Page 11 of Her Inconvenient Wedding Date (Unexpected Dates #2)

Lily

“New love is like a software update—it might have some bugs, but it also comes with cool new features.” ~Unknown

I think I’m glitching.

If I were a computer, I’d be malfunctioning right about now.

We’re talking about a flickering screen, weird crackling sounds, and multiple programs crashing at the same time.

You’d possibly even get the blue screen of death, but in my case, it would be a soft pink with glitter.

My hardware’s being inundated with too much external input—the bright light of the chandelier above, Hunter’s muscular arm cradling my waist, and his soft lips pressed to mine.

There’s also the rowdy sound of applause and cheers going up all around us, making me acutely aware that this moment is very, very public.

My heart is telling me to enjoy this moment—I’ve never been dipped and kissed before!

—but my brain (or what’s left of it) is warning me of a major system failure.

The strength in my legs is gone, and my limbs feel like wet noodles.

My insides are at the point of overheating, and there’s no switch to turn off the fire.

Not when Hunter’s so close. And certainly not with him kissing me like he never wants to stop.

But stop, he does.

Our connection is over before I can even respond.

He lifts me back onto my feet and steadies me for a second before letting go.

His ears are bright red like the traces of rouge on his mouth.

My hand goes to my lips, lips that are still warm from his touch.

I swallow hard as my body reboots itself and recovers from what feels like a virus.

My skin is hot, my thoughts are jumbled, and I’m weak all over. What does this all mean?

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Fred claps Hunter on the shoulder, then gives me a cheery thumbs-up. “You kids have a great marriage of inconvenience!”

“It’s marriage of convenience,” Hunter tries to tell him, but the older man has already moved onto his next victims.

Oops. Did I say victims? I mean couple.

There was no crime or accident involved in our union, but I do feel like I’m suffering from some physical and emotional repercussions. I don’t think any woman can be kissed by Hunter and not be affected. But did our kiss affect him?

He offers me a sheepish smile as he rubs the back of his neck. “I, uh, I’m sorry about that. I got carried away. I promise it won’t happen again.”

Won’t happen again? “But?—”

“Lily? Is that you?”

I turn around and come face to face with a tall and slender redheaded woman dressed in a dark green power suit. With her hair pulled back in a low bun and a face full of makeup, she looks so different from her online persona. “Hadley? I almost didn’t recognize you. What are you doing here?”

“I could say the same! Are you—you’re not—you are!” She sucks in a sharp breath as she holds up my left hand. “Did you just get married?! I thought this was supposed to be a fake engagement. What on earth is going on?”

“Um, about that, I can explain.”

“You better. But first, come here!” She wraps me up in a warm embrace that settles the nerves in my stomach.

Hadley is one of my book club buddies who lives in the area, and unlike me, she’s a pro at physical affection.

She releases me from her hug and steps back with a grin.

“I can’t believe I crashed your ceremony!

And here I thought I was just coming to scope out this place for one of my clients. ”

“You have great timing.”

“The best, right? Well, it would’ve been better if I’d arrived five minutes earlier, but better late than never. Now, about this union of yours…”

I gesture to Hunter who’s been patiently watching us catch up. “I should probably introduce you to my… uh…”

“Hunter,” he finishes for me. He extends a hand to Hadley. “I guess you could call me Lily’s husband.”

“No handshakes allowed; this is a hugging occasion!” Hadley exclaims. “Any husband of Lily’s is a—oh, wait, that’s not going to work, is it? Well, you know what I mean! Come on over here!”

The two of them share a quick hug that leaves me smiling.

This scenario almost feels normal, except for the fact that I didn’t tell any of my girlfriends I was getting hitched today.

I hadn’t wanted to make it a big deal—there’s a limited number of guests allowed at the courthouse, which is how I’d convinced my family not to attend—but the real reason is that I didn’t want anyone warning me against this crazy, foolish idea.

