living room, a beer bottle dangling between his fingers. Every once in a while, he stopped to take a sip, then started pacing again.
He hadn’t noticed me standing there, so I took a moment to look at him. My almost husband.
He’d changed from jeans and a T-shirt into a suit. Not the kind he wore to the office either. In a deep-burgundy three-piece with a black shirt and tie, he looked like he’d stepped off a runway. The jacket was fitted to his broad shoulders and tapered waist to within an inch of its life, and I had a feeling if I lifted the back, his trousers would mold lovingly to his ass.
“What are you wearing?”
Luca’s loud, abrupt bark made me jump. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my dry mouth. My heart was fluttering wildly in my chest. I pressed my hand over it as if that would do anything to calm it.
Luca dropped his beer on his glass coffee table and strode toward me, his brow heavy and low. “I asked what you’re wearing, Saoirse.”
I looked down at my dress to ensure I hadn’t unknowingly spilled anything on it. I’d been careful, but things happened. Not this time, though. The pink slip dress fell, sleek and silky, over my body, nearly reaching the ground.
“It’s a dress, Luca.”
He stopped two feet from me, raking his gaze over me. “I didn’t expect you to wear a gown.”
“Are you mad?”
His jaw worked from side to side for several beats before he shook his head. “You caught me off guard, that’s all.”
“Well…” I swiveled from side to side so the fabric swished around my legs, “I thought, since this will be my only wedding, why not do it up? There are only so many chances a girl has to wear a silky pink dress.”
“There’s a flower in your hair,” he blurted.
I touched the silk orchid tucked over one ear with my fingertips. “I know. Isn’t it pretty?”
His eyes narrowed into slits. “You’re taking this a lot more seriously than I assumed you would.”
“I know. You thought I’d wear flip-flops. But, like I said, this is my one and only wedding, so I went a little over the top. Besides, look at you in your suit. I bet your tailor worked overtime to make you look like that.”
“Like what?” He tugged on the knot of his tie, still eyeing me like I was the enemy.
“Handsome, Luca. You look incredible, and you make that suit look good.”
He turned his head, staring out the wall of windows. “Thank you.”
“And?”
His attention slowly returned to me. “And…what?”
I did a smooth pirouette, allowing him to see the draping that exposed my back to the base of my spine.
I blinked at him over my shoulder, pleased to find he was rapt by the sight of me. “Do I look nice, Luca?”
There was a long pause, followed by a chuff. “I suspect you know exactly how you look.”
Before I could ask him to expand on that—and possibly fish for a compliment I’d been hoping he would have given freely—there was a knock on the front door. Luca tore out of the living room without another word, leaving me disappointed and confused.
But I supposed he’d set the precedent for what our marriage would be like. I wouldn’t go to him for assurance or even a simple compliment. We were business partners who might fuck if the mood struck, but that was it.
It would serve me well to remember that.
Luca escorted a man in a suit, who introduced himself to me as Judge Hernandez. He told me I looked nice. When I glanced at Luca, he averted his gaze back to the windows.
“I thought we’d do this on the balcony,” Luca said.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I love it out there.”
I’d never been, of course, but Judge Hernandez didn’t need to know that.
Luca straightened his tie again. “I’ll meet you out there.” Then he swiveled around and disappeared into the kitchen.
I smiled at the judge. His kind, almost sympathetic smile in return struck me in the gut. One look at us, and he obviously suspected this wasn’t a love match.
Or maybe I was reading too much into his expression.
We went to the balcony door, but since I had never actually unlocked it, I didn’t know how.
“I’m sorry. Luca always opens the door for me,” I explained like a brainless, kept woman.
“It’s all right, Ms. Kelly. Would you allow me?” More sympathy from Judge Hernandez. He got the door open in one move and allowed me to go outside first.
Luca appeared seconds later, carrying a compact bouquet of red roses he shoved toward me.
“Your flowers, bella.”
