An odd sensation seized Jack by the heart and he briefly wondered if he should start looking up the signs of a stroke on WebMD. “What? You want to cancel the wedding?”
The look she shot him was dark. “I said postpone, not cancel.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Not in the least.” She let loose a sigh and rested her hand on top of his. He didn’t turn his over to link their fingers as he usually would. He was too frozen in terror to consider it. “I don’t want to miss out on a honeymoon with you. I’m looking forward to that almost as much as being married to you.”
His expression softened, but the fear refused to completely ebb. “Then why do you want to postpone?”
“I don’t want to. I want to be married to you more than anything. It’s just ... we both know Greg is going to find a way to increase my community service. It’s going to happen.”
“That’s a defeatist attitude.”
“Is it? You saw the look on his face. He hates me.”
“No, honey, he doesn’t.” Jack shifted his chair so he could stare directly into her eyes, nothing between them, including the table. “He has a crush on you. Whether harmless or otherwise, it’s written all over his face whenever he sees you. He hates me because I have you ... at least I hope I do.”
Rather than soothe his frazzled nerves and dented ego with kisses and coos, Ivy pinched his flank.
“Ow!” He wriggled on his seat. “What did you do that for?”
“Because you’re being an idiot, Jack.” Ivy kept her tone level, but it took effort. “The fact that you could think, even for a second, that I don’t want to marry you is insulting. I love you so much it consumes me sometimes. I worry it’s not healthy. I don’t really care, though, because I can’t live without you.”
Jack turned sheepish. “I’m not trying to be difficult. I just ... it hurt when you said you wanted to postpone the wedding.”
“I don’t want to do it. I also don’t want to miss out on a great honeymoon, and that’s what’s going to happen if Greg gets his way.”
“Then I won’t let Greg get his way.”
Ivy snorted. “And how are you going to make that happen? You don’t have any power over him, Jack.”
“No, but I can call the magistrate and explain things. I’ll take the blame for this.”
“No.” She immediately started shaking her head. “I don’t want you getting in trouble.”
“And I don’t want you being tortured, and leaving you with that man is akin to torture.”
Amusement lit her eyes as she brushed her thumb over his eyebrow. “We’ve been over this a hundred times. It will be over in a few weeks. People manage to make it through community service without having issues all the time. We can’t ask for special treatment. That’s not fair.”
Jack believed otherwise and he stubbornly stuck out his lower lip. “I don’t care. I can’t sit back and watch him hurt you. I’m not wired that way.”
“I know you’re not but ... there doesn’t seem to be a way around it. I want the honeymoon we planned — even if you only agreed to the glamping because you thought it was best for me — and I don’t want to have to compromise to get what I want. That might mean pushing back the wedding a few weeks.”
“No.” Jack was stubborn to the point of no return sometimes and that was on full display now. “I want to be married to you. If I didn’t think your mother and aunt would melt down in fantastic fashion, I would drag you to the justice of the peace right now and put a ring on your finger. I don’t want to delay anything. It feels as if we’ve been fighting to get to this point in our lives since long before we met. I don’t want to delay it.”
“Then ... maybe we can get married at the same time but delay our honeymoon.”
“No.” Jack shook his head, firm. “We’re getting exactly what we want when it comes to all of that. I’m not going to let our dreams get derailed, not even for a single day. I’m going to fix this.”
“What if you can’t?”
“I refuse to let that sort of thinking into my head.”
She held his gaze for a full beat and then sighed. “Okay. We’ll figure it out. No delays.”
“On anything.” He cupped her chin and swooped in for a kiss. “This is all going to work out exactly as we dreamed. I’ve waited my entire life to feel as if I belonged somewhere, to someone. I’m there, and I want things to be perfect for you. I will figure it out.”
Ivy nodded, solemn. “Okay. I just wanted to make things easier for you. I forget how hard that head of yours is. You’re not happy unless you’re doing it the hard way.”
Jack arched an eyebrow and pinned her with a pointed look. “Did you really just say I’m the one with a hard head and keep a straight face?”
“Yes. My head isn’t hard. It’s the perfect consistency.”
The way she delivered the line made him grin. “Uh-huh.”
“It is.”
“Yes, I agree. You never do anything in a hard-headed manner.”
“I don’t.”
He didn’t release her chin, instead staring deeply into her eyes. “I love you more than anything.”
“I love you, too.”
“You’re still in trouble for that crap you pulled with Jason Fortin.”
“You can’t yell at me for that. He was afraid and I was trying to create the safest situation for everybody involved. I did nothing wrong.”
“The fact that you believe that is terrifying. I don’t want to fight, though, so we’re done talking about it.”
“I think that’s best for all concerned.”
“I figured you would say that. Just one thing, though.” His voice was husky. “I reserve the right to bring it up again if the glamping goes wrong.”
“The glamping isn’t going to go wrong.”
“It’s us. It’s going to go wrong.”
“It’s
