A Very Merry Superhero Wedding (Adventures of Lewis and Clarke) Read Free

Something…oh no, something he’d found out about her?
    She tried not to pull away. He loved her. She knew it. He’d just said it again, promised his feelings wouldn’t change. “Has someone said something?” she asked, trying to focus on breathing evenly. “Told you something about me?”
    “Oh, honey, no,” Joe’s expression changed again, back to his protective look. “There is nothing anyone could say that would change how I feel. I was just thinking that we haven’t known each other very long, and…things are bound to come up that may surprise the other, and…” He shrugged. “I’m sure it will all be fine.”
    Ah, she got it now. He was afraid she wouldn’t like something she might find out about him. She tried to lighten the mood. “You mean like if I found out you like country music?”
    He made a face. “That is never going to happen. Metallica all the way, baby.”
    He’d said things before about not liking country. Tori pushed his buttons. “Or if you found out I like country music?”
    “Don’t even joke about that.”
    “Would you still love me if you found out I own some Garth Brooks CDs? It’s great road trip music. You’ll love it.”
    “That’s not funny.” Joe put one hand on his chest. “You’re killing me.”
    She giggled. “Rascal Flats, too.”
    “Stop, just stop.” Joe’s comical expression morphed into laughter and he kissed her knuckles before letting go of her hand and picking up his fork.
    “You’re not an ax murderer,” she said with a smile. “You haven’t bilked thousands of people out of their retirement money, right? I can’t imagine finding out anything bad about you.”
    She meant it, too. Joe was the epitome of Mr. Nice Guy.
    “Maybe you’ll learn more about my job, wish I were in a different line of work.” His voice sounded casual.
    Tori tried to soothe his concerns, whatever they were. “You work in security, keeping people safe,” she said. “What’s not to like about that? I’m proud of you, Joe. You walk your talk. I haven’t met a lot of people who can do that. You’re my hero.” She gave him a flirtatious look.
    Joe smiled and took her hand again, pulling it against his cheek. “Like a superhero?”
    “No, a rea l hero. Not a Saturday morning cartoon. You really help people when they need it. That’s a wonderful thing. I’d like to find a job like that.”
    Until recently, Tori had worked with the single-minded goal of making enough money to help take care of her nephew. Temp jobs with few benefits paid more than the full-time jobs she’d looked into, and she could take time off if Ben was sick. But now that Lexie was on her feet, Tori could start thinking about what she wanted to do with her life, not what she had to do.
    “Come on,” Joe said in a teasing voice, “wouldn’t you like to meet a real superhero?”
    “Like Batman?” Tori laughed. “If I ran into Batman in our neighborhood, he’d scare the crap out of me! Really, if you’d never seen any of the movies to know he was a good guy, you’d take one look at him and assume it was all over. Pearly gates, here I come.”
    Joe chuckled and shook his head. “Maybe. But I think if you met a real superhero you’d know you were safe.”
    “ You’r e the one who makes me feel safe,” Tori said, pulling his hand to her lips and kissing it.
    Joe looked like he was going to say something else, but the waiter interrupted to ask if they had room for dessert. Tori thought about the flourless chocolate cake she’d seen on the menu, but Joe told the waiter they’d pass.
    “Eat too many cookies earlier?” she teased.
    Joe raised his eyebrows a couple times. “You’ll see. You want a to-go box?”
    With the rest of her meal wrapped up, they put on their coats and gloves and hats and scarves. Even without much snow, the temperatures had dipped into the 20s every night not long after the sun went down.
    Joe pulled her close as they walked to the truck. She loved his