Page 16 of Her Inconvenient Wedding Date (Unexpected Dates #2)

Hunter

“We go together like copy and paste, a perfect match but with occasional formatting issues.” ~Unknown

If I wasn’t behind the wheel driving to work, I’d be pinching myself right now.

Instead, I’m holding the hand of the woman I love while we sing “We are the Champions” at the top of our lungs.

It turns out that not only is my wife a Q-tip-wielding superhero, she also has the voice of an angel.

She can harmonize a third above and below the melody line without breaking a sweat.

It’s only our second day of marriage, and I’m falling even more in love with Lily.

I glance over at her while we wait for the signal light to change.

She’s dressed more casually since it’s a Friday, but she still looks amazing in jeans, a white shirt, and a leopard-print jacket.

Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, revealing the curve of her neck that I’m now familiar with after last night.

Our kissing session may have ended with each one of us sleeping in our own bedrooms, but I’m confident we’ll continue to grow closer and more comfortable together the longer we’re married.

Because the enthusiastic way Lily kissed me last night tells me I’m not the only hunter in this relationship.

But I certainly don’t mind being her prey.

Oh man, it’s a good thing these puns are only in my head. I don’t think Lily could handle that much cheese.

“What are you smiling about?” she asks me when she notices me staring at her.

“I’m just thinking about how perfect you are.”

She rolls her eyes. “I already like you, Hunter. You don’t have to pai ma pi with me,” she says, referring to the Mandarin idiom that literally translates to pat a horse’s bottom.

“I’m not kissing up to you, Lil. I mean it. You’re the perfect wife I prayed for.”

“You don’t know when to stop, do you?” She nudges me with her elbow. “It’s our turn to go.”

“Oh, thanks.” I step on the gas and continue driving along the local streets of Mountain View.

“See? Even the way you told me the light changed is perfect. Harper, my older sister, would be screaming ‘Green light, go!’ at the top of her lungs, and Heather, my younger sister, would be kicking my seat until I stepped on the gas.”

“Are you talking about when you guys were younger?”

“If by younger, you mean a few months ago, then yes.”

She laughs. “They sound like fun. I can’t wait to meet them… assuming you want me to meet them.”

“Of course, I do. I told them this morning about you. They sent me a dozen texts each, half of them in all caps yelling at me for not telling them we got married yesterday and the other half asking me about you.” I pause, wondering about the uncertainty I picked up in her voice.

“Why would you think I wouldn’t want you to meet my sisters?

You’re my wife, the most important person in the world to me.

I’d send out a company-wide email announcing our relationship status if you’d let me. ”

“I’m pretty sure neither the HR nor IT folks would be okay with you doing that.”

“Then people will just have to find out one by one when they see this.” I flash my wedding band at her for a split second before grabbing the steering wheel again.

“I thought we weren’t going to wear our rings to the office?” She gasps. “Is it because yours is too tight and you couldn’t take it off? I know a method you can try; I read about it in a rom-com. You just stick your hand in a bowl of ice water?—”

“The ring fits fine,” I gently interrupt her as we turn onto the corporate campus.

I find the closest open spot to park in, then shut off the engine.

Facing her, I say, “I’m keeping my ring on because I’m proud to be married to the most gorgeous, smartest, kindest, and sexiest woman alive.

I don’t want to hide the fact that I’m off the market.

You wouldn’t want other women going after your husband, would you? ”

“Of course not. But…”

“But what?”

“You and I have an agreement. This marriage of convenience is only supposed to be until January. I don’t expect you to stay longer than that.”

My chest tightens. I suppose we should have done more talking than kissing yesterday.

“I’m not going anywhere, Lil. I went into this marriage hoping that it would last longer than three months.

I want to be married to you. I thought last night made that pretty clear.

I wouldn’t have spent all that time kissing you if I wasn’t serious. ”

She shrugs. “I thought maybe you got caught up in the moment, you know, after I saved your eyeballs and everything. You did say you wanted to show me your gratitude.”

“The gratitude was in the first kiss. After that, it was all for pleasure.” I cup her chin and lock gazes with her. “It was a man kissing the woman he loves.”

“How are you so sure?” Her eyes narrow suspiciously like someone who doesn’t believe that rebooting solves 99% of computer problems. “You hardly know me. Sure, we’ve worked together for a year, but is that really long enough for you to know you want to be stuck with me for the rest of your life?

We’re not characters in a romance book, Hunter; this is real.

You shouldn’t make a rash decision like this without considering what it all means.

