Walker. It was much simpler. But if it was just for simplicity’s sake, then why avoid even mentioning that he had another last name?
I shrugged. Adam was his boss, too. In all probability, he probably already knew Lucas’s legal last name. Adam held up his chilled mug of beer. “All right then, how bout we just toast to the newlyweds?”
Mia snickered. “Which ones? We’re newlyweds, too.”
“We’ve actually been married almost eight months, four days and…” he paused. “Sixteen hours.”
She raised her brow and turned to me. “See what happens when you marry a child prodigy genius? He never forgets dates. I’ll never have to remind him about my birthday or our anniversary—”
I laughed. “But will he have to remind you?”
Mia sat back, eyes wide with a faux look of offense on her face while Adam laughed into his beer mug. “She’s acting innocent, but you totally nailed it. She’ll be the one running out at midnight the night before to buy me something.”
Mia put her hand up, palm out at eye level as if blocking Adam from speaking to her.
He threw her a sidelong glance. “Am I in the doghouse now?”
“Would be more of a threat if you actually had a dog.” I snorted.
Lucas looked from one of our friends to the other and laughed. “That’s not just a figure of speech at our house.”
Our house. I watched Lucas as he continued to chat with my friends, warming up. And I marveled at how easily that phrase had rolled off his tongue as if he already thought of the place as ours.
I blinked. This was certainly going to be the weirdest few months of my short life so far, that was for sure.
“That’s going to take some getting used to,” Lucas muttered as they dropped us off. We stood on the front steps to wave goodbye, Lucas’s arm wrapped around my shoulders, mine around his solid, hard waist. The perfect picture of spontaneous newly-weds.
Lucas’s home was gorgeous, over eighty-years old and had once served as a farmhouse for the surrounding area that had once belonged to the Irvine Ranch Company. As such, the rest of the homes on the block surrounding us were much more modern clone-homes. But this house had a broad, wide porch supported on thick columns and a whole lot of charm.
Inside there were multiple built-ins, beautiful finishes and trims, real plaster moldings, chair rails and picture rails on the walls. There were even craftsman style fixtures—
beautiful tiffany lamps and exquisite hardwood floors. Such a house was a rare find in Southern California. I longed to have the kind of money to own a place like this of my own someday.
But I’d settle for the starter condo I had my heart set on as my first purchase. Some place all my own that I could take pride in as a new legal resident of the country.
I shot a sidelong glance at Lucas, beside me, who had just pushed open the front door. For an awkward moment we both seemed frozen there, at a loss for what to do or say. This was our first time alone as husband and wife in his home. For some bizarre reason, my heart was pounding like a virgin on her wedding night. Which was hilarious to me in the back of my mind because I was so not a virgin.
Lucas took a breath and entered the house without waiting for me. There’d be no carrying me over the threshold. Not that I really cared about that shit. Now that we were alone, we didn’t need to fake it for anyone but the mites and dust motes. Oh, and for a few minutes, we’d play along for Michaela when she delivered Max from his day at her house.
In spite of the playacting, I had to remind myself how ridiculous it was to think of Lucas as my husband. Okay, so we’d said vows aloud to take each other as a spouse. Aside from the fact that we’d signed a piece of paper for the government. Aside from the fact that everyone we knew besides Heath thought or soon would think—once they found out—that we were married for real. Aside from the fact that we’d live together in this house and go to work together in the same car.
Aside from all of that, we weren’t actually married. Were we?
I rubbed my forehead as I followed Lucas into the house. All of this thinking and pondering was making my head hurt.