“Oh. How silly of me to forget when they’re so beautiful.” I took them from him, bringing them to my nose to smell them. “I love roses.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “I know.”
“Do you?”
His head cocked slightly while I smelled the flowers again. I mouthed, “Thank you,” and he nodded, facing the judge.
“We’re ready to begin.”
The ceremony was short and to the point. We both said, “I do,” and when it came time to exchange rings, Luca produced a simple platinum band that fit my finger perfectly. Then it was my turn. I slipped off the loose silver ring I’d kept on my thumb, and his brows shot up.
I smiled at him. “Did you really think I’d forget to get you a ring?”
“You didn’t have to,” he uttered.
“Well, I wanted to.” I took his left hand in mine and slid the hammered white gold snugly onto his finger. It was rugged yet understated. Not plain. A plain band wouldn’t do for Luca. It had taken me a while to choose it, and I was pleased with what I’d found.
His fingers curled into his palm. He didn’t even look at his ring. My stomach plummeted with disappointment. I’d really wanted him to like it.
“You are now man and wife.” Judge Hernandez probably had a great smile. I could picture him hanging out with his family, his eyes crinkling when his kids did something funny, looking at his wife dancing in the kitchen as she cooked. But I could only imagine it because it wasn’t on display for Luca and me.
“You can kiss,” he added quickly.
I stepped closer to Luca, and in my heels, I didn’t even have to raise my chin to bring us to the same level. His gaze was locked on my face, sweeping from my eyes to my mouth. I took another step, flattening my palm to his chest. His finger came up to my chin, drawing me in with barely a touch.
His warm breath brushed my lips only a moment before his mouth did. For a few thunderous beats of my heart, we were sealed together, then his lips parted, taking our union slightly deeper.
My fingers curled around his lapel, and Luca dragged his lips from mine, straightening to his full height. It took me longer to snap out of the heat of his kiss. When I did, I smiled at Luca.
“We’re married.”
He nodded once. “We have to sign the papers.”
“Oh, right. Of course.”
The judge cleared his throat. “Would you like me to take pictures of you two?”
Luca said no at the same time I said yes.
I pressed against his chest. “We should. Our parents will probably want to see us all dressed up when we tell them we got married, don’t you think?”
His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. “You’re probably right.” He turned to the judge. “Thank you. We’d like a few pictures.”
With the sunset off to the side and views of mountains in the distance, the backdrop couldn’t have been more beautiful. Luca pulled me into his side, cupping my hip in his palm. The judge used Luca’s phone to snap us in several poses, and I could tell this wasn’t his first time taking pictures of newlyweds. It would have been cute and fun if Luca hadn’t been so fricking stiff the whole time.
I patted his middle and tipped my lips to his ear. “Relax, Luca. I’m not going to bite you, and these are my one and only wedding pictures. Try to look like you’re happy to be here.”
He turned, bringing his face a whisper from mine. “Thank you for being here, Saoirse.”
“Of course. You’re my husband.”
His next breath was harsh, and his hold on me went tight. “You’d do anything for your husband?”
“I won’t hide the body, but try me, Luca. I said yes to this. I’ll probably say yes to most things.”
His mouth curved into a near smile.
“Okay, I took about a hundred pictures. We should be good to go,” Judge Hernandez announced. Luca dropped his hold, stepping apart from me. “Let’s make it official.”
We went inside to sign the license, which took barely a minute, then the judge departed without any fanfare. He probably couldn’t wait to get out of this loveless affair.
Or maybe he was just hungry. Judge Hernandez would forever remain a mystery to me.
Luca swiveled around when the door closed, rubbing a spot near his brow with his right hand, his left still curling into a fist. I was pretty sure he hadn’t looked at his ring even once.
“I’m going to get changed,” he announced, barely looking at me. “You should too.”
He swept upstairs without another word.
We’d been married fifteen minutes and I was already wondering if I’d made a huge mistake.
