Great chapter, Louise!
Minor spoiler, but I loved this paragraph..
Ennis leaned over and kissed Ellery softly, brushing his thumb across the pale cheek, pushing back a shock of black hair, tongue gently probing as they clinched for a long moment, their rough passion having resolved into a tender ease between them. “Let’s go finish that basket, then,” he said softly. He knew from Ellery’s silent acquiescence that the subject of the wedding reception wasn’t over, but he also knew that Ellery was not going to torment him by bringing it up again or presenting him with a new argument. Now – Ellery would stand back, and let Ennis think about what he had decided, and whether he was comfortable with his decision, as he had done when Ellery had first proposed changing positions in sex. Ennis had thought about it, night after night, every time they had sex after that first proposal… after he had said “Ain’t ready for that yet,” and one day he knew – he was ready. Maybe it would be the same way with this – a public acknowledgement of their relationship, their marriage, their togetherness, beyond the exchange of rings, the quietly spoken vows in the presence of those four others who were closer to both of them than anyone else. Maybe there would come a time when the thought of sharing that acknowledgement with the wider community of their friends and coworkers would be a joyful prospect – but that day was not today.
L