He stilled completely and chuckled. “I thought you said you never want it quick?”

“That was before you started torturing me with pleasure like this. God, please. I’m so close.” She squeezed, tempting him into action.

“You are very bad, Jude. So bad, but feel so good.” He grabbed her shoulders, and said, “Hold on.”

Minutes of beautiful torture were shared until they collapsed together onto the mattress. He moved to her side and kissed her cheek, tasting her sweat. “It’s almost tomorrow.”

She turned to look at the clock. “It is.” She smiled. “Are we going first thing?”

“We are.”

“Then what?”

“Then we tell your family and get your stuff.”

Rolling onto her back, she moved against his arm with her arm resting over him. “Can I go back to school?”

Watching her face as she kept her eyes lowered from his, he asked, “You want to finish your degree?”

“I have two years, but I missed too many days to get credit for the other courses.”

“Yes, I think you should finish school. I think you should do everything you haven’t gotten to do.”

The silence engulfed her gulp and she kept her tears at bay. They were happy tears but she didn’t want to cry again, not right now. “I don’t spend much.”

Kissing her cheek again, he leaned back on the pillow and stretched his arm behind his head. “I can afford it if you do.”

“I don’t know anything about your financials.”

“If my financials concern you, we should talk about them.”

Tilting her head down, she said, “I can’t contribute. I’ve never had a job and I don’t have my degree yet.”

His fingers went to her chin and he lifted her up. “I have a solid job and a large stake in my family’s company. We don’t have to worry about money, Jude. You don’t have to worry. You can leave your family behind, everything, and we can replace it all. You’re twenty-two. I had friends who didn’t graduate until they were twenty-six because they partied so hard in college. You can start this summer or fall and finish up. Then you can do what you want.”

She smiled at the thought. “I used to want to be in publishing. I wanted to be an editor. But I might want to be a librarian now. I like the calm environment.” His body tensed under her hand. “Oh my God, are you hard?”

“The librarian fantasy is a very real thing.”

She burst out laughing. “Good to know. Maybe you can check out my books.”

He rolled on top of her. Pushing her hair back from her face so he could look at her, really look at her. “I’d rather place my books in your slot.”

Grinning bigger than the sun, she lifted up, and kissed him. “You are a dirty, dirty boy.” They rolled over and made love again.

Taylor woke up to sunshine staring in from the outside and Jude ironing inside. He rubbed his eyes, and with a groggy voice he asked, “What are you doing?”

She spread the skirt of the chartreuse dress out on the board the best she could and replied, “I want to look pretty.”

“You’re always pretty.”

“I want to look extra pretty.” She ran the iron over the dress a few more times. “I’m going to the store in a few minutes. I want to buy some makeup.”

“I don’t want you to wear makeup. You don’t need it.”

Her eyes met his sleepy ones. “I have dark circles.”

“So do I.”

“My lashes are lighter.”

He shook his head. “I have no idea about my lashes.”

“I have a pimple. I don’t want a pimple in our wedding photo.”

“Where? Where is this so-called pimple because I’m pretty sure I covered your entire body with my mouth at some point or another and didn’t see one… or lick one.”

“Ew.”

He laughed and rolled onto his back, then yawned, closing his eyes and going back to sleep. When he woke up, he smelled food. Muffins to be precise. Lazily, he flipped the covers off and walked into the other room with a smile on his face. “Good morning.”

Jude turned around and presented a platter of muffins. “Good morning.”

“What kind of muffins did you bake?” he asked taking one, then taking a bite without waiting for a response.

“Blueberry. You had them in the fridge.”

“It’s really good. Thank you for making these.”

“My pleasure, soon-to-be-husband.” Her voice had an excited lilt to it, which made him smile again despite his mouth full of food. “The courthouse opens soon. I’m going to shower if you’re so inclined to join me.” She swaggered past him, naked, and so very tempting.

He shoved the rest of the muffin in his mouth and followed her.

An hour and a half later they stood in line with the number fifty-five in their hand. Jude was nervous and starting to take her anxiety out on Hazel. “You’re not allowed to take showers with me anymore.”

Teasing her, he tapped her nose. “Was I a water hog or a Jude hog?”

“Both. We lost an hour to your antics.”

“You didn’t mind those antics when we were in there.” His sexy arrogance was showing.

“That’s my point, Hazel. It’s like I have no self-control around you. Forget about saying no. I have no desire to turn you down, like ever. I could lose myself to you if I’m not careful.” She stated this as if it were of real concern.

“Nothing wrong with losing yourself in something you love.” He nudged her. “Anyway, that will just put us on an even playing field.”

She rested her head on his shoulder and her hand on his thigh. “They are up to twenty-four.”

Thirty minutes later…

“What’s that?” Jude pointed to the small leather-bound notebook Taylor carried.

His hand stilled with the small pencil in it. “That’s the sunroom.”

“Ohh. I like that.”

He watched her smile over his blueprints, and felt happy she liked the plans.

She pointed to another rectangle room on the pad. “What about this room?”

“That’s your library.”

She sat back with her mouth open and looked at him in disbelief. “I get a library?”

With an easygoing grin on his face, he said, “Of course. I have the plans at home, but I like to work on it when I’m out.”

“I can’t believe you’re creating our house.”

“So you like it so far?”

She kissed his cheek. “I love it.”

They both looked up when an announcement came out overhead. “Thirty-one.”

Forty-five minutes later…

Jude slid down in her chair, her arms hanging over and her legs straight out. “They sure do know how to suck the fun out of getting married.”

Taylor tapped her leg, then bent over and rested his forearms on his knees. “Not much longer. I can feel it.” With his body stationed, he lifted his gaze up to the number board. Forty-seven.

Thirty-eight minutes later…

“Fifty-five,” Taylor said, shaking Jude. “That us.”

“Thank God!”

“I thank God every day,” he added, taking her hand.

They turned in their number and were escorted down a short hall to a small room and told to wait.

In that moment, they looked at each other but the moment seemed to have stolen their voices.

Three minutes ticked by, the clock on the wall loud. Jude finally said, “I have no doubts, just in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t wondering, but is this like reverse psychology where you’re really reassuring yourself?”

She laughed, and it felt so good in the moment. “No, I really meant I have no doubts. We haven’t known each other that long, but I think you said it best when we first met. It feels like we’ve known each other our whole lives.”

Just as he leaned down to kiss her, the door opened and they stepped apart, not used to sharing what they mean to each other in public.

A man in a black robe stopped as if he was walking in on something he shouldn’t, but then he continued and said, “It’s okay to kiss her. She’s about to be your wife, son.” He set a book down on the table in the corner and introduced himself. Looking at the young couple, he went through his standard protocol. “So you want to get married?”