Grace blinked against the threatening tears, her arms wrapped tightly around her husband. Passengers hurried by, cell phones and boarding passes in hand, luggage rolling behind them.
How had the days flown by so quickly? Their wedding day had been two and a half weeks ago, yet it felt like yesterday that they had been in Las Vegas together. They had been selfish with their last few days in Phoenix. Caleb and Molly had returned from their honeymoon, but Grace had deliberately put off seeing her cousin or any of her friends while Devin was in town.
Her little one-bedroom apartment had become their home, and she already looked forward to his return.
As though reading her thoughts, he shifted so he could see her face. “I’ll be back for the next long weekend. It’ll be here before you know it.”
“And we’ll talk every day.” She blinked hard again.
“And we’ll talk every day,” he repeated.
She thought of his concerns about his parents and took his left hand in hers. His wedding band was back in place, as was her own, but so far, the only person who knew of their union was her grandfather.
“When are we going to tell people we’re married? As soon as Caleb finds out, your parents are bound to get wind of it. He’s not the best at keeping a secret.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.” Devin considered for a minute. “How often do you think you’ll see Caleb and Molly?”
“Now that they’re married, hardly ever. Their new apartment is over thirty minutes away on the north side of Phoenix.”
“Are you okay with keeping this to ourselves until we tell my folks? Maybe we could see them when I come back next.”
She considered the implications and looked down at her own left hand. “Does that mean you don’t want me to wear my rings?”
“I want your rings to stay on your finger forever.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have changed my name yet if we’re going to keep this marriage quiet for now.”
“I love knowing we have the same last name.”
“You aren’t making any sense.” Grace linked her fingers with his. “In one breath you say you want to keep us a secret, and in the next, you want me to act like we’re married. Which is it?”
He let out a sigh. “I need to tell my parents, don’t I?”
“I don’t want them to find out from someone else.”
“I’ll call them tonight after I get home.”
“And then call me and let me know how it went,” Grace said.
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He leaned down and kissed her good-bye. “I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
Grace’s heart ached the moment he stepped toward the security checkpoint.
She stood unmoving as he made his way through the line and reached the security agent, then looked back for one final wave. An instant later, he was swallowed up in the chaos of bag screenings and X-ray machines. With a sigh, she looked down at her phone. She unlocked the screen and texted Devin. I miss you already.
* * *
Time to get this over with. Devin had played that thought in his head a dozen times since he’d walked back into his apartment in California. He had gone through every stall tactic he could think of: grocery shopping, grabbing dinner from a local deli, starting his laundry, and talking to Grace for the second time since landing at the airport.
He mustered his courage and dialed his father’s number. If he was going to be the kind of husband Grace deserved, he needed to start by admitting he had married her.
“Hi, Devin,” his father answered. “Are you back at school?”
“I am. I just got home a little while ago.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, sir.” He drew in a breath and blew it out. “There’s something I need to tell you and Mom, something that happened over the holidays.”
“What’s that? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. It’s great, in fact.” Another deep breath. “Grace and I got married.”
“What?”
Devin could imagine his father drawing a deep breath himself, only not to steady his nerves but to prepare to explode. He hurried on before his father had the chance.
“We saw each other in Las Vegas and realized we’ve been in love with each other since we were together in high school. I didn’t want to spend any more time without her, so I convinced her to marry me.”
“You convinced her.” His father’s voice was tight and even. “Are you sure she didn’t convince you? After all, you do have a sizable trust fund.”
Devin bristled. “Grace has never cared about my money. I don’t know why you would think that.”
“Her parents . . .”
“Her parents are dead.”
Silence hummed for a moment. “I’m sorry to hear that, but it doesn’t change the facts. She comes from working folk. You don’t.”
Exasperated, Devin tried another direction. “I’m finishing my education so I can make something of my life. Grace is doing the same. Now we’ve chosen to do that together.”
“You aren’t even at the same school. You aren’t leaving Stanford, are you?”
“No, of course not. We’ll live apart for the next few months, and after graduation, we’ll find jobs together.”
“I can’t believe you were this stupid.”
“I wasn’t stupid. I chose to be happy. I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you yet again.”
