A Love Like Ours

10. Ceremony

"Have I ever told you how good you look in that uniform?" Hailey asks, leaning up against the door frame, looking into the bedroom as her husband adjusts the tie around his neck.

His head turns at the sound of her voice and he bobs his head, fixing the collar of the shirt. "On many occasions, and we're not getting distracted today."

The subtle suggestive look in her eyes wipes away with a swift eye roll. Her head falls to the side and lands on the wooden frame. "Do we actually have to go to this?"

Jay's chin edges forward. "Hailey, it's your award ceremony."

Her head raises again. "That doesn't answer my question." 

He doesn't respond straight away, instead he finishes with his tie clip before spinning on his heels and taking a step closer toward her. "Yes we do, but how about I make you an offer?" He suggests, immediately peeking her interest. "We go to this ceremony, have a few drinks at Molly's, come home and put the kids to bed and then you can take yours and my uniform off?" 

She purses her lips slightly, putting on the face as if she was considering it. After a second she draws her eyebrows together. "Are you sure we can't do that now?"

"Yes."

Hailey lets out an audible huff before she nods, agreeing to his offer. Before she can say anything, the faint sound of the doorbell can be heard downstairs. Jay glances down at his watch and slides his way past Hailey.

"That will be Kev."

"What's Kev doing here?" Hailey asks from behind him, the detective keeping up with her husband on the way down the stairs.

Jay sends a brief look over his shoulder as he steps down on to the middle floor of the house. "He's come to pick you up and take you there, I've got a couple errands to run before the start and you're not allowed to be there."

Hailey stops suddenly on the last step, turning herself to stare at her husband. "If you're planning something, Jay, I will divorce you."

"No you won't, and it's only food because you know choices will be limited with Herrmann, but it's supposed to be a surprise so when you arrive just act surprised or Trudy will have my ass."

"I'll be surprised."

The two of them carry on their way downstairs, Jay stopping by the front door to open it. He sent Kevin a smile as the officer stepped inside the house, thanking him for offering to take Hailey. Jay invited him into the living room but they can't move anywhere when Macie meets them at their feet, a dip in her eyebrows.

"Why am I not wearing the same that what all you're wearing?" She asks.

Jay's hand falls on top of Mae's head, shooting her a smirk. "We're in our police uniforms, we have to wear them for special occasions."

Her head tilts to one side, looking up at her father. "Then why's is yours different to Momma and Uncle Kevin?"

Kevin is the one to respond, a smirk riding up his face as he did. "That's because your Daddy's a hotshot and is a sergeant."

Jay cuts in, swiftly changing the subject before Macie questioned why in fact he was a sergeant or why that meant his uniform had to be a different color. "Aren't you supposed to be taking Hailey to the ceremony?" He asks.

Kevin simply nods his head. "Yeah."

"Then I suggest you get a move on." Jay says.

With that the officer places Macie back down on the floor, Jay instructing her to go and find the shoes she would want to wear that day. Macie took off down the hall, disappearing into the kitchen whilst informing her parents loudly that she had put them in there. While she was gone, Jay leaned forward, pressing his lips against Hailey's briefly and despite pulling away almost instantly it still earned a grossed-out noise from Kevin.