Page 87 of Enemies Don't

I’m In

Collin ~ August

Ishow up at the courthouse forty-five minutes earlier than everyone else is scheduled to arrive. It comes with my job training; I like to get a lay of the land and feel comfortable in spaces where major events are going to take place.

That, and I feel like I’m going to be sick, so I need some time to calm down.

I’m wearing a black suit and tie. I’m overdressed in comparison to the people I’m passing in the courthouse halls. People are staring, and I’m sweating—like, literally sweating.

It’s just…it’s marriage.

It’s been two weeks since Noli and I had our heart-to-heart on the top of the lighthouse. Since then, she’s picked up a string of night shifts, and I had to leave town for three days of professional development. There’s so much more I’ve wanted to say to her—about how I’m feeling about us—but I haven’t been around her long enough to get it out. It has me on edge.

I turn the corner, my dress shoes tapping against the slick linoleum floor. This hallway will take me to the room where the ceremony will take place.

When I glance up, I skid to a stop.

Noli is standing in front of me. She’s got her back to me, but it’s definitely her. Her sable-colored hair is pulled up into a ponytail. The curls spill out of the tie in a large cascade that brushes the open space in the center of her shoulder blades. Her back. Her gloriously soft and smooth back, with those winged lat muscles.I want to run my fingers over every inch of them. The sight of her immediately takes the edge off.

As if sensing that she’s not alone, she spins around.

My lungs seize up at the sight.

She’s wearing a floor-length gown made of some sort of shiny material. Silk, maybe? I don’t know. Whatever it is, I’m itching to touch it. To feel the smoothness under my hand.

She’s staring at me with those wide, blue eyes, and she holds up her hand in a wave, revealing bell sleeves.

I take a step toward her, and the closer I get, the more beautiful she becomes. She’s wearing simple, dangling earrings. They’re gold with a diamond at the tip. She’s got more make-up on than I’m used to seeing her wear. But she still looks like herself—just…in bold.

“Hey,” she says as I approach. She looks away. “Sorry. I know it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding. I should go. They have a waiting room for us over there.” She glances back at me, and I see something in her gaze that I’m not used to seeing—uncertainty.

“Stay. Please.” I move forward, slowly reaching for her hand.

At my touch, she stiffens, but she allows me to grab hold of her fingers and twine them with mine. “Is this okay?” I ask, my voice rumbling.

She flicks her gaze downward, nodding once.

“Noli. You look amazing. Stunning. Breathtaking. There aren’t enough adjectives in the dictionary.”

She’s staring at the ground, but the tops of her cheeks have turned crimson red. It’s a good look for her.

She looks up shyly. “It was all my sisters’ doing, so you can thank them.”

“Believe me, I will,” I say under my breath.

Noli laughs at that, and it’s the best sound in the world. It’s like church bells, which is ironic, given that we’re about to get married in a civil ceremony.

“I need to talk to you about something,” I say, drawing my courage from Noli’s laugh and grateful to have a moment with her before our wedding.

Noli stands up straighter. “Sure. Go ahead.”

I swallow. “I—” I stop, trying to figure out how to word this so I don’t make a mess of things. “Things got a little confusing up at the lighthouse the other night—for me, at least.”

“Confusing,” Noli repeats.

“Well, yeah. We were talking about a lot of stuff, and I said some things that—”

She unlocks our fingers and holds up her hands. “Don’t.”

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