_OceanofPDF

Was I?
I wasn’t made of stone. I wasn’t immune to her beauty or the heat that
came off her when we kissed. But we were there for a reason that had
nothing to do with how much I wanted her.
“Ella,” I said.
“Yes? Is that what you want me to say? Yes?”
Oh, it was. It definitely was.
“We have things to do.”
She got that mischievous look again. I was going to have to spend a
year resisting it.
“Such as?”
“What are you wearing tonight? To Crowne Jewels? You can’t wear
that.”
She looked down at herself. “Yeah.”
“I’ll get you a gown.”
“No, you won’t.” Dead serious. As if I’d tread over sacred ground.
“It’s not meant as an insult. But you’re going to meet my family. If
we’re going to convince them it’s love, you can’t wear ripped jeans.”
“Logan. I have it.”
Her tone was pure don’t fuck with me, so I didn’t, but she couldn’t stop
me from worrying. My mother had a keen sense of the bonds between
people. When it came to couples in love, she got what we called “the
tingle,” and it was never wrong. Without that tingle, she’d be suspicious.
She’d tell my father. He’d get suspicious, and suspicion wouldn’t get me to
the head of the table.
“Fine,” I said. “But the earrings. The ring in your nose. They have to
go.”
“No.”
Her job description didn’t include making my life easy, and she was
sticking to it.
“Just for tonight. When we announce.”
Her arms crossed as if she intended to stand by her refusal, but she was
a series of contradictions in every way. “Fine. Tonight.”
“Thank you.”
The moment to consummate the marriage on the couch was gone, so I
opened the door and we left the office where we’d lied to a judge, God, and
each other.