Sweetened With a Kiss (24 page)

His blue eyes flickered, but he relented. “Okay,” he said, finally.

“You wanted to wait for our wedding night,” she said.

He nodded, his eyes bleak. “I know it was stupid.”

“You thought you owed that to my brother.”

He nodded again.  Her smile went soft as she stroked the back of her fingers across the stubble on his jaw.  He leaned into the caress and closed his eyes.

She took another deep breath, then went for it.  “I’ve booked three tickets to Vegas. Lizzie is driving us to the airport. I’ve already filled out our marriage license online and they are open ’til midnight. And if we get married before midnight, that will make this our wedding night.” She smiled as her words started to get through to him and he straightened up, moving away from her hand.  “So,” she added, her voice husky around the lump in her throat, “you aren’t wearing a suit. I brought you these.” She dropped his favorite pair of Levi’s in his lap.

He looked down at the jeans then back up at her.  He stared at her like he’d never seen her before. Jen knew instinctively that he was completely stripped down to his bones in front of her right now. She had to be careful with what she said next. “We can have the big wedding later. And I will wear a great dress and dance with you. I will live with you and I will definitely sleep with you. But right now, I need you to shake this off, get dressed, and let’s go.”

“But,” he said, catching her hand. “There’s not enough time. How can we get married before midnight?” He sounded so tired. “Not that the midnight matters. As long as you marry me, the details don’t matter.”

“Of course midnight matters,” she told him. “I don’t want you turning into a pumpkin.”

His laugh was harsh. She smiled, her hands covering both sides of his face.  She pressed a warm kiss to his forehead, then one to his temple. She felt him sigh as her mouth slid along his jaw. She smiled when she reached his ear. She could not believe that for once she was way ahead of him as she whispered against his ear. “Time change, idiot. Step on it.”

Stefan's eyes flew open as shock radiated off of him. Jen grinned at him, but she didn’t have to tell him twice.

So at 11:55 Pacific time an Elvis impersonator that Jen had found on the internet pronounced them husband and wife. Before Stefan could kiss her, she swung around to Lizzie. They hugged each other, crushing the roses Stefan had bought both of them as they laughed and cried at the same time.

Stefan looked at Elvis, who was really confused. “Hey, I’m just a means to an end. They’ve always wanted to be real sisters.” He grabbed Jen then, spun her back around. “Hello, Mrs. Sellers, remember me?” And he kissed her. Lizzie took their picture with Elvis. Stefan threatened her if she tweeted it or posted it on Facebook.

“Hey, I wanted the scoop,” Lizzie said.

“There is no scoop,” Stefan warned her. “Not until we tell Mom and Dad.”

Lizzie grinned. “That’s gonna cost you. You’re gonna be in so much trouble with Mom.”

“Lizzie won’t tell her,” Jen smiled, still not believing they’d actually gotten married. For all her claims about not wanting a big wedding, she had to admit she might have felt more married if she had walked down an aisle.

“She’s not going to recognize the Church of Elvis,” Lizzie assured her, reading her mind. “She’s going to make you have a church wedding. You know that. Just don’t make me wear pink. It washes me out. And I want to pick out my own shoes.”

Lizzie chatted on about wedding plans as they walked back to the SUV Stefan had rented at the airport. Lizzie easily caught the keys Stefan tossed to her and drove them to the airport. They were just buckling their seat belts, when Stefan leaned over and kissed her without warning. It was another fairytale of a kiss, sweet and beautiful, and when he lifted his head, Jen couldn’t help the soft smile that played at her lips.

“You married me,” he whispered, as if she’d forget.

The gentle smile didn’t flicker as she said, “I got tired of all the begging.”

He grinned at her then, laughed despite himself. “What have I got myself into?”

“Hang on,” Jen told him, covering his hand with hers as the plane started picking up speed. “I love this part.”

“Which part?” Stefan asked, turning his palm up so he could thread his fingers with hers.

The plane left the ground. “That part,” Jen smiled. “The second it leaves the ground. That’s how you make me feel.”

Stefan raised their clasped hands to his mouth. “We’re going to be happy, Jen.” She nodded, thinking that for once, she really already was.

Later, when she could barely keep her eyes open while Stefan slid the key in the door lock, Jen stepped forward only to have him catch her around the waist.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he laughed, sweeping her off her feet.

“What?” she blinked, confused for a moment until she realized he was carrying her over the threshold. She sighed a little and relaxed her head against his strong shoulder as he kicked the door closed behind them.

He was carrying her over the threshold because they were married. They’d gotten married. It still seemed like a dream. Her eyes flew open as she felt the bed come up swiftly behind her.

She heard shoes hit the ground, clothes being swept away, then she was sinking down into warm sheets, being pulled into the warmth of his body. She sighed again, thinking she was finally going to be able to fall asleep.

“Oh no, you don’t,” he laughed, his tongue tracing the shell of her ears and his hand smoothing over her stomach.

