Matched in Minnesota (At the Altar Book 22) Read online

  “Maybe I’ll take you up on that.” Marissa wasn’t really sure if she wanted to spend time writing a book. The prospect was scary, but there were definitely stories in her head with all the reading she’d done so far, and planned to continue doing. She’d have to decide if getting the stories out was worth her time.

  “Did you get all the work you needed to do done today? I’m not sure how your job works. Do you have an hourly wage? Or is it by the job?”

  “By the job. I find out what a family is like. What their favorite things at Disney are. How much they’re willing to spend on meals and how many days they want in the parks. Then I plan everything about their vacation from their meals to their fast passes. I put them in the resort of their dreams. I’ll even book them for a day at Universal and get a car to take them if they want to do Harry Potter World.”

  “That seems like a lot to do for one family.” Aaron shook his head. “Who knew going to Disney World was more work than going to Six Flags?”

  She laughed. “Six Flags has nothing on Disney. Trust me on this. Disney takes two weeks if you want to do most everything. Six Flags takes a day.” She wanted to be offended that he would even begin to compare Six Flags to Disney World.

  “I guess that’s true.”

  “Have you ever been to Disney World?”

  “Nope. I’ve never wanted to go. My parents offered to take me when I was ten, but I wanted to drive the Oregon Trail instead.” Aaron shrugged. “I’ve always known what I wanted from life, though that probably seems strange to you.”

  “It doesn’t seem strange. I understand there are things people would rather do than hang out with a giant rodent in Florida. But I want you to try my favorite rodent. Just once. I want to take you to Epcot and show you all the different countries in the World Showcase. I want to take you to Food and Wine and have you taste small plates from different countries. It’s fun and it’s educational.”

  He frowned for a moment. “I guess we could do that.” He didn’t really like the idea, but he wanted her to be happy, so he’d try it. Once.

  “Could you take a long weekend in October or November? And not at Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is evil at Disney.”

  “I guess I could look at that. Maybe give my students a paper to write while we gallivant around Disney. I don’t have to get my picture taken with Mickey Mouse, do I?”

  “You only have to get your pic taken with Mickey if you want a happy wife. If you don’t care if your wife is happy, then you don’t have to. Easy decision, huh?” Marissa grinned at the face he made.

  Aaron groaned. He was enjoying every minute he spent with his wife, but he hated the idea of getting his picture taken with a giant Mickey Mouse. He’d have to wait and see if he still liked spending time with her in October. She was bound to get on his nerves by then.

  “We’ll see. I’ll look at my syllabus and let you know when I want to go. Can you make everything happen that quickly?”

  “If you give me a date within a week or two, I can make it happen. I just don’t want to take too long, because we’re already missing out on one of my favorite restaurants by not having booked six months in advance.” Marissa shrugged. She could do without eating at Be Our Guest for just one trip.

  “Six months in advance to eat a meal at Disney World? Are you kidding me?” There were people who actually cared enough about what they ate they would book food six months in advance? It sounded like craziness to him.

  Marissa grinned. “You have no idea about the food at Disney, do you?”

  He shook his head. “Not really. What would I know about it?”

  “A lot of people go to Disney just for the food. They are amazing in ways you would never imagine. My favorite restaurant is called Be Our Guest. It’s decorated like the Beast’s castle in Beauty and the Beast. It’s your only opportunity to have a photo taken with Beast in the entire park, and the food is divine. If you eat in the West Wing, you can see a painting that changes from Beast to the prince he used to be every single time it lightnings. And yes, it lightnings inside.”

  He stared at her for a moment. “All that in a restaurant?” Who took the time to think up these things? He didn’t want to ask her, because he knew she’d have the answer!

  “Yes! And my favorite dessert is the grey stuff.”

  “The grey stuff. You act like that should mean something to me?”

  Marissa sang a few bars of the Be Our Guest song from Beauty and the Beast. “Seriously, it’s so good. I have no idea what it is, and they won’t tell you that, but I don’t care. I’ll eat it every chance I get.”

  “Tell me about Food and Wine.”

  While she did the dishes, she talked to him about the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot, and he nodded, smiling. “That really does sound good. You don’t have to drink wine, do you?”

  “Oh, of course not. They even have some drinks that are alcohol-free. It’s just fun to do, and the food is yummy. I try to go every year, which bugs my mother a lot. She doesn’t like it when I travel alone.” And John had never been willing to go to Disney with her.

  “You always went alone?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I was engaged for a couple of years to a man named John, but he wasn’t willing to travel with me. My friend Janelle is married with three-year-old twin daughters. She went with me a couple of times before the twins were born.” It felt weird telling him about John, but it was time. They were growing closer—much closer than she’d ever expected.

  “What happened with your engagement?” He’d had no idea she’d been engaged. It was strange to think his wife had once had deeper feelings for a stranger than she did for him.

  Marissa shrugged. “He was killed in a car wreck a few months ago. He told me he was leaving town for work, and instead he was leaving town with his mistress.”

  “You were still engaged when he died?” Aaron asked. He couldn’t help but wonder what their relationship had been like. Had they been living together?

