the past half hour. I stepped up my pace because we were about to hit the door of the Den. I’d have an excuse not to answer him once I had it opened. I’d find some peace at my workstation, cocooned in the peaceful bliss of headphones for the rest of the afternoon.
I never got there. Because the moment I entered our workspace, I stopped short, even preventing Lucas from coming up behind me. Holy crap. There was a banner and streamers and balloons. And… a cake sitting at the table for the central workstation.
It was white, trimmed with blue and silver frosting wedding bells. Atop, it said, Congratulations Kat & Lucas!
Our colleagues, having noticed our entrance, turned toward us. Warren grabbed a noisemaker that was sitting close to him at his workstation. He started blowing on it so excitedly that I was certain he’d pass out from hyperventilating. A few other bleating sheep followed suit.
Bloody hell.
“What the fuck is this?” I heard Lucas murmur under his breath directly behind me. Taking one step back, my shoulder blades bumped his chest, and I was not unaware of the electric spark that arced between us when that happened. I pulled away almost as quickly, my pulse leaping.
“It’s a surprise wedding reception in response to the surprise secret wedding!”
Joel, one of the QA team leaders, popped up from his workstation beside my empty one. Others approached us, immediately surrounding us. My stomach dropped into my shoes and I found it impossible to look at Lucas.
How the hell did all these people find out? And when? And why? And… how?
My eyes flew back to the cake again. It was a giant white sheet cake decorated with big bright blue lettering. And standing in the middle of it, a LEGO bride and groom. A shimmery mylar banner had been taped to the table underneath it that read, Congratulations Mr. and Mrs!
I’d groan at the cheesiness of it if the gesture hadn’t been so incredibly sweet.
Of course, in this joint, any excuse to binge on cake during business hours was an excuse to celebrate during high stress deadlines and late hours getting projects done. We had an oft-repeated motto in the Den. “Mmm, Cake!”
And for good reason. We brought in cakes for Arbor day (covered in trees, of course), Grandparents day (so we’d remember them and eat cake in their honor) and even Groundhog Day.
I could feel the tension and animosity radiating from the man standing behind me, so I reached out and put a hand on his arm. My previous stress from the news about the lawyer’s letter had now evaporated. I was now in management mode—as in managing the sudden tension of the man behind me. Judging from the reactions of my co-workers, this gesture was interpreted as a tender touch between lovers—married spouses. Ugh.
Well obviously there was no way out of this but through. Not unlike that famous quote about getting out of Hell.
“How—how did you find out?” I blurted in a breathy voice.
My co-worker Joel darted a sheepish look at Warren. “Uh, well… you made a phone call yesterday in the back hallway. I was running an errand out to shipping and, um, overheard. I wasn’t eavesdropping, I swear!”
Warren stepped up, scratching at his shaved head. “We thought it would be a nice way to show you that we know. This way, you won’t have to keep it secret while angsting about how to tell us. I’ve seen a lot of rom-coms. I know how secret marriages work. Sometimes they can be a trap that breeds even more secrets!”
“How thoughtful of you,” Lucas bit out in a dry voice. My fingers tightened where my hand rested on his forearm as a warning. We’d have to be very careful about this. Very careful. There was the upcoming interview at the immigration office, after all. We’d have to play along, but there was no easy way to tell this to Lucas in the middle of a cluster of our co-workers.
Joel was grinning, scruff covered dimples deepening. “I called this last year. I mean not that things would happen this fast but… you know. We all figured there was something going on with you two.” Several others nodded. To our shock.
Well shit.
And, wait… what?
“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing,” I heard myself say. “We were impulsive!”
Angie, the only other woman who worked in our department, darted an unreadable look at Lucas, biting at her lip stud. “We kind of knew it was coming. So hey,