Page 57 of Forbidden Love Still Blooms

“Just marriage jitters,” I laugh weakly, “like you said.”

She lets her hand fall away from me, concern making her look even prettier somehow. It reminds me of my mom, how she looks at me when she knows things are bad. “I don't want to do it this way,” I admit. “Getting married like this, so fast, rushing to the finish, it's all wrong.”

“Then why do it this way?”

I'm on the verge of explaining it, but I can't. There's no way. Dragging more people into my snake den is selfish. One of the things I never wanted to be was someone who didn't consider how their actions harm others. I refuse to be that careless.

Biting my tongue, I climb the steps. “Let's go, Dez might be inside already.” Before I reach the glass doors, they swing open. I stumble backwards—Cadence catches me, keeping me from falling down the hard stone stairs.

A police officer fills the entryway. He's older, heavy jowls, clean-shaven. The front of his black uniform pillows over the rim of his belt laden with a walkie-talkie and a holstered gun. He stares directly at me. Like he was waiting for me. Like all my nightmares are unfurling as I expected they someday would. But here, now? Over his shoulder, standing inside the courthouse with his brow lifted in ridges of anger, is Dezmond.

The iconicbwoopof a siren bleats a single time in the air. I turn, spotting the car with its flashing lights parked in front of the courthouse. Sweat drenches my armpits.Oh god, they're here for me. Dezmond told them everything.

“This way!” The officer shouts, waving above my head. He's looking past me to the police car. A second officer files out, climbing the stairs. Then I see a third one maneuver from behind Dezmond. My uncertainty keeps me frozen on the spot. When the first officer looks at me again, his eyes are hard, voice brisk. “Move aside.”

“Come on,” Cadence hisses in my ear. She gives me a little push, encouraging me to scoot out of the officer’s way. In a haze, I inch sideways until I'm pressed against the rail of the high steps.

Chico and Jake, their arms cuffed behind them, are pushed through the open double doors. All four officers work together to escort the miserable friends of Dezmond towards the flashing cars below.

Cadence grips my forearm, asking, “What the hell is going on?”

“I think they're getting arrested,” I reply, allowing myself to feel relief. The police are here for Chico and Jake, not me. Lifting my eyes I notice Dezmond pacing, his phone in his grip. He's talking to someone with his lips twisted in a disgusted frown.

I watch the cops talking by the cars. The red and blue lights dance across the stone. They're hypnotic, but more than that, they feel like an omen.They weren't here to arrest me … this time.It's not hard to imagine the cuffs choking the boys' wrists being clapped onto mine. When Cadence squeezes my arm, I wrench away with a sharp exhale; she balks. “Sorry,” I say, “I'm kind of shaken up.”

“Yeah, I get it,” she assures me. “Let's go ask Dez what happened.”

Together we ascend the steps. Dezmond sees us coming, hangs up his cell and puts it away in his pocket. He's wearing what I saw him in earlier at the convenience store; black jeans with torn cuffs and a short-sleeved Nightmare on Elm Street shirt. I shouldn't be surprised he didn't put any effort into looking nice after demandingI do,but it feels like a low blow.

“What happened?” I ask him.

He jerks his head at the police swarming at the bottom of the steps. “Warrants. Asshole cop didn't give them a break, not even when I said they were here to watch me get married. Dickhead.”

Cadence crosses her arms with a light shrug. “Why would the police give them any slack? Chico and Jake get arrested all the damn time, not like they're model citizens.”

Dez looks her over with disdain. “Do I know you?”

“No. You don't,” she says coolly.

He smirks slightly, giving her an appreciative scan. “Yeah, I do. We went to school together. I remember you being on the cheer squad. You looked hot as fuck in that little skirt.”

Cadence bristles, her dark eyes flashing between me and him. “Your fiancée is standing right here, asshole.”

“She doesn't care,” he says, before I can think of how to respond.

He's right. I don't care, beyond the fact he's making her upset. “Dez, don't act so disgusting to Cadence. She's my friend.”

“Whatever,” he mumbles, running his hand over his mouth. He keeps looking behind me, to the doors, acting anxious. “Can't fucking believe this shit. They'll be locked up until at least tomorrow.”

A small flicker of hope burns in me. “Guess we should postpone this marriage license stuff.”

“What?” he snaps. “Why?”

Cadence makes a quick gesture around the quiet lobby of the courthouse. “You don't have a witness anymore. Don't you want your friends here for this?”

Dezmond shuts his eyes, exhaling from his nose. He's put out by this mess and seeing him flustered is reviving me. "Listen, let's not rush this. We can wait a while longer," I say.

“No.” When he opens his eyes, he meets mine, speaking in a threatening tone. “We're doing this today. You want it over with, right, Lori? That's your favorite way to handle things. Cut to the chase.Buryyour fear.”

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