Page 27 of Deadly Forever

James was mildly agitated, but that didn’t stop him from rubbing his thumb over Mandy’s cheek. “But why don’t you want to have a wedding?”

“Because I’ve already been the bride,” Mandy replied. “Now it’s Sophie, Emma, and Ally’s turn. If we make ourselves part of that equation, the focus will be on me. That’s not what I want.”

“You don’t want to steal Ally’s thunder,” James surmised, rolling his neck until it cracked. “We could set up our own day and do it again if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

“I don’t want to make a big deal about it,” Mandy said. “We’ve already made a big deal about it. I want to be your wife, not your bride.”

“You’ll always be my wife,” James said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “Tell me about this vow thing. That sounds mildly interesting since you don’t want to marry me again.”

“Oh, don’t make this a thing,” Mandy warned. “I want to be married to you more than anything. I just don’t want to make a big deal about it. I would love to add to my vows, though. I know more now than when we got married. Maybe we could make it a tradition and add to our vows every year.”

“Like what?” James prodded. “I vow to worship you forever?” His grin was light and pleasing.

“I was thinking more like … I vow not to ask you more than one serious question a day,” Mandy said. “You could vow to massage me every day, too.”

“Ah, I see where this is going,” James said, grinning. Despite her reticence to exchange vows in front of a crowd, he liked the idea of exchanging vows in private. It would mean more to both of them that way. “I like how your mind works. You could also vow to let me watch you shave your legs.”

“Don’t push me,” Mandy warned, shaking a finger. “I think the vow to limit my questions is a much better use of time.”

James considered the suggestion and then shook his head. “No.”

Mandy’s eyebrows flew up her forehead. “You don’t want to add new vows? I thought for sure you would be gung-ho on the idea.”

“I love the idea,” James clarified. “I don’t like the idea of you limiting your questions.”

“But you hate my questions.”

“I only hate some of your questions,” James corrected. “Even when I hate them, though, I love you. The questions are part of who you are. I don’t want to limit them.”

“So what do you want me to vow?” Mandy was legitimately curious.

“If you could vow to believe that I’ll love you forever and let go of that small part of you that still wonders if I’m going to somehow disappear when you’re not looking, that would be great,” James said. “That might also be a vow for next year … or the year after … or the year after.”

“That wasn’t really an answer, though,” Mandy pointed out. “What do you want me to vow?”

“That’s for you to decide,” James said. “Personally, I’m going to put together a list of my new vows.”

“A list? You don’t do lists.”

“This is an important thing, so I want to do it right.”

Mandy giggled when she felt James’ hands move over her bare bottom. “Okay. I’ll make a list, too. In fact … yeah … I vow to have sex with you before we get out of this bed.”

James made an exaggerated face. “You’re not supposed to tell me yet.”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t really a vow,” Mandy said. “It was more of a promise … a preview, if you will.” She slid up his body and positioned her legs on either side of his waist as she sat up, letting the blanket fall back and reveal her nudity. “What say you? Do you want to have sex with me?”

She was so serious James couldn’t help but fall in love with her all over again. “Just for the record, baby, you never need to ask that.”

“I was trying to be polite.”

“I’ll show you polite!” Mandy squealed as James wrestled her to the mattress, their lips meeting and hearts joining as they basked in their love. No, James realized as he made love to the only woman he would ever want. They didn’t need a new wedding. They just needed to be able to spend forever with one another. He would accept nothing less.

“IT’S SOweird being here.”

Mandy linked her fingers with James’ as they walked up the steps to the courthouse a few hours later. Mandy spent years making the same trek when she worked for Judge MacIntosh. Now, even though she’d only been away from the place for a few weeks, she felt far removed from the woman who used to think of herself as a clerk instead of an artist.

“Is it too much?” James asked, serious. “If you don’t want to be here … .” He couldn’t help but glance at the part of the courtyard where Mandy watched one of her best friends die weeks before. He didn’t want her to catch him staring, but he couldn’t help himself.