That’s a fact I already knew. But it’s so gracious of God to allow Hadley to show up when she did so I’d have a friend here to give me support.

Because, boy, do I need some support.

“I’m so glad I ran into you guys,” Hadley says, “but I really have to go! I have clients waiting! I expect a full report during our next meeting, Lily!” She waves and blows kisses at us before turning to go.

So much for my source of support.

At least Hunter has his cousin who is now talking to Fred and signing what looks like a marriage certificate.

Our marriage certificate. I place a hand over my chest and try to take deep breaths.

All the warm fuzzies I had a few minutes ago during that kiss have fizzled away.

I stare at the ring on my hand as its significance hits me like an iceberg and I’m the Titanic.

What have I done?!

All my life, I’d looked forward to the day when I’d get to marry the love of my life.

And here I am, married to a man who is amazing and checks off all the boxes, but our relationship is only based on an agreement.

An agreement that can only last three months.

And one that will no longer include head-spinning kisses like the one Hunter just gave me.

What an inconvenient marriage, indeed.

“You know what?” I turn to Hunter and say the first thing that pops into my head. “I feel like a brownie.”

“A brownie? Sure, let’s go get some brownies.”

“But it’s almost lunchtime. We’ll ruin our appetite. We can’t eat dessert before a meal.”

“Says who?”

“All the responsible adults in the world.”

“And are any of those people enjoying themselves?”

“Maybe not, but that’s life. We have responsibilities to fulfill. I already feel bad about playing hooky from work today.”

“You haven’t taken a day off all year, Lil.”

“Exactly. I broke my record. ”

“You know the company doesn’t give out perfect attendance awards, right?”

“But if they did, I’d be the first to get one.”

“I won’t argue with you there. How about I give you a brownie instead? Hold on a second though.” He strides over to Ryder and Fred, exchanges a few words with them, then returns to my side. “Okay, we can go now. Let’s get those brownies!”

“What about Ryder?”

“He’s a big boy, he can find his own ride home. If not, he should really think about changing his name.”

I smile despite my mood and follow Hunter down the grand staircase.

If the circumstances were normal, these steps would be a great place to take wedding photos that we could frame and hang up in our home and show to our kids one day, but since we are not your typical couple, we keep on moving.

Past a handful of tourists taking pictures of the architecture and another couple on their way to get married who look as madly in love with each other as you’d expect them to be.

In a matter of minutes, we arrive outside to where Hunter’s sedan is parked on the street.

I’d taken an Uber here—one-way city streets and I don’t get along—so it works out that I can ride home with him.

Although, I’m not sure what home is going to look like for the foreseeable future or what anything will look like.

But I do know, thank the Lord, that I’m safe with Hunter.

He opens the passenger side door for me and places one hand along the top of the doorframe, so I don’t bump my head.

The gesture is so sweet and thoughtful, my insides melt a little.

It’s moments like this that reassure me of what a good guy he is.

I mean, he literally just married me without expecting anything in return. Who does that?!

Apparently, a non-Chinese guy who speaks Mandarin, rescues me from PowerPoint presentations, and hates pineapple on his pizza.

I suppose two out of three ain’t bad.

“Is there a specific place you have in mind for the brownies?” he asks, once he’s seated behind the wheel. He pulls onto the road and starts heading for the 101 South freeway. “Or are you okay with homemade ones?”

“Don’t tell me you make your own brownies, too?”

“One of my sisters gave me a recipe I’ve been wanting to try. They’re pumpkin brownies, perfect for fall. How’s that sound?”

“Perfect,” I muse to myself. My mother’s right.

There’s a term in Mandarin, you xiu, that means excellent or superior.

She used that word to describe Hunter every time I spoke with her this week, saying how I found someone more you xiu than me—the key word being more , not as .

I can’t argue with her though. The more I find out about Hunter, the more I see how much he’s out of my league. “So perfect.”

