Page 20 of Forever Dark
“Outside where?”
He glanced toward the road as if a perfect meadow might materialize out of nowhere to prove his point.“Somewhere open.Somewhere with air.Somewhere that doesn’t smell like hymn books and furniture polish.Father Wells gives me the creeps, anyway.”
A laugh escaped her before she could stop it.“That’s not a reason, and Father Wells is a good guy.”
“I hear different.”
“You just don’t like him because he called the cops on you and your buddies when you guys tried to shoot a horror film in the cemetery.”
“That could have been my ticket out of here,” he replied.
“Connor, you’re just fishing for a reason to say no because it means you’re not in control.”
He stepped closer, lowering his voice into mock seriousness.“Selena, I love you.You know I do.But every time I go in there, I feel like somebody’s about to hand me a bulletin and ask if I’ve thought enough about my immortal soul.If I’ve mended my ways.”
“That says more about you than the church.”
“You like my unmended ways.”
She tried not to smile.The effort lasted three seconds.
Connor saw it and pressed his advantage.“Picture it.Late afternoon.Trees.Open sky.Good weather.”
“What if it rains?”
“Then everybody gets wet.”
“That’s your plan?”
“I like to leave some things up to chance.”
Selena folded the brochure tighter.“You already got to pick the reception venue.”
Connor made a face.“Because the community center is the only reception venue we can afford that isn’t your parents’ backyard.And I’m not letting your old man have that over on me.I’d never hear the end of it.”
“There are other options.”
“Name one.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
Connor nodded once, too satisfied with himself.“That’s what I thought.”
Selena started walking again, faster this time.Gravel crunched beneath her sandals.A dragonfly skimmed low across the grass near the side steps, and somewhere behind the church two children shrieked with the manic joy only summer seemed to pull out of kids.
Connor caught up easily.“Besides, you don’t really want your whole family and half the town staring at you in there.”
“I absolutely do.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s beautiful.Can’t a girl have her day?”
“You can find beautiful outside.”
“Not like this.”
His brows lifted.“So now we’re ranking kinds of beautiful?”
