Fighting Shadows (On the Ropes #2)(75)

“Oh my God,” Ash gasped as I walked into the DMV. “You came. In a suit!” She left Quarry and Mia sitting in the folding chairs and rushed over to me.

“I had a big meeting with a potential client at noon, but I came straight here afterward. My woman’s getting her driver’s license today. This is a big deal.” I leaned down to take her lips.

Her eyes flashed surprise as she dodged my mouth. “Oh shit. Let’s go.” Grabbing my arm, she pulled me toward the door.

“Where are we going? Did I miss your test already?” I asked, doing my best to keep up with her as she dragged me toward the door.

“No. But you need to see a doctor. I think you had a stroke.”

I threw the brakes on, stopping just before we exited the building.

“Don’t stop! I can’t have you dying on me! Who will nag me about leaving my shoes in the middle of the floor if you croak?” She bit her lip, but the smile escaped around it.

“I’m missing the joke, funny girl. I’m gonna need you to explain.”

“You said something was a big deal. Clearly, you have some neurological issues going on.”

“It is a big deal.”

“No. It’s just a driver’s license. I’ve been driving for years.” She shrugged before adding, “By the way, you look hot in a suit.”

I shook my head at her randomness. “You’re insane,” I told her, wrapping her in my arms and kissing the top of her head.

“I think you’re insane. You relearning to walk again after spending years in a wheelchair was nothing. But me getting a little plastic card that allows me to legally do something I’ve been doing for years is a big deal?” She folded her arms around my hips, hugging me tight, before sliding her hand down into the back of my slacks.

“Would you stop?” I laughed, swatting away her hands.

“What?” she whined innocently. “It’s the suit. I can’t help myself.”

“Right. What was it last night when you jumped me in kitchen?” I quirked a questioning eyebrow.

“Uhh . . . I’m sorry, but sweatpants leave nothing to the imagination. If you don’t want to be sexually assaulted by your girlfriend, then you should really put on something else.”

“Insane,” I whispered, kissing her again. “Besides, the driver’s license isn’t a big deal because you can drive. It’s a big deal because it will have our address on it as your legal residence. There’s no getting rid of me now.”

“I’m pretty sure I could just change it when I move out.”

“You planning to move out?” I joked. It was an idea that, a few weeks ago, would have spiked my pulse. But Ash wasn’t going anywhere. Of that I was sure.

She was mine in every possible way.

“Well, I don’t know. Are you going to stop wearing the sweatpants?” She slid her hand back down into my pants.

“No. I love those sweats.”

She squeezed my ass and winked. “Then I’m definitely not moving.”

Smiling, I leaned forward to take her mouth, and it wasn’t going to be sweet. It was going to be completely indecent, regardless that we were in a very public place. Judging by the way her eyes flashed with desire, she was okay with that.

Unfortunately, Quarry and Mia noticed our moment too. Catcalls echoed through the DMV, earning us quite a few glares from the employees.

“Ash Carson?” the older woman called from behind the desk.

“Mabie,” Ash corrected on a mumble.

“We’ll, get it changed,” I assured her the same way I had when she’d melted down the day her birth certificate had come in the mail.

Ash hadn’t spoken to Ray again since the night she’d turned him in to the police. Nor had she shown any desire to visit him in jail. She just hated the fact that Mabie wasn’t listed as her legal last name. I had full intentions of helping her change it from Carson, but it was never going to be Mabie.

Ash Page had a nice ring though.

While I wasn’t jumping into the whole marriage thing yet, I was positive it was where we were headed. I was planning to give it some time. But every day that passed only cemented the fact that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

I wasn’t a rash person.

But it was Ash. I lost my f*cking mind when it came to her.

We had only been back together for eight weeks, but it had only taken four for me to fall in love with her when we’d first met. Eight weeks felt like an eternity.

“Wish me luck,” she said, pushing up to her tiptoes and pecking me on the cheek.

“You got this, baby.”

“Then I’m getting that.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, backing away. “Oh, wait.” She turned to Quarry, snapping her fingers. “Keys.”

Quarry dropped the keys to his sports car in her hands. “Be gentle with her.”

“Right. The same way you were gentle with Flint’s SUV when you took it out mudding last week?” She smirked, knowing she’d just thrown him under the bus.

My eyes jumped to his.

Quarry didn’t seem fazed in the least though. “Oh, don’t even start. It was a puddle. You don’t even have four-wheel drive. Those hand pedals sucked too. Pushing a lever really takes the sexy out of peeling out.” He draped an arm around Mia’s shoulders when he finished signing.