Page 120 of Wedlocked
For once, I was thankful for him running his mouth.
“Signed and filed right before I left. I brought copies, a marriage license, and duplicates just in case.”
“We got our marriage license before we got here,” Kruger told him. “Just need you to make it officially official.”
“I can do that.” Dad agreed.
“Christina. Bennett. It’s lovely to see you again.” Teresa stepped away from Matthew’s side to greet my parents.
I was glad that they’d all met at Thanksgiving already. Saved a lot of awkward introductions.
“Thank you so much for coming on such short notice.” Teresa went on.
I glanced at Kruger. “That’s what you’re supposed to say when someone goes out of their way to do something for you.”
“I was getting to it.” Kruger defended himself. “No point in thanking him if he wasn’t able to push the paperwork through. I didn’t even bring the ski poles.”
I rolled my eyes, and Matthew scoffed.
“Do you have a car waiting?” I asked my parents when they were done catching up with Matthew’s gram.
“No. We were going to just get a taxi because of the short notice. But now that you’re here…” Dad smiled.
“Good thing I’m driving an SUV,” I said.
“Do you need to wait for your bags?” Kruger asked.
“This is everything,” Mom said, pointing to one large suitcase with an overnight bag on top.
Kruger leaned close to Matthew. “They brought their emotional baggage.”
Matthew snickered, and I had to fight the urge to snatch him away from his best friend’s side.
Almost as if he could feel it, Matthew glanced at me, a little wariness in the depths of those dark-chocolate eyes.
I realized then that the arrival of my parents would just make it even harder to steal some of that precious alone time we desperately needed.
21
Prism
The driveback to the chalet.
A family meeting to go over details about tomorrow, which included setup for the wedding and the rehearsal dinner.
Dinner with Gram, Arsen’s parents, Kruger, and Jess.
All of that after a morning of snowmobiling and the airport meant I was straddling my limit.
No, scratch that. I was clinging to the limit with tired hands.
The ringing in my ears was loud, which might have been okay if it drowned out all the intrusive thoughts attacking me. Instead, it just made them like missiles. My brain was shouting,Incoming!There were indents in the pads of my fingers from how hard they’d been tangled in the bracelets around my wrist during dinner, and the weight sitting in the center of my chest made me shift uncomfortably every few minutes.
When Arsen let us into our bedroom at the chalet, I stepped in, and a shaky breath shuddered out of me. On wobbly knees, I went to the bed, lower half pressing against the tall, thick mattress and the oversized UGG blanket Arsen had broughtfrom home and draped over the end. I stood there woodenly, fingers petting the soft pink fabric as I stared toward the dark windows, seeing nothing.
The door clicked, and it roused me enough to shrug off my coat and let it slip onto the floor. After that, I tugged at the sweater I’d worn to dinner, tossing that on the floor too.
“Shoes.” Arsen’s voice was close and soft. Even so, I jolted, surprised he was there. He didn’t react to the way I started, just knelt at my feet, patiently waiting.