Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
I may have said yes to Joey when he proposed, but I know now we never would have been happy together. We weren’t a good fit. If he could be honest about it, I think he knows it, too.
Joey doesn’t look at me when he finally looks away from his brother. He grabs the linen napkin on his lap and throws it on the plate he was in the middle of filling. “Come on,” he mutters to Lauren as he pushes his chair back.
Wordlessly, she pushes her chair back and grabs her purse off the floor.
Penny takes no prisoners, so despite watching her son eviscerate the girl, she tells Joey, “You’re welcome to come back for dessert, but don’t bring her.”
Marcus escorts them out so he can make sure they leave without causing any additional damage.
I gently place my napkin beside my plate on the table and excuse myself to follow him.
Joey and Lauren are already out the door by the time I reach him.
I don’t care, though. I wasn’t coming after them.
Marcus locks the door, then turns around to face me. I hate the signs of stress I can see at a quick glance. His shoulders are tense, his handsome face strained. It angers him to see me attacked, and I understand because I feel the same protective feelings for him.
I smile at him as soon as he turns in my direction and move close, sliding my arms around his neck.
Some of the tension in his body eases as soon as I touch him. He offers me a little smile as he slips his arms around my waist and tugs me even closer.
“You didn’t have to join me. I was coming right back.”
“I know. I wanted to hug my wonderful husband. Is that a crime?” I tease.
His arms tighten around me, and I do just that. I hug him, resting my face against his firm chest and sighing with pleasure. I always feel that way wrapped up in his loving embrace.
“You know what I was thinking about?” I say.
“Hmm?”
I pull back so I can look up at him. “That stuff Joey said.”
His pleasant, loving look slips and I watch a guard slip into place.
I love my husband too much to ever let him feel guarded around me, so I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss the corner of his mouth to remind him I still love him. That I’ll always love him, no matter what.
He’s slightly less on edge after that, but he’s still careful. “What about it?”
“When we got married, you had rings.”
He doesn’t speak.
“We didn’t use the ones Joey bought for our wedding.”
Still, not a word.
“And, I mean, I guess you had a little time away from me before you got to the church, but not much. And there are no jewelry stores in town. The closest one is… what? A half hour away.”
His gaze narrows.
“So, about an hour round trip,” I say innocently. “And while you did have a little time before you got to the church, you didn’t have that much. And you had enough time to get ready and look all handsome in your tux.”
“Is there a question in here somewhere?”
I smile up at him, then bite down on my bottom lip. “I was just making an observation.”
“A few of them,” he says, nodding along.
I shrug. “It just seems like you already had the rings, that’s all I’m saying.”
“So, what? You believe him? You think I sabotaged your relationship? That I made him cheat on you so I could justify sweeping in and stealing you for myself?”
My easy smile fades and I lock my arms around his neck again to hold myself close. “No. I agree with what you said in there. I know you have a devil’s tongue, and you can pretty much convince anyone to do anything. I’m aware that you have the ability to use that power for good or evil, whichever mood strikes you. But I don’t believe even you can make someone cheat if they don’t already want to. Unless of course you tied him up the first time, too?”
A smirk tugs at his perfect lips. “I didn’t.”
I nod. “So, even if he’s right, even if you stacked the deck… He still had to play his part in order for the house to fall. He could have made different choices, just like I could have.” In case he still isn’t certain, because I know I’m too important to him to risk telling the truth if he’s not sure how it will play out, I give him the answer to the question he won’t ask. “I don’t care if you did. I don’t care if you manipulated me into this. It doesn’t make a difference to me. If anything, I’m flattered. And grateful. My heart would have been broken when I found out he’d been cheating on me, but you gave me a soft place to land. You gathered up the broken pieces and put me back together before I even knew there was a fracture. I almost made the biggest mistake of my life marrying him, and you stopped me.”