She looked up and caught him staring. This time, he didn’t look away. “You’re beautiful.”
She scoffed and turned away, cheeks flushing again. “Are you trying to butter me up?”
“Is it working?”
Rather than respond, she snatched his finished papers and walked back up to the desk. “We finished,” she said, slapping them onto the dark wood.
“Wonderful. The certificate will be mailed within 5 to 7 business days.”
Jared’s eyes widened in alarm. “Could we get hers sent to the same address as mine, please?”
The man smirked. “Sure. Anything else I can do for you?”
Jared hesitated. “We are married now, right? Not when it arrives?”
“That’s correct.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, then. Thank you!” He turned to the door alongside Quinn.
“My pleasure.”
They stumbled out the door and back into the car. “That was more stressful than I thought it was going to be,” Jared admitted.
He slapped his forehead. “I forgot to call Father Martin.”
Quinn smirked. “Way ahead of you. It wasn’t easy, but he agreed to it. Good things I kept my nose clean, or he might have refused.”
Jared drove to the church house while Quinn texted to let him know. Jared felt a pang of guilt as they approached. He hadn’t attended mass since… Gosh, had it only been a week? It felt like an eternity. First, he was just resting, but then one thing kept coming after another. His schedule had been so thrown; he hadn’t even had the opportunity to think about going.
They arrived in short order. As they got out of the car, Jared tried to keep his heartbeat steady. It felt so right, yet so wrong. This certainly wasn’t how he had imagined his wedding day — pulling Quinn away from her parents, bribing a government official, and now lying to a priest he had known since childhood. Oh, not to mention that the only reason he was marrying his best friend was because he was being stubborn about waiting until marriage for religious reasons. This wasn’t a love marriage. At least, not for her.
Quinn halted. “The dress.”
“Right. Do you want to go grab it?”
“I’ll meet you in there.” Quinn walked back to the car.
With some anticipation, Jared entered the church.
Father Martin was already there, courtesy of them having to drive across the city. He scowled slightly as Jared entered. “I take it there are to be no guests? And where is the bride?”
“She’s coming. She… She had to get dressed.”
Father Martin’s scowl deepened. “She didn’t go into much detail on the phone. Child, do you know what you are doing?”
Jared’s shoulders fell. “No. Not really. But I have to try, Father.”
The priest’s face softened. “I have not seen you in mass lately. And now? You are marrying Quinn, yet neither of you seem happy. I have seen the two of you grow up together. Is this not a blessed occasion?”
Jared hesitated. “Suffice it to say, Father, that the circumstances are… not ideal. Complicated, even.”
Father Martin nodded knowingly. “Her parents do not approve?”
Jared winced. “Yeah.”
Father Martin fell silent. “I am here for you, my boy. When you are ready to return to the fold.”
If he ever could. Apparently, he didn’t have a soul. The longer this went on, the more he believed that Miss Senguine knew what she was talking about. If that was true…
Maybe he was never supposed to come to church in the first place. Or at least, there was no use to it.
“I will think about it, Father.”
They were interrupted by the chapel doors opening again. “Sorry!” Quinn called out as she rushed to meet them on the stand. “The dress was a bit more complicated than I was expecting.”
Father Martin’s face fell into a sad frown. “Quinn, are you alright? This is your wedding day. Where are all the guests? Your brides of honor?”
Quinn stepped up to the stand. “They couldn’t make it, I’m afraid. On account of not being invited.” She offered Jared a wink.
Father Martin sighed. “Would you like to begin, then? Normally we start when the song ends, but…”
“We don’t have an organist,” Quinn interjected. “Yes, we’d like to start now. We have a very important engagement tonight.” She looked at Jared meaningfully.
He nodded. “Yes. May we begin, Father?”
Father Martin sighed. “Very well.”
He began the wedding speech, but Jared had trouble paying attention. Quinn had taken his arms, holding his wrists above hers. Something about the simple action seemed so… human.
As he looked at her, it was clear that she wasn’t paying any attention to the priest either. She smiled and gave him a squeeze.
He loved her. As much as he hated to say it, it was true. Too long had he put off his feelings for friendship, a crush, a mild fantasy. He wasn’t sure he was IN love with her, but he would give anything to make her happy.
Would you give up your own soul? His internal voice whispered.
Yes. I would.
Keep that in mind.
He decided not to dwell on that.
Finally, the priest looked to him. “Jared Norman Bertreck, do you take Quinn for your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
Jared looked at her. Her expectant gaze put a flutter into his heart. “I do.”
“And Quinn Beatrice Earnest, do you take Jared for your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
She swallowed and she glanced downward. In… shame? She took a deep breath and looked back into Jared’s eyes. “I do.”
“Then before this-” Martin’s eyes flickered over the empty chapel. “Then before God and His angels, I pronounce you husband and wife. May God bless your marriage to be prosperous and happy, as He sees fit. May I remind you,” he added seriously. “What God has put together, let not man divide asunder.”
He nodded to Jared. “You may now kiss the bride.”
He leaned down to take her lips. Unlike their last kiss, they were both ready. She rose on her tiptoes to meet him. Her lips were warm and sweet.
When he pulled away, she let him go reluctantly and returned to her original posture. Father Martin eyed them suspiciously.
“Thank you, Father,” Jared said, releasing one of Quinn’s hands to grasp his firmly. “It means more to me than you know.”
Father Martin nodded. “Be careful, my son. Take care of her like your own flesh.”
Quinn coughed. “Considering his recent activities, I hope he can do better than that.”
Jared chuckled as Father Martin shook his head. Quinn tugged on his hand. “Let’s go.” She leaned in. “We’re running out of time,” she added with a whisper.
Jared’s eyes widened as he check his phone. “We’ve got to get going. Thank you again, Father. I’ll see you soon, I hope.”
Father Martin watched them sadly as they walked out. Jared felt bad that he couldn’t tell him everything, but he doubted that would fly over well.
They returned to the car. It was a quarter after one now. “What do you say we get a bite to eat?” Jared asked as he pulled out. “What are you in the mood for?”
She didn’t respond. Jared glanced over and then did a double-take. Her sudden good mood from earlier was gone. Her head was dipped, and she looked miserable.