Page 33 of Marriage (Red, White &) Blues

“I’ve heard good sex will?—”

“It’s not the sex, Glory. Although your ex was a major asshole because, baby, I’ve never been laid like that in my life. But when I didn’t talk to you for those three months… I was trying to give you a reason to not want to be with me. I didn’t want to subject you to my family. But whenever I closed my eyes, I saw your face. When I pictured my future… five years down the road, ten years down the road… fifty years down the road… the one constant wasyou. I want to spend my life with you.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, bit the corner of my lip, then changed the rest of my life. “Okay,” I said.

“Okay? Are you serious? You’ll really marry me tomorrow?”

“Yes. I don’t think any man could have come up with a more beautiful, heartfelt proposal. I—”Just say it, Gloria. “I want to be married to you, Blake Parker. I’ll be your wife in a bed or in a shed. On a boat or through a moat. In the sky while eating pie. I’ll be your wife beside a bear… I’ll be your wife anywhere.”

He threw his head back, laughing. Which where he found the energy? “Here I thought your last name wasKowalski.”

I lowered my eyes. “Only until tomorrow.” The man had been moving in for a kiss but stopped midair.

“Are you serious?”

Now I felt a little self-conscious. Jupiter claimed he liked hearing me called “Gloria Parker.” “I mean… only if you’re comfortable with that. I didn’t mean to presume…shit. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no, you’re not. Nosorryhere. I just really need to know if taking my name is what you want to do.”

“Do you want me to?”

“More than you know. I want every person I come in contact with, every personyoucome in contact with for the rest of our lives to know I’m the lucky fuck who got you to marry him.”

“I don’t want to hyphenate. It’s too long.”

“Then don’t. Gloria Brianne Parker is the most beautiful name I’ve ever heard.”

“It is kind of pretty, isn’t it?”

“Thank you for this, Glory Soon-to-be-Parker.”

“Thank you for loving me, Blake Already-Parker.”

As it happened, the idea of marrying me turned the man wild with lustful enthusiasm. We spent the whole rest of the day and into the night pre-gaming our wedding night festivities. He only stopped long enough to order dinner. We stuffed our faces full of noodles, fried rice, orange chicken, beef and broccoli, crab rangoons—you name it, he ordered it.

Then we went right back to it. We rumpled those sheets until I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open a second longer. Who knew a woman could partake in that much sex and live to tell the tale?

I woke up the next morning to the sound of my phone ringing. Blake still had his eyes closed as he held me, wrapped around me, from behind. His head rested on my shoulder. I looked between my phone and Blake, deciding that whoever was calling could leave a voicemail.

“Morning,” he said and I turned to see a slow, dreamy smile spreading across his face.

“Morning,” I answered.

“Best night of my life. Hands down.” As he said that, he gave my waist a squeeze and I felt a slight blush hit my cheeks. I was pretty positive that this was a first in the life of Gloria Kowalski—to be someone’sbest nightintheirlife.

I couldn’t say if last night was the best night of my life. My best night definitely involved Blake, but we had so many wonderful nights ahead of us, it seemed unfair to pick one now. Last night was definitely the most energetic night of my life. It’d be safe to say that Blake knew my body better than I did now.

“Did you need to answer that?” he asked about the phone.

“No. They’ll leave a voicemail.”

He positioned himself to partially cover me. “You ready to become American legal?”

I looked down at myself. “Well, I should probably put some clothes on first.”

“I’d like to say that’s probably a good idea, but a naked Glory is a thing of beauty. I doubt I’d sound very convincing.”

“So, you’d be okay if I paraded the goods out for the masses?”

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