“Trust me, ‘like’ doesn’t even cover it.”
“I know it’s a little risqué for a courthouse, but I figured you only get married once.”
God, Case thought, the words twisting his heart,I hope that’s true. I hope this sticks, and not because you feel like you owe it to me. I hope you want this as much as I do.
The red dress, like the passion in her kisses, certainly said that she wantedsomeof it. That was good. He could wait to see if they were on the same page about everything else.
*
Judge Abner wasn’t a member of Lydia’s pack, but hewasa fellow shifter—a buffalo, if she remembered right—and he seemed to have some idea of what a big, potentially life-saving deal her marriage would be for her pack. He pumped her and Case’s hands with great enthusiasm, gave them both hearty congratulations, and launched straight into the wedding ceremony, like he suspected time was of the essence.
Some small part of Lydia regretted losing the sense of ceremony, but her more practical side was relieved that this was getting officially taken care of at almost record-breaking speed. And at least Case had been able to put the bakery bag down first.
Still, it was strange. Even as a little girl, she’d never let herself indulge in that many fantasies about romantic, soft-focus weddings. There had been acoupleof daydreams, though, and she had definitely never envisioned that there would be thismany mediocre oil paintings of stern old men looking down on her while a buffalo shifter rushed her through her vows.
But even if her wedding was far from normal, she realized she was happy with it. Sure, she didn’t have a frothy white dress, but the seductively clinging red one, as scandalous as it was, made her feel incredible. She had never worn anything that did so much for her self-esteem. What train or veil or dreamlike confection of lace could mean more than that?
And how could any half-realized fantasy from back then compare toCase?He was so much better than any of her surreptitious childhood crushes.
She’d never believed she could ever be as happy as she was right now. When she felt this good, she could convince herself that it didn’t matter if it didn’t last. She would still have the memories.
Judge Abner started in on Case’s vows. His voice was a pleasant rumble in the background, but all Lydia could focus on was Case.
“I, Casey Jackson, take you, Lydia Vasquez, to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, to honor and to keep, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. I promise to love and cherish you.”
It was a beautiful promise. But there was no way he would actually want to keep it. He wouldn’t want to give up his whole life for her.
It doesn’t matter, Lydia told herself.People get married all the time knowing things might not work out. It’s just some old-fashioned wording.
And yeah, divorces happened. They weren’t always tragic. Her own parents had gotten divorced, and they’d been happier apart than together.
But deep down in her bones, she couldn’t help feeling like seeing Case walk away really would kill some important part of her.
That didn’t mean she wouldn’t risk it. And in the privacy of her own thoughts, and in the middle of her own wedding, she could even admit that by now, it wasn’t about what was good for the pack. Not really. It was about how she had felt when she’d come out of the bathroom and seen the look in his eyes.
She cleared her throat and repeated after Judge Abner.
“I, Lydia Vasquez, take you, Casey Jackson, to be my lawful wedded husband—”
And mate.
“—to have and to hold, to honor and keep, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. I promise to love and cherish you.”
“Would you like to exchange rings?” Judge Abner said. “I know your timeline has been, ah, accelerated, so if you don’t have them, we’ll breeze right past that.”
Lydia nodded, feeling a stab of regret that—accelerated timeline or not—she hadn’t found an opportunity to duck into a jewelry store and findsomethingfor him. He had such nice hands, lean and strong and capable. They deserved some kind of ornamentation. Maybe after they’d driven Reeve away, she could find him the ring he deserved.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Case, hoping he would hear how much she meant it.
He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. But I do have—” He fished a velvety box out of his pocket.
Of course he had bought her a ring. She knew there hadn’t been any in the thrift store, either, which meant he must have done it yesterday, when he hadn’t even had known that her bite would take and that they would be able to go through with the marriage. He’d known how much of their future was up in theair, but he’d still decided to control what little of it he could and make it good for her.
She wasn’t falling in love with him. She wasinlove with him, plain and simple. She’d hit the bottom of her heart and found that he’d been there all along.
Case slid the ring on her finger. It was an antique, Lydia realized—either something he’d been lucky enough to find or a family heirloom he was inexplicably willing to turn over to her. The diamond was surrounded by a ring of sapphires, like a star in a deep blue night sky.
“I know it’s small—”
