Or maybe that was just how it worked on her.
She shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the growing sense of awareness when it came to her bench partner. She was getting married today—she shouldn’t be having these feelings for a stranger. And if she was, should she be getting married?
Ack! There were so many questions. But it was too late. She would not walk out and leave Seth at the—well, not altar, but the judge’s chambers. That was low. Maybe she could confide some of her worries in him—perhaps he had a few of his own.
The man let out a low groan. As much as she was trying not to notice how nice he smelled—clean with a hint of manliness—she couldn’t ignore the way it made her stomach swirl.
“Is everything okay?” she barely whispered. She should not engage him in conversation. He just sounded upset, and she’d always been a sucker for someone in need.
He half smiled her direction. “I don’t have half this information. I was hoping to get the paperwork done before my fiancée arrived.”
He was getting married too. Probably to a stunning brunette with eyes as dark as his. They’d have beautiful babies and travel the world, taking pictures of them in front of landmarks. She shook the image from her mind, because she’d inserted herself in that picture—and the kids were blond like her.
She needed to get a grip. It wasn’t like she was a free woman who could eye up any man who sat next to her. “Don’t worry. I don’t have much more done than you.” She lifted her clipboard to show him so he wouldn’t feel so bad.
He glanced over it and chuckled. “Evie Williams?”
She bit her lip. Moose Hollow was large in some ways and small in others. Was this one of Owen’s buddies? Would the man assume she was getting married on a rebound like Maisie did? “Yes?” she replied carefully.
He stuck out his hand. “Seth Powell. I think we should consolidate our forms.”
She stared at his hand for a half second longer than was polite. “You’re Seth? A pastor?”
He nodded and looked at his still-empty hand.
“Oh!” She reached out and shook hands with him. A sense of well-being and peace flooded her at contact and soothed the troubled waters of her mind. Like she was right where she was supposed to be. “Sorry. I was expecting someone …”
“Older?”
“More pastor-ish.” Her hand grew warm inside of his, and she reluctantly pulled it away, handing him her clipboard. “Sorry. It’s just—my pastor had gray hair and a gold tooth.”
He gave her a shrewd look before he ducked his head and filled in his half of the information. “You’d marry someone with gray hair?”
“Well, I figured if I got here and he was that old, I could run away and he couldn’t catch me.”
He burst out laughing, and the tension inside of her released.
She ducked her head. “Sometimes I say things I should probably keep inside.”
“Please don’t. You’re delightful.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know many men who use the worddelightful.” She pulled her lips in. There she went, saying things before she thought them through.
“I hosted bingo night with a lot of old women. Picking up their slang is an occupational hazard.”
She giggled. “Are there others I should know about?”
“That’s the worst of it.” He playfully swiped at his brow.
She smiled, feeling both at ease and slightly out of her comfort zone. Seth wasn’t what she’d pictured. He was way better than the middle-aged pastor in her head.
His youth and fun personality also came with a few difficulties. She liked him. Liked him enough that she could make him her best friend. “I think I can live with being delightful.”
The door to the judge’s chambers whooshed open, flooding the room with pomp and purpose. All joking faded under the stern gaze of the judge. They were ushered inside the small room with a large desk.
When Seth took her hand for the ceremony, a sense of belonging filled her soul. The certainty didn’t last for long as Seth was told he could “kiss the bride.” She panicked. Not because she didn’t want to kiss him, but because she did.
He bent down and gave her a chaste kiss, their lips barely brushing. Heat flooded her entire body, and her knees went weak. She clutched his hands for support and chastened herself. Of all the times to go goo-goo over a guy, she had to pick her wedding day.