“Did you at least have her sign a prenuptial agreement?”
“Nope.”
“What?” The single word exploded over the line at full volume. “If you think I have worked this hard to build a future for you only to have some gold digger marry you to take half of everything you own, you have another thing coming.”
“She’s not a—”
“All these years of us giving you every advantage, every privilege, and now you do something this absurd. I knew when you were in high school she wasn’t in our league, but you wouldn’t listen.”
“She’s not a gold digger,” Devin insisted through clenched teeth. “I love her. Why can’t you be happy for me?”
“I’m your father. I know what’s best for you.”
“No, you don’t know what’s best for me. I’m a grown man.”
“Oh, you are, huh? Let’s see how grown up you feel when I cut off your trust fund.”
The money threat was the final straw. “Dad, as soon as you can calm down, I’ll be happy to talk to you again. As for now, I would like to call my wife and wish her a good night before it gets too late. We both have classes in the morning.”
“This isn’t the end of this.”
“Good-bye, Dad.” Devin hung up, his hands shaking. He sank down into the living room chair and leaned his head back. He did want to call Grace, but perhaps he would wait a few minutes until he could let some of his father’s words fade away.
* * *
Grace curled up on her couch and stared at the television on the wall. The thought that Devin had been beside her as she’d watched a movie last night left a cloud of despair hanging over her. She hated not being with him.
The moment the phone rang, she snatched it off the coffee table in front of her. “How did it go?” she asked in lieu of a greeting.
“About as expected.”
“I’m sorry. Were they really upset?”
“I only talked to my dad. I’m sure my mom will call at some point,” Devin said heavily. “We knew they would be surprised. I’m sure after they’ve had some time to get used to the idea, they’ll be fine. After all, even your grandpa needed time to adjust to the news.”
“That’s true.” Not wanting to dwell on the negative, she changed the subject. “Are you all ready for classes tomorrow?”
“Yeah. It’s weird to think that this is the last first day of school I’ll ever have.”
“Unless you decide to go for your doctorate.”
“Definitely not,” Devin said. “I’m not an academia type.”
“You’d be good at it.”
“Thanks, but I’ve already got a job lined up for after school, and another degree isn’t in the plans.”
“You already have a job?” Grace asked, surprised. “You never told me that.”
“I’m still waiting for the final details, but I suspect I’ll get an offer based on my summer internships.”
“What company is it for?”
“It’s called Willow Enterprises.”
“I don’t think I’ve heard of it. Where is it?”
“I’m not sure yet. It’s actually a parent company of a lot of subsidiaries. There are a couple of locations I could end up at, but I should know in a couple months.”
“Oh.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It just won’t be easy for me to look for jobs if I don’t know where you expect to be.”
“Since I could end up anywhere in the world, I think you should apply for anything that looks interesting,” Devin told her. “I can see if I can match my location to yours. Otherwise, we’ll figure something out.”
“I guess that makes sense.” She paused. “Does it ever scare you, the idea of getting out of school and going out into the world?”
“Not anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“Now I have you.”
Her lips curved. “I love you, you know.”
“I love you too. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She hung up and contemplated their work situation. She had always planned to find a job in Arizona after graduation. Her temporary work with an investment firm last summer held promise for a full-time job, and she had already interviewed with a couple of other companies with local offices. If Devin already had a solid job offer, it only made sense for her to follow him, though it was odd to think of putting his career before her own. In truth, though, she didn’t know how they would both feel about her career once they decided to start a family.
That thought gave her another jolt. What would it be like to have children with Devin, to see their family expand beyond the two of them? She thought of their first date, of his sweet disposition with the lost little girl. He would make a wonderful father. And if she chose to put her career on hold for a while to raise their children, surely Devin would support her in that decision.
She looked across the room at the enormous binder she had received in one of her finance classes—the study guide for her Series 7, the license she needed in order to work as a financial adviser. It had been weighing down her desk for weeks.
She had initially thought she wouldn’t go that route, but now she wasn’t so sure. Maybe it would be worth it to check off that box. After all, once certified, she could work as a financial adviser anywhere in the country. And it sounded like that was where she and Devin were going to start their future together: anywhere in the country.