Page 40 of Her Inconvenient Wedding Date

I gulp, then blow out a long breath. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re a natural on camera. I’ll probably forget my own name.”

“What should I call you then? How about Trapper or Chaser?”

The mischief lighting up her brown eyes makes me chuckle. Over the past five months that we’ve been married, I’ve seen some new sides to Lily. Other than her soft, vulnerable side, her playful, jokey side has to be my favorite. I scoot closer to her on the loveseat and wrap my arm around her shoulders. “I should have never given you a thesaurus for Christmas. It was supposed to be a fun stocking stuffer, not a torture device.”

“It is fun! For me,” she adds with a grin. “Next time just get me some synonym rolls.”

I groan loudly. “I think you’re more punny than me now.”

“I learn from the best.” She leans in and kisses my cheek, then rubs it with her thumb. “Oops, I left some lipstick on you. I guess this one’s not as transfer-proof as I thought. Let me touch it up before we start.”

“Before you do that…”

“Huh?”

I cup her chin and tilt her face up toward me. Taking my chance, I plant a quick one on her, then let her go. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you, but I didn’t want to mess up your makeup. But since you need to fix your lipstick anyway?—”

Lily cuts off the rest of my words with a finger to my lips. “This is what I love about your brain. You have the best ideas.”

I can’t argue with her once her mouth finds its way home to mine, and I wouldn’t want to. Lily is right, I do come up with good ideas. Kissing my wife ranks high on that list, along with the proposal I’d surprised her with the week after our civil ceremony. It was important to me that I ask Lily to marry me since we’d done things a bit unconventionally. Once the engagement ring was on her finger, our union became more official than a contract marriage.

Soon after the new year, we had a church ceremony with our families and friends present, as well as a ten-course Chinese banquet. Both events were shared with Jasmine and Bruce, much to Mama Lam’s dismay since that cut down on the number of festivities. She quickly got on board, however, when Lily and Jasmine reminded her that there will beman yuedinners (aka one-month baby celebrations) to look forward to once the grandkids come along.

In case anyone’s wondering, Lily and I have gotten very familiar with each other since we decided to stay married. So familiar that I know exactly how she likes to be kissed. Slowly and thoroughly along the curve of her neck as I lay her back onto the couch cushions. I can also anticipate the sounds of her happy sighs and the way she likes to run her fingers through my hair until our lips meet again. Our connection deepens, giving me a sweet taste of her. I have every urge to move our kissing to the bedroom, but I know now’s not the time. Reluctantly, I break off the kiss and help Lily up.

“Business first, Mrs. Payne. Your fans are waiting.”

“The live! I almost forgot about that. Let me go fix my lipstick!”

A couple of minutes later, we’re good to start. As soon as we go live, a handful of viewers tune in. Lily’s warm and caring personality shines through as she calls each person out by name.

“Hey, Heidi. Gina, hi! Patty, long time no see. I’m so glad you guys made it!”

I watch in awe as she reads and replies to their comments without missing a beat. What can’t she do?! My wife is amazing. Every time I see Lily in her element, I fall a little more in love with her.

“Guess what, everyone?” Lily continues. “I have a special guest I want you all to meet. This is my hubby, Hunter!”

The feedback starts appearing on the screen.

Oh, he’s cute!

I can’t believe you’re married!

Are his ears okay? They’re so red!

“He is cute, isn’t he? Especially his ears!” Lily grins and gives my knee a comforting pat. “We’ll get to everyone’s questions in a bit, but let me give him a chance to say hi first.”

“Hello, everyone,” I greet the screen. “Thanks for tuning in and supporting my lovely wife. Lily’s the best, isn’t she?”

She waves off my compliment, but she does mouththanksto me before turning back to the phone. “I compiled a list of questions that you guys wanted us to answer in our live today. We’ll start with the first one—who fell in love first?”

“That’s easy,” I answer. “I did. It was pretty much love at first sight. From the moment I met Lily at work, I was a goner.”

“I’ll admit it, I friend-zoned Hunter pretty badly for a year. But once I did fall for him, I fell pretty hard and fast.”

A bunch of heart emojis float across the screen.

“Next question,” Lily continues, “what is your favorite thing about each other?”

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