He glances at me briefly. “What did you mean by too ? You said, ‘don’t tell me you make your own brownies, too?’ That presumes there’s something else I also do.”

“Oh, there is a lot more than one something else. You seem to be good at a lot of things.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

I wince, not realizing how jaded I must sound. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that this whole week, my mom’s been telling me that she has no idea how I managed to find a man who’s so you xiu .”

“Your mom said that?”

I glance out my window, watching the road signs blur as we pick up speed. “Yep. She’s apparently become your number one fan. She thinks marrying you is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. ”

“Wow. That’s very kind of her to say, even if it is completely untrue. I’ll have to bring her some more dried seafood to thank her the next time we see her.”

“Please don’t,” I reply, half-jokingly. “I’ll never be able to catch up to you.”

“I’m not here to compete with you, Lil.”

“Even if you’re not, it doesn’t stop my mom from comparing me to you any chance she gets. She’ll probably end up disowning me and adopting you instead.”

“Um, is that even legal?”

“I’m sure she could find a way to make it so. Then once you’re part of the Lam Fam, you can attend all the functions and eat all the fruit she’ll cut for you. You’ll have more than enough fiber to keep your insides moving.”

He cracks a smile. “I’d be sure to sneak a plate of fruit for you, too, so you can also have fiber for your insides. But, full disclosure, there are plenty of things I’m not good at.”

“Like what?”

“Skydiving, bull riding, and doing the splits, to name a few.”

I cock my head, waiting for him to say more, but he stays silent. “Those don’t count. They’re not regular things that most everyone can do. What about something more common like drawing or painting?”

“I wouldn’t call myself a professional, but I have taken some classes before, and my artwork might have placed in some competitions.”

“Some? How many is some?”

“Two… squared,” he admits sheepishly. “But it’s more of a hobby. Something I do to unwind after a long day of writing code.”

“Right.” If only my hobbies were half as successful as Hunter’s. I stare at his profile, wondering how he can be so handsome, kind, smart, and creative. “So, there’s nothing you don’t do well.”

“That’s not true.” With his eyes on the road, he thinks for a moment. “I’m not very good at making friends.”

“What are you talking about? I see you chatting with people all the time. People in our department, people in other departments—everyone knows your name.”

“Yes, but the one person I’d been trying to befriend the past year only started to enjoy talking to me a week ago.”

I blink in surprise. “You’re not referring to me, are you?”

“I am.”

“I didn’t know you wanted to be my friend.”

“Why do you think I tried to talk to you every day?”

“I thought you were trying to distract me from my work, so you’d come out on top.”

He scoffs loudly. “I rest my case.”

“I had no idea. I clearly read you wrong.” The grimace on his face tugs at my heartstrings. “If it’s any consolation, you did a lot more than befriend me. We did just get married.”

“We did, didn’t we?”

“Which goes to show that you are good at making friends.”

“Or maybe you’re the one who’s good at it. If you hadn’t given me a chance, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

“It’s only because you agreed to go along with this wild plan of mine,” I remark while holding up my left hand.

The wedding band that had looked so foreign on my finger now feels a little more comfortable.

It may not symbolize true love, but at least it’s a sign of our friendship.

“It’s too bad we didn’t become friends sooner. ”

“So we could’ve gotten married earlier?” he jokes.

“No, silly. So I could have appreciated your sense of humor sooner.”

“Well, the good news is that you’ll have plenty of chances to do that after you move in. Say, why don’t we go pick up your stuff now before we head to my place? Then you can unpack while I make brownies and lunch—which we are going to eat in that exact order.”

“Sure. That sounds like a good idea.”

Despite the smile on my face, the tightness in my chest makes it hard to breathe. Things are getting real now. Starting today, I’ll be staying at Hunter’s, likely eating with him every day, and doing life with him.

As. His. Wife.

What scares me the most is the fact that there will be endless opportunities for me to enjoy his company and fall in love with him even more… and that’s the last thing my heart should be doing.