Page 87 of The Bodyguard's Fall

His startled eyes flew to mine. And I smiled. He was so certain. So self-assured. So unshakeable. So ripe for teasing.

“Were you thinking just a quick smooch or a full-blown make-out in celebration?” I asked.

His nose wrinkled. “Don’t call it a smooch. You just ruined the mood.”

Praise the heavens.

I wasn’t even married to him yet, and already thoughts of kissing him were well underway.

We sealed our fate with a hearty handshake.

Plot Twist: It’s a freaking marriage of convenience. The clichés just keep on coming.

Will: How’s Liv? Did you talk some sense into her?

Tate: In a manner of speaking.

Will: Care to explain?

Tate: Nope.

It was alarming how quickly the rest of the Walker clan got on board with our plan.

“You know, if you hop the border into New Hampshire, you could get married tomorrow. They don’t have a wait period like Vermont does,” Tom supplied over a carton of ice cream later that night.

“Isn’t Donny’s dad still one of the judges over there? We could call him tomorrow and see if they can’t help us out,” Ann said, thoughtfully taking a bite from her berry ice cream.

“We can’t tell them why these kids are getting married. They probably wouldn’t allow it,” Tom said.

“I just mean, he could hook them up with someone to marry them.”

It was almost eleven p.m. on a very trying day, but we were all eating various flavors of Ben and Jerry’s on the couch. From how everyone’s day had started, the sweetness was exactly what we all needed. Now, instead of dreaming about leaving, I sat tucked on the couch with Tate’s leg pressed against mine. Both were exhilarating in their own right.

“But does she have all the paperwork she needs to get married?” Luke pointed at me, looking doubtful.

My heart dropped until I remembered that I did, in fact, have all the paperwork I needed.

“Will made me bring all of that when I came. I could get married, divorced, renew my license. Anything.”

“Attagirl.” Tom beamed at me.

“So, that’s basically telling us that Will has sanctioned your marriage before you even got here,” Jaxon supplied with a grin.

We all laughed. For a moment, I wondered if I should text an update to Will, but then Tate shifted on the couch, bringing us even closer together.

No.

Will started this mess. He could deal with the aftermath.

We stayed up another hour, making plans. Tate and I would drive out in the morning after chores to New Hampshire. We’d get there just after lunch, get married, and then drive home. Simple. Easy.

Absolutely zero collateral damage.

And then we lingered, the entire family talking about anything and nothing. Nobody wanted to be the first to go to bed. Everyone still seemed a little unsettled. But finally, around midnight, all the men did one last check around the house.

My bedroom was no longer a crime scene. The police had taken all the pictures and fingerprints they needed. But there was no way I was sleeping in there again. So when Tate pulled me into his room, complete with a mattress on the floor, I could only feel relief.

He pointed to the bed on the floor. “I’m sleeping right there. If you have any issues with that, tell me right now.”