the courthouse steps hand in hand, your hair was blowing in the wind and you looked so happy I knew right then and there I’m the luckiest man alive because I get to be yours for the rest of our lives.”
Tears flood my vision as I absorb his words, wishing I could tattoo them on my soul.
I move closer, sitting on his lap to erase any remaining distance between us. Wrapping my arm around his neck, I lick my lips and gaze into his sea glass eyes glistening with adoration.
