The car behind Eric’s honked obnoxiously, reminding him that he was supposed to punch the gas pedal as soon as the light turned green. Normally he’d have sent the impatient jackass a one-fingered salute, but nothing could put a damper on his spirits today. Not when the woman beside him was alive and healthy and his.
“I love you,” he said before he dropped his hand to the gearshift, slammed it in gear, popped the clutch, and took off with an impressive squeal of tires.
“I love you too!” Rebekah yelled, clinging to the dashboard as the car fishtailed slightly, found its grip, and jetted forward.
Unfortunately, traffic was too thick to have any real fun and Eric had to stop at the next light. And wait. God, he was sick of waiting. While he drummed his overabundance of energy into his steering wheel—again—a faded wooden sign hanging over a storefront on the next block caught his attention: Malachi’s Costume Emporium.
His pulse surged with excitement, and he glanced at Rebekah. Would she go for it? A regular courthouse wedding was a bit too normal for the two of them, but perhaps…
“I have an idea,” he said.
She stiffened and peeked at him from under her long lashes. She was usually gung-ho for any crazy idea that crossed his mind, so he wondered about her uncharacteristic hesitation.
“What kind of an idea?” she squeaked.
“Maybe we should get married in costumes.”
“Costumes?”
“Yeah, costumes!” The idea was really catching on with him. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“I’m not sure,” she said and worried her small hands together.
He lifted an eyebrow at her. She wasn’t having second thoughts about marrying him today, was she? Maybe he shouldn’t rock her boat too much. He knew her emotions were all over the place after that appointment. But he couldn’t help but want to make their wedding as memorable as possible considering their complete lack of planning and provisions.
Not waiting for her to be sure, Eric parallel parked in one of the five unoccupied spaces in front of the costume shop and turned off the engine.
“Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “Let’s go see how much trouble we can get into.”
Still she hesitated.
“Don’t you want today to be special?” he asked.
She tore her gaze away from the store window, which had several costumes on display, including some fancy old blue dress that Rebekah had been examining with interest. Her eyes bored into his with all the enthusiasm for life and adventure that he’d come to expect from her.
“It’s already special,” she said. “Marrying you will undoubtedly be the most memorable five minutes of my life.”
“But don’t you want it to be an experience unique to us?” He leaned in closer, hoping to sway her with his obey me, woman look.
She just laughed at him. “Will it make you happy?”
He beamed a grin at her. “It will.”
“Okay,” she said. “Then I guess I’ll make a fool of myself.”
His brief kiss of gratitude soon turned into a hands-pawing, tongue-mingling, cock-raising expression of his undying lust for the woman. His heart raced as he tugged her closer. Kissed her deeper. Loved her a bit more every moment they were together for making him so deliriously happy.
When had he become such a fucking sap?
She tore her mouth from his and sucked in a deep breath. “Easy there, tiger,” she said. “You’re making my panties all squishy.”
“Mmm,” he said in appreciation. “Those are my favorite kind of panties.”
Maybe they should forgo the selection of costumes and get to the courthouse as soon as possible. He had a sudden urge to start the wedding night festivities sooner rather than later.
A bell over the door jangled as they entered the musty-smelling shop. A wrinkled old man in a white shirt, black suspenders, and red bow tie sat behind a long wooden counter near the door. On second glance, Eric noticed the thin man’s eyes were closed. Was he actually asleep sitting up?
“Are you open?” Eric asked loudly.
He didn’t stir.
“Are you alive?” Eric yelled.
The man started and smiled a greeting when his slightly cloudy eyes squinted at the pair of them.
“Welcome to Malachi’s Costume Emporium,” he said from his seat in a tall ladder-backed wooden chair next to the wall. “If you need assistance, let me know. Otherwise, enjoy your browsing experience.”
He rubbed his beak-like nose with the back of his wrist, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes once more. Within seconds his breathing had become deep and even. He was undoubtedly asleep again.
Eric glanced at Rebekah to share a moment of mutual surprise at the proprietor’s trusting disposition—he supposed costume-shop business would be especially light in December, but still…
Rebekah wasn’t paying attention. Some costume had already caught her eye. She released Eric’s hand and immediately gravitated toward the ugliest wedding dress Eric had ever seen. The yellowed and limp lace collar looked like an enormous bib that covered both shoulders and half of the front. The skirt was layered with wide ruffles and some net-like fabric that looked as if had been caught in a paper shredder. Rebekah touched the ugly thing as though it were made of solid gold.
His heart panged as he realized what was bothering her. She didn’t want to get married in a courthouse. She wanted a real wedding. One with flowers and bridesmaids and a church and an extravagant white dress.
“You look around,” he said. “I need to call Jace and let him know we’ll be at the courthouse a little later than anticipated.”