“Last night was amazing,” she admits with pink cheeks, “but marriage isn’t only about kissing. It’s a lot more, like dealing with my parents, especially my mother, who, by the way, wants us to go over for dinner tomorrow. She left me the longest voicemail ever; it was almost ten minutes.”

“Ten? I thought the maximum length of a voicemail you can leave is four minutes?”

“It is. She left three voicemails, but it was one big, long guilt trip. She started off by telling me for the umpteenth time about the thirty-six hours of labor she endured to have me, then ended with her last check-up where the doctor advised her to cut down on her stress, specifically stress related to her kids. It was quite the mom-ologue, I tell you.”

I wince to hear Lily break out with a pun, but I think I’m starting to understand her hesitation.

“I know we’re still getting to know each other, Lil, so it makes sense that you don’t trust me fully yet.

I get it. But I want you to know that I’m going to do everything in my power to show you that you can trust me.

No matter what comes our way, whether it’s guilt trips, family dinners with your parents, or anything else, I’m going to be by your side. You can’t scare me that easily.”

“Says the man who freaked out about his contact lenses getting stuck to his eyeballs.” Lily shoots me a knowing look, followed by a sweet smile.

“I appreciate how hard you’re trying, I do.

But we pretty much did things backwards; we got married without even going on a date together.

It’s not fair of me to expect you to stay.

You deserve a way out; it’s the right thing to do. ”

The steely glint in her deep brown eyes should scare me, but it only makes my heart beat faster. “You know something? You’re cute when you’re determined.”

“Hunter, be serious!”

“I am. Seriously in love with you.”

Her eyes widen in frustration. “Please think about it.”

My operating system goes on the fritz the longer Lily looks at me. “About what again?”

“Your way out of this marriage of convenience.”

“What if I don’t want one?”

“Then you can choose to stay.”

“I’m staying then.”

“ After you take some time to think about it. Like, really think about it. Please. Will you do that for me?”

“I’d do anything for you, Lil, but?—”

“Then do this for me. Do it for yourself, too. This is the rest of your life that we’re talking about.” She gathers her belongings, then rests her hand on the door handle. “Your meeting is about to start. Go in first, then I’ll come in a few minutes after you. And remember to act normal.”

“Normal how?”

“Not like someone who married his coworker yesterday. Just be yourself.”

Be myself? I can totally do that. Because who I am is a man in love with his wife.

I lean over the center console and plant my mouth firmly on Lily’s.

She makes a sound of surprise before she responds and cups my face with her soft hands.

We move at a slow, unhurried pace, savoring the heat building between us.

There’s a sense of longing in this parting kiss as our lips linger for a few extra beats.

I don’t mind it at all. The more Lily enjoys kissing me, the more she’ll miss me when we’re apart.

When the moment is over, I’m surprised to see that several minutes have passed.

But what’s more alarming is the small crowd gathered outside our car—although it’s debatable whether they’re more shocked or we are.

Several of our fellow engineers have their jaws dropped like they can’t believe I got Lily to kiss me.

If I wasn’t a first-hand eyewitness, I might not believe it either.

“Noooo!” Lily groans when she spots the scene through her window. Her cheeks flush as she slides lower in her seat. “Please tell me I’m dreaming!”

“You’re totally dreaming.”

She glowers at me, apparently unamused.

“Okay, you’re not really dreaming, but the situation’s not as bad as you may think.

Look, a couple of the guys are giving us a thumbs-up.

That’s a good thing, right? But the best part is now that our relationship is public, we can walk into the office together.

” I get out and greet our coworkers, then round the front of the car to Lily’s side.

After opening the door, I extend my hand to her. “Come on.”

She hesitates before accepting my invitation. Once she steps out, she takes a deep breath and looks around. The guys have gone ahead of us, so we no longer have an audience. “Where’d everyone go?”

“Most likely to the meeting that’s starting in two minutes.”

“That’s your meeting, too. You should hurry.” She gestures for me to walk ahead. “I’m going to stop by the cafeteria and get some tea. ”

I nod and reluctantly let go of her hand. “I have meetings all morning, so I’ll see you for lunch?”

She avoids my gaze as she replies, “I have a lot of work to catch up on, so I’ll probably eat at my desk.”

“I can bring lunch to your cube then.”

An unreadable emotion passes over her face as she meets my eyes. “Can I let you know later?”

“Yeah, sure. I better get to the meeting. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Leaving Lily behind, I force my feet to move in the direction of the main building. Nothing about our interaction just now sits right with me, but I’ll have to wait until later to debug the problem.