  Marissa nodded. “He never would set the date. We were engaged for three years. I should have known something was up, but I trusted him.”

  “Were you two living together?” Aaron asked, needing to know.

  “Not at all. I don’t believe people should sleep together before marriage. I think that’s why he kept putting off the wedding. You would have thought he’d want to get married faster, but he was apparently content. I don’t know why he kept me on the line…maybe simply because I was more respectable.” She shrugged. “It was a mess, and I’m glad it’s over.”

  “You’re not still mourning him?” Aaron asked with narrowed eyes. He couldn’t take their relationship to the next level if she was still in love with that John jerk.

  “I don’t think I ever did mourn him. I found out he was cheating on me within seconds of learning he was dead. It’s hard to mourn someone who cheated on you. I missed having someone come over often for a while. I hate cooking for one, so he came over for supper almost every night. Other than that, it was just humiliating.”

  He nodded, pleased. He felt like their relationship would have had to stop in its tracks if she had said anything else. “I’m glad you’re not still hung up on him.”

  “Why’s that?” she asked. He hadn’t seemed to really care before.

  “Because I want you to be hung up on me.” He walked into the kitchen as soon as she pressed the start button on the dishwasher and wrapped his arms around her. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her with everything that was bottled up inside him, which even he had to admit was a whole lot of passion.

  She clung to his shoulders, standing on tiptoe to get closer to him. He backed her against the counter, and continued the kiss, his hands stroking her through her thin t-shirt. Finally, she broke off the kiss. “I’m not ready for sex yet.”

  He groaned. “What if I’d asked for it on our wedding night?”

  “I wouldn’t have been ready then either. It’s the truth. I want to get to know you a little better
first.” But how he’d acted on their wedding day had made a lasting impression on her. It was hard for her to know if he was being affectionate because he wanted something from her, or if it was natural.

  He rested his forehead against hers. “How long are we talking about here?”

  “I’m not negotiating a time frame with you, Aaron. When I’m ready, you’ll be the first to know.” She ran her hand down his cheek. “Besides, sex would only distract you from your studies.”

  Aaron laughed, shaking his head. “Having you around is doing a great job of that on its own. I have never been this distracted in my entire life! Usually I eat, sleep, work, and study. There’s no room for anything else. All of a sudden, I’m spending time thinking about you during the day. I look forward to talking to you in the evenings. It’s like I’m a real man or something, and I’m not sure how much I like it.”

  Marissa smiled. “I like it. Does that count for anything?”

  “I guess.” He took her hand in his and pulled her down the hall toward the bedrooms. Stopping outside the study door, he sighed. “At least you got some of the girls at school to leave me alone. Only a few of them follow me around now.”

  “Aww. You must miss your little entourage.”

  “One girl did get up in the middle of class and run out crying during my lecture on marriage on the trail today. It was really spectacular and annoying all at once.”

  She laughed. “I’ll bring you lunch again tomorrow. If I do that all week, the girls will figure out I’m sticking around.”

  “You’d think they’d figure that out simply because we’re married, but girls are silly.”

  “Aren’t you glad I’m a grown-up woman and not silly any longer?” She waggled her eyebrows at him, and he laughed.

  “I don’t recall ever laughing this much in a short period of time before. You really are good for me, Marissa.”

  She stood on tiptoe and kissed him quickly. “I’m glad. Now, we don’t have a ton of time before I want to be in bed. Time for our journals.”

  He groaned. “I want to spend time with you.”

  “I have an idea then…”

  “What’s that?” he asked, looking skeptical.

  “Let’s snuggle on the couch together with our journals!”

  He laughed. “All right. We’ll read until bedtime, but I’m kissing you goodnight.”

  “I’ve never protested you kissing me even once, have I? You know I want all the kisses and affection you have the ability to dish out.”

  “I guess I do know that.” He got the doctor’s journal, while she grabbed Mary’s. “What’s Mary doing now?”

  “She just held her little sister’s hand while the doctor set her leg. Now little Annie is going to get to ride in the wagon, and I think it will lighten Mary’s load a bit.”

  “That’ll be nice for her, won’t it?”

  “What happens at the end?”

  “Get there and see. You’ll get no spoilers from me.”

  She laughed. “I’m talking like these people are still alive. You’re a bad influence on me, Professor.”

  Seven

  The following weeks felt as if Marissa was living in her very own version of paradise. Aaron was more attentive than she had ever dreamed he would be. Every day she took him lunch up at the school, and every day there were fewer and fewer girls outside his office.

  Finally, on Friday of the fourth week, there were no girls at all. She opened Aaron’s door, and he immediately put down his journal, smiling at her. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite wife.”

  “Your favorite wife, huh? Did you take a trip down the Mormon Trail today?”

  He laughed. “You know, you shouldn’t make fun of the Mormons.”

  “I wasn’t. I was just asking if you decided that you were on a different trail today. At the time of the Mormon Trail, the Mormon men had multiple wives. They don’t now, of course.”

