Tess’s pulse kicked a steady cadence at her throat. Too headstrong. Too opinionated. Too much, came her mother’s voice.
Too bad, Mom.
“Yes,” she answered truthfully. “Are you?”
Sure, the whole thing was by design, but still. Declan was…well, Declan. Every human whose sexual preference was for men probably found him wildly attractive. He could probably get half the staff at Remington Mem to agree to convenience-marry him.
So Tess was more than a little stunned at the speed and certainty of his answer. “Very.”
“Okay, then. Let’s get you well.”
“Riley/Michaelson?” the bailiff asked, waving them forward. The judge, a man who looked to be in his sixties, smiled warmly as she and Declan walked past the seats in the galley and approached the bench.
“Ah, I do love wedding duty,” the judge said, not batting so much as a single lash at the fact that both Tess and Declan were clad in jeans and T-shirts or that one of their “witnesses” was still in diapers. “I’m Judge Esposito, and I’ll be presiding today. Shall we get started?”
“Yes, please,” Tess said. They went through a couple of legalities to establish that she and Declan were both who they claimed to be and that they had witnesses who were who they claimed to be.
Then, Judge Esposito threw out a whammy. “Tess. Declan. You may join hands as you recite your vows.”
Oh, hell. She had just watched Charlie and Parker get remarried. How had she forgotten this part?
Thankfully, Declan covered her hesitation by smoothly scooping up both of her hands. His fingers closed around hers with the perfect amount of pressure to let her know he was there, steady, but not so much that he overpowered her. It put her oddly at ease, and before Tess knew it, Judge Esposito was on to the ceremony. The words were boilerplate, and Tess had, of course, heard them before at her own wedding, not to mention a dozen more for family and friends. They got through the intention part easily enough, needing only to say “I do” when called upon. Tess even managed to repeat the judge’s words about richer or poorer and sickness and health, then slide the ring Connor had given her onto Declan’s finger without much fanfare from her heart. Sickness and health were the whole point. She was doing this to save Declan from one and deliver him safely to the other.
But then it was Declan’s turn, and her heart delivered a completely unexpected bitch-slap before galloping through her chest.
“I, Declan, take you, Tess, to be my wife. To have and to hold”—he slid his right hand from her left to cup her chin in illustration, and making Charlie and Harlow, and Tess’s traitorous lady bits, sigh in unison. This is an act to make things look genuine. The words don’t really apply to you, she reminded herself sternly, meeting his gaze head-on as he continued with the script—“in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer”—Declan’s thumb swept over her cheek. God, he was really selling it—“and I promise my love to you. With this ring, I thee wed.”
He slipped the ring he’d chosen onto her finger, gathering her hands in his again as Judge Esposito took the lead.
“Love is the reason you’re here today, and it should be the core of your marriage.”
Tess’s pulse sped up. Speaking of words that didn’t apply. Still, this had to look legit, so she kept her expression steady, and—whew—Declan did the same.
“But it also will take trust,” Judge Esposito continued. “To know in your hearts you want the best for each other. It will take dedication, to stay open to one another; to learn and to grow together, even when it’s not always so easy to do.”
The thump of her heartbeat pressed faster against her ears. “It will take faith, to be willing to go forward to tomorrow, never really knowing what tomorrow will bring. In addition, it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey you both now pledge to share together. Tess and Declan.” The judge smiled so warmly that, for a tiny, split second, Tess felt a ribbon of warmth uncurl in her chest, too.
“In so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, I now declare you to be husband and wife.” Judge Esposito’s smile grew even bigger as he added,
“You may now kiss the bride.”
8
In the moment that Tess’s soft gasp crossed what Declan would bet were her even softer lips, it hit him that she’d forgotten the ceremony would culminate here, with his mouth on hers. Still, she didn’t pull away, or even drop her chin by so much as a fraction. Nope. Not Tess. Instead, she pressed up to kiss him.
Probably, Declan should just give up on being shocked by this woman. But right now, he was too busy being righteously turned on to care.
Kiss was probably a misnomer for the way Tess had placed her mouth on his, their lips touching in the slightest of contact. But then she released a barely there exhale against his mouth, leaning closer rather than disengaging, and Declan didn’t think. Driven by pure instinct, his arms wound around her, one hand cupping the back of her head as the other found purchase on her shoulder. He let his lips fall open—not obscenely, because for as much fuck, yes as he had sizzling through his veins right now, he still remembered they were in public. But it was enough. Jesus, it was everything, because in that split second, with their mouths connected and Tess’s body hot under his hands, Declan learned something about his wife that he’d never, ever have guessed.
She tasted like need.
No. That wasn’t quite it.
She tasted hungry.
Tess pulled back as quickly as she’d leaned in, making Declan fight for his equilibrium. “Sorry,” she whispered, the flush on her face absolutely killing him. But oh, no. He wasn’t about to let her apologize for that kiss.
“I’m not,” he said. The medical tape holding his post-IV bandage in place pulled at the crook of his elbow as he lowered his arms to his sides, reminding him of his purpose. Their purpose. Tess wasn’t here because she cared for him in that way, and he needed to squash that notion before he let the damn thing fully form.
He did not belong with her, no matter what she tasted like.
“Congratulations!” Tess’s friend, Charlie, appeared at Tess’s side then, with the baby on her hip. Talk about another thing he’d never expected, Declan thought as Tess turned to take the boy, her face lit up like a holiday. He’d have to examine his shock later, though, because then Connor was there, and Harlow along with him.
“Congrats, man.” Connor shook his hand while pulling him in for a clap on the opposite shoulder, and even though the move wasn’t even a full embrace, Declan’s pulse kicked.
“Thanks.” With the judge still conceivably in earshot, it was probably best to keep all pretenses in full gear.
Connor dropped his voice as they moved toward the courtroom door, likely for that same reason. “Not to be a buzz kill, but now that this is done, you should probably get some rest.”
The shite of it was, his friend wasn’t wrong. Dec would never admit it out loud, of course, but he felt like he’d been awake for days, and been made to run a marathon in 100 degree weather on each of them. “I s’pose.”