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Judy lazily read over the letter sent from the florist. In all honesty, she had received it a couple days ago, but had put off reading it till her fiance approached her and stressed the importance of “responding to mail before it formed an unbearable pile”. Said fiance sat next to her on their sofa, glaring at an unopened letter from his own pile of mail. It was oddly colored, too; an offending chartreuse, if she was not mistaken.
She shot him a teasing look. “Jervis, it has been ten minutes. If that piece of parchment was able to speak, I do believe it would have already.”
He sighed, then tossed the letter on the coffee table. It contrasted nicely with another unopened letter’s red envelope.
Judy stared at the two (small, but still) piles of letters the two of them had either left unopened or have yet to respond. Not for the first time (and not for the last, she suspected) she lamented the amount of work and effort needed to plan a wedding. If she had it her way, it would be a small gathering with only the friends and family they tolerated, then straight to France for their honeymoon. They had chosen that location as an inside joke— it was quite ironic, really, how she would be making this trip with the same person she had previously refused, and better yet, as husband and wife.
“Penny for your thoughts?” came a smooth, pleasant voice.
She gave him a cheeky grin. “A mere penny? I assumed my thoughts would fetch a higher price.”
He smiled back, playfully apologetic. “My mistake. You are correct. . .yet at the same time, sorely mistaken. A mind of such intellect and intrigue. . .I dare say your thoughts would be valued as priceless.”
Judy pursed her lips, trying to subdue the pleased smile that was no doubt taking form. From the look on his face, she failed. “I would rather fight a bear than deal with all these tiresome letters.”
His startled expression evoked a chuckle out of her. “YOu wished to know my thoughts, and now you do,” she teased.
“I got more than I bargained for,” he replied humorously. “Seriously though, a bear?”
“Yes! At least it would be a mentally and physically stimulating experience. I find my mind slowing down to a snail's pace when reading about all these small details.” She picked up an envelope, looking bemused. “Besides the carnations, furniture, and food, what else matters?”
He nodded, wincing slightly. “In all honesty, I never knew how many shades of white there were. Or that there was a difference at all.”
“Well then, count yourself lucky. I was roommates with Julia, and she was as picky as they come. There were times I wondered if caviling was a hobby of hers; she certainly looked like she enjoyed it.”
Her words caused him to snort with laughter. The look on his face was one he only wore around her; open and unrestrained and full of amusement. She treasured every laugh of his, every loving look and easy smile.
As he looked down at her, grinning from ear to ear, she resisted the urge to lean forward and kiss him, first on the lips then his dimple. She would surely end up distracting herself further, which would not do them any good. Still. . .
Hmm. There was an idea. “Jervis, I think I’ve found a stellar motivation to get us working through these letters.”
He raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “And that would be. . .?”
She leaned forward, receptive to the way he instinctively copied her movements. “For every five responses we draft,” her eyes flit to his mouth, “we kiss.”
The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. “You drive a hard bargain. How about every letter?”
She raised an eyebrow, then stated firmly, “Three.”
“You can be very persuasive,” Jervis said, laughing lightly. “Maybe you should have studied law. I can already imagine you talking circles around everyone in the courtroom.”
That made Judy smile. It would be an interesting job, no doubt, but she much preferred her current career. Maybe she could work in a court scene in one of her books? But that was a thought for another time.
She turned back to the overflowing coffee table and grabbed a blank sheet of paper. She handed it to her fianc é , then picked one up for herself. “Well then, let’s get started.”