Smiling, she shook her head. “Or let’s just make it a little more simple and find a justice of the peace, and get married right here in town.”
“Okay. That works. Which day do you want to get married?”
“The sooner the better.” She clasped her hands on her lap. “How soon could we obtain a marriage license?”
“It’ll take a few days, but I’ll try to pull some strings and see if we could get it done sooner. Also, one of my friends’ father is a justice of the peace. That’ll speed up the process, too.” He tapped his fingers on the couch cushion. “So, since Valentine’s Day is next week, why don’t we have our wedding on that day?”
She held her breath. Did she really want to marry him on that special day, especially when the marriage wasn’t one she’d wanted in the first place? But then, it really didn’t matter as long as they were married and got the ball rolling for their inheritances.
She sighed. “Valentine’s Day is fine.”
“Do we want to invite family and friends?”
“I’d rather not invite extended family. Maybe just a few friends that know our situation.”
“Good idea.” He shifted on the couch, facing her more. “I’d like to invite my brothers and sisters, though.”
“Okay. I’ll invite my best friend and a few people from the store.”
He was silent for a few awkward moments. His dreamy gaze moved slowly over her face. She couldn’t believe the fluttering going on in her stomach or the way her heartbeat raced. This was all wrong. She should not be feeling this way about him.
“Do you want me to get you a ring?” He winked. “I’m sure you’ll want to save that engagement ring on your finger for Eddie.”
She twisted the silver band wrapped around her finger. “Yes, you’re right. But we can get cheap rings. After all, we’ll only be married a year.”
“Okay, one more thing we need to discuss.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
He sat up straight and loosely grasped her hands. “There’s one last thing we need to decide, and I think if we decide before the wedding, it’ll help things go more smoothly.”
Rayne was almost afraid to ask, only because of the way his gaze seductively locked onto hers and the softness in his fingers as he gently stroked her knuckles. She was afraid she wasn’t going to like this. Or... maybe she would, and that worried her, too.
“What is it?” she said in a tight voice.
“We need to decide about the wedding night.” He waggled his eyebrows and grinned. “I say we just do it and get it over with. What do you think?”
Inwardly, she groaned. What did shethink? The thoughts suddenly running through her head were images she should not be thinking about at all, especially with this man! Because now she was going to think about it every day until they were married.
This was absolute torture!