  “Do you realize that only a third of the men had multiple wives? It wasn’t as common as you’d think.”

  “I had no idea. I thought it was what they all did.”

  “Not at all. Now I want you to make sure you’re not poking fun. Some of my very favorite people are members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” He grabbed her and kissed her softly. “You need to start coming earlier and staying later…”

  “Then how will you get any work done?” she asked, shaking her head. “No, I’ll be here at noon and leave at one like every other day.” She sat down and yawned. “How’s everything going today?”

  They made small talk about his work and hers while they ate their lunch. “It’s hard to believe we’ve been married a whole month already. I feel like you’re a different man than the one I met on our wedding day.”

  “I’m the same. I just don’t get distracted by work as easily. Or I get easily distracted from work by my wife. It’s one of those.”

  She smiled. “Well, I’m making a special supper tonight. I thought we could celebrate a whole month of wedded bliss.”

  “That sounds good to me. I may be home just a little late. I have something I have to do after work.” If she was going to make a special meal, then the least he could do was buy her roses on his way home.

  “All right. I’ll plan supper for about six-thirty. Does that work for you?”

  “It does. Do you have to work this weekend, or do I get you all to myself?”

  “Well, you and the journals get me.”

  He laughed. “Is this Sunday the one where we have supper with my parents?” For some reason, he couldn’t seem to keep track.

  She nodded. “Yup. They’re coming here, which means I need to make sure the apartment is immaculate.”

  “Mrs. Larsen will take care of it. She’s great about making the apartment look perfect.” Aaron wasn’t at all worried about his parents’ visit. They weren’t picky people, and they loved Marissa.

  “But you won’t let her in your study. I think we should leave for a bit and let Mrs. Larsen do her thing even in the study.” She wanted everything to look perfect for his parents. She couldn’t understand why he didn’t feel the same.

  He groaned. “You’re trying to upset my whole life here!”

  Marissa bit her lip. “And will your mom want to see the whole apartment? If she does, she’ll know we’re not sleeping together.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll tell her all the begging in the world won’t get you into my bed.”

  She laughed. “You’d better not. Besides, you haven’t asked in a long time. The answer would be different now.”

  “It would?” He got to his feet. “I’m going to go tell Bob I’m too sick to finish teaching today.” He’d never missed work. One day wouldn’t hurt a thing.

  “No, you’re not. I have to work anyway.” She was only a little amused by his reaction.

  He groaned. “You’re killing me, Marissa!”

  “Are you going to still be attentive after we make love? Or are you going to go back to ignoring me for your journals?” That was her biggest fear. Once he got what he wanted, she was afraid he’d go back to studying all the time and not talking to her at all.

  “You ignore me as often as I ignore you these days!”

  Marissa shook her head. “Well, we’ll have to be careful to not ignore each other then.” She got to her feet and packed the Tupperware back into her bag, leaning down to kiss him. “I’ll be waiting for you at home.”

  He held her close and deepened the kiss, and only lifted his head when there was a knock at the door. It was Bob. “Hey, Bob.”

  Bob shook his head. “You two are definitely newlyweds.”

  “We’re not even ashamed of it,” Marissa said, kissing Aaron’s cheek. “I’m out of here. I have to get back to work.”

  Aaron watched her go, unaware that his boss was watching him. “You really love her, don’t you?” Bob asked.

  “I really do. I’ve never in my life thought I could love someone as much as I love her. She’
s even reading the Oregon Trail journals with me.” All of his students who had taken his classes and pretended an interest to get close to him had only annoyed him. Marissa developing an interest in his love for history made him happy.

  Bob laughed. “It’s always good when you can share the same interests.”

  “Did you need me for something?” Aaron asked.

  “Oh, yeah. We’re having a dinner at my house next Friday night. Several of the professors in the department and their wives. I thought maybe you and Marissa would like to come.”

  It was the first time Aaron had been invited to anything like that, and he knew it was because he hadn’t had a wife before. “I’ll have to check with Marissa, but I think it will be fine.”

  “Good. We’ll see you there then.” Bob walked away, and Aaron thought that helping his career was just one of the ways Marissa had made his life better. It was hard for him to believe he’d ever thought having a wife would be a bad thing. She’d certainly taught him differently.

  On his way home he stopped at a florist shop and bought two dozen roses. He felt very conspicuous doing it, but he refused to let it bother him. His wife was more important than any embarrassment he may feel. Besides, he was hoping to finally get her into bed with him that night, and then they could move her clothes. It would be nice to have her sleeping beside him all night every night.

  When he walked into the apartment a short while later, he sniffed deeply, knowing she was cooking something delicious, but he wasn’t quite able to figure out what it was. He walked to the kitchen and held the flowers out in front of him. “For the best wife in the whole wide world.”

  Marissa smiled and took the flowers from him. “They’re beautiful. You shouldn’t have, but I’m so glad you did!” She buried her face in the roses before putting them into a glass filled with water. “We need a vase!”

  “You like them?” he asked hesitantly. “I didn’t know what your favorite flower was, but I thought everyone loved roses, so I got you roses.”