Suddenly wide awake, she turned her head and caught his mouth with her own. Then she froze when he touched her in just the right spot and he laughed low in his throat. She arched back against him, parting her legs and letting him back inside. Arms banded around her and her head fell back on his shoulder as everything else in the world ceased to exist but him.

Stefan knew she was asleep as her body went slack against him, her heat still rippling around him. He drifted towards sleep, still inside her, still connected to her in ways he hadn’t even considered. He’d believed for years that he wanted to wait because she was too young. Because he owed it to the best friend he’d made a death bed promise to. Because they’d have the rest of their lives and there was no need to rush it. And because Jen was special and deserved the fairytale.

Now, pulling her in closer but careful not to wake her, he finally admitted to himself that all those reasons had just been excuses. He’d resisted and waited because deep down he’d known the minute he let himself have Jen, she would own him. Completely.

That every single piece of him would be all hers. He would have nothing left.

And there would be no going back.

Now, as his eyelids grew heavy and he breathed in the sweetness of sunshine and sugar and reveled in the softness of her, he knew he’d been right. They’d crossed a line tonight. He wasn’t ever letting her go.

He smiled when she stirred against him, and he buried his face in her hair. He felt like he’d just run a hundred miles, and the calm that washed over him was better than any he’d ever reached before. It was her. Having her here like this brought him this peace. He’d never once imagined that she’d replace every single piece she took from him with something better, even adding back parts he hadn’t known were missing.

He knew what the feeling was. He loved her. She was part of him, had always been part of him. The beauty of it stole his breath. As the dreams dragged him under, he knew he wasn’t just happy, he was complete. And that was a result that had never once crossed his mind. He hadn’t even thought it was possible.

Jen could hardly believe how quickly the bakery was coming together.  Jared wasted no time in signing the lease and Rogan’s crew jumped on the renovations the same day.  Jen watched in complete shock as Stefan and Jared failed to disagree on the security system, the renovations, or really anything. Jen had expected them to be at each other like cats and dogs, but they acted like they’d been friends for ever. It made her nervous.

“I can’t believe I’m missing it,” Lizzie complained.

“I hate it for you,” Jen laughed, switching her cell phone to her other ear as she pretended to check out fabric samples, when she was really just watching Rogan’s crew steadily working on wiring, painting, and anything else that needed to be done. “Cause Rogan could charge extra for his no-shirt dress-code for all these guys. There’s just too much hotness going on here.”

“Jared’s band too?” Lizzie groaned. “Adam?”

“Uh-huh,” Jen sighed, glancing up sideways at the tall dark guy with blue-tipped spiky hair. Adam’s arms were stretched out over his head as he installed a new ceiling fan. “He’s got new ink. Lilies all down his arms and back.”

“I hate you,” Lizzie sighed. “Take a picture.”

“Hold on. Hey, Adam,” she smiled up at the surprisingly shy lead guitarist of Sugar Coma. “Lizzie wants to see your new ink. Can I?” she asked, waving her phone.

Adam shrugged. “Whatever,” and he went back to screwing in the light fixture. Jen snapped a picture and sent it to Lizzie.

“That’s hot!” Lizzie cried a minute later on the other end.

“What’s hot?” Stefan asked, and Jen jumped in surprise when he stepped up behind her, sweaty, shirtless, and totally gorgeous.

Jen’s throat went dry. “Gotta go, Lizzie.”

“No, I want more pictures.”

“Bye, Lizzie,” Stefan said loud enough for his sister to hear. “Who’s hot?”

Jen smiled, licked her bottom lip slowly. “All of you, actually.”

He nodded slowly, fighting a grin. “I’m glad you noticed we’re all hot, maybe you can make us some iced tea.”

“Iced tea?” Jen asked, as if she’d never heard of it.

“Yeah, you put water in a pot, boil it, add sugar, and instead of making it into flowers you drop in tea bags.”

“I’m sorry,” Jen looked at him blankly. “Were you saying something?” she asked, reaching up to run her fingers down his chest, tracing the line under his pecs and down his abdomen. “I was distracted.”

He caught her hand before it could reach his waistband. “Seriously. Tea. Now.”

“Oh, okay,” she pouted, letting him pull her to her feet. “I’ll see if I can steal some bags from Elliot.”

“You do that,” he growled, and kissed her before urging her towards the door. He missed the door and backed her up against the wall. This time her fingers made it to his waistband and she pulled him closer as he opened her mouth with his.

Yeah, she’d been totally wrong about Stefan not really wanting her
that
way. He’d been proving that several times a day for the last few weeks. He’d proved it in multiple ways in multiple locations and she wished he could prove it right here in the middle of her dream-come-true bakery. She simply adored being wrong.

So she tugged his jeans again, urging him even closer and got one button undone before all the whistling, cat calls, and
you two get a room
started up around them. Stefan froze, and shook his head a little as she smiled against his lips. He’d forgotten where they were.

She loved that she could do that to him.

He loved it too but the smile that moved against hers told her she would still pay for it later.