Page 12 of Unsteady in Love

Had Prue had other boyfriends since I’d left? I couldn’t handle the thought of her with other men. Just the thought made me see red.

I had made us wait until she was eighteen before we had sex. At the time, I thought we had the rest of our lives together, and Prue hadn’t wanted to wait.

Why did I fuck everything up? Everything I thought I’d done for the right reasons had blown up in my face. Could I have had Prue this entire time? Would she ever forgive me?

“When I used to picture our wedding day, it never looked like this.” Her face fell, and tears filled her eyes.

I desperately wanted to tell her that we could have another wedding someday. The one she dreamed of. She could have everything if only she stayed with me. “I’m sorry, Prue. You’ll never know how sorry I am,” I choked out.

“Are you sure you want to do this? Because you’ll have plenty of time to find someone after you get back.” She rubbed her hands down her pants and picked at some imaginary lint.

“I’m sure.”

My hands gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white, sure that at any moment Prue would ask me to turn the car around and take her back to her house. Once again, we fell silent and didn’t speak another word until we stood outside the judge’s door.

Looking down to meet her gaze, I placed my palm on the small of her back. “You ready for this?” I asked anxiously. My heart skipped a beat waiting for her answer.

She bit her lip and looked down at her shoes, then without a word, she pushed open the door and stepped inside. Prue twisted her fingers together as I spoke with the sweet old lady who took our marriage certificate and ushered us into the judge’s office.

“I don’t get a lot of couples coming in to get married anymore,” Judge Street said with a kind smile. “May I ask why you chose this route to get married?”

Prue’s eyes widened, unprepared to answer any questions. I only hoped she wouldn’t correct me.

“Well, sir,” I clasped my hands behind my back. “I’m going to be deployed back to the Middle East in a couple of days, and we wanted to get married before I leave.”

“And how long have you been together?” he asked with a raised brow.

“Since high school, sir,” I answered, hoping he couldn’t tell I was lying.

Prue chewed on the inside of her cheek looking anywhere but at us.

“Well, I appreciate your service and would be happy to marry the two of you. All you have to do is stand right there facing each other. Now, hold hands and repeat after me.”

I was sure I repeated the appropriate words when they were supposed to be spoken, but my sole focus was on Prue and the emotion that built in her eyes with each spoken word. Tears threatened to spill down her ivory cheeks as I held her shaking hands in mine.

“Holden and Prue, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Leaning down slowly, I tried to express with my eyes we needed this to look real and for Prue not to freak out when I kissed her. The moment our lips touched for the first time in almost four years, my body flushed with heat and need. Prue stiffened under my touch for only a moment before her body melted into mine and kissed me back. As quickly as she thawed, Prue placed her hands on my chest and pushed me away. With pink cheeks she looked down at her wedding ring, eyes burning with emotion.

My thumb rubbed against the cool steel that now rested on my left hand. It looked right. It felt right. It was as if it had been missing all these years.

“I wish you luck on your tour and pray that you come back safely,” Judge Street said as he shook my hand.

“Thank you, sir.”

“I wish you a long and happy marriage,” he directed his words toward Prue. She had only said what was necessary during our vows and nothing more.

She spoke softly meeting his eyes. “Thank you, sir.”

* * *

Prue’s silencewas going to kill me. We were headed back to her house after visiting a lawyer in Riverside, and she hadn’t said a single word since speaking to the judge. The lawyer who handled my inheritance had FedExed the paperwork that needed to be signed. In less than a month, Prue would have more money than she knew what to do with and would also be debt free.

She hadn’t read the paperwork. Not one word. She signed on the dotted line half a dozen times and then folded her hands in her lap while I spoke to the lawyer. It was like she was in a trance. I was afraid she already regretted marrying me. But really, I had no idea what was going on in that head of hers. The only thing I knew was that she was sad.

Pulling up in front of her house, I shut off the ignition and turned toward her. I wanted to touch her again. To pull her into my arms and never let her go, but I knew my advances wouldn’t be welcome.

“Are you okay?” I finally asked after another few moments of her staring out the window.

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