Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Angling against me, she rubs her hand over my stomach, but she’s not sneaky. I know she’s copping a feel of my abs. She glances up at me. “You knew about the beta program?”
Fuck me.
My eyes dart to Roberta, who is cringing for me. Yeah, not the way I wanted to start my real marriage. Roberta shrugs. “I thought she knew.”
“Knew what?” My sweet girl.
“There’s really not much to tell. Does it matter now?”
“No, but I’d like to be in on the secret.”
Roberta’s joy gets the better of her. “It’s so good to be here to witness you guys finally coming together. I knew you two were meant for each other, and now you’re legally married.”
I see the thoughts running through Cat’s expression when she asks, “I thought we already were?”
“Officially married,” Roberta says so cheerfully, and then backtracks when she sees Cat’s face. “I must be confused.” She turns. “Brownies.” And then she’s gone, leaving me stuck in this trap of lies all by myself.
My eyes dart to Cat, who appears to be muddling through this information to make it make sense. Facing me straight on, she asks, “Were we ever married?”
Best intentions or not, I kept it from her. But it was always going to come out.
“We are now. That’s what matters.” I move in to kiss her again because I can tell she’s not mad and even holds me close by fisting my shirt. She is quiet, though. And that’s unsettling. The last thing I want to do is upset her. That’s what got me here, though.
“It’s hard to be upset when it all worked out better than I could have dreamed. We have two beautiful babies, and we’re married.” When she looks up at me, she asks, “Do you have any other secrets? Now would be a great time to share.”
“I bought the house.”
“You bought what house?” She’s not generally shocked anymore when I make big purchases. We consult each other anyway, but I know this one is different.
Pulling the key from my pocket, I hold it in my palm. “You deserved that house you lost.”
Her head jerks back, surprise taking over. “Shane . . .”
“I took a chance.”
Tears well in her eyes. Taking the key from me, she looks back up just as a tear falls. “Why would you do that? It’s too small for our family.”
“It felt like the right thing to do. You worked hard to have something of your own. Now you do. Paid in full.” She rests her forehead against me, staring at the key in her hand. “Make it an art studio where you can paint. You’re so talented.” I stroke her back several times, then hold her. “Fill the yard with gardens and those overflowing flower beds. Take a nap when you need a break from the house. Rent it out to make money on it. You can do whatever you want with it because it’s yours.”
“Is it mine when we didn’t sign a prenup? I mean,” she says, wrapping her arms around my middle and smiling up at me. “What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine.”
“What’s mine is yours, but that house is in your name alone.”
She rattles the keys in her hand again. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I kiss her head.
Looking up at me again, she says, “We always call the marriage debacle a mess, but I don’t see it that way anymore. I see it as destiny course correcting.”
“I like that.” When I lift her chin, those soulful eyes I fell in love with so long ago still make my heart beat hard in my chest, steadier and stronger than any drums ever could.
She says, “I think I’m ready.”
“Yeah? What are you ready for?”
“To start this beautiful life. Let’s go home.”
Looking around the party, we’d be stuck for two hours saying goodbye if we made rounds. When I glance down at my wife by my side, I can tell she realizes the same. She asks, “Want to sneak out?”
I laugh, loving how much I’ve rubbed off on her. “That wasn’t part of the plan.”
“Sometimes life has other plans for us. Come on. I scoped out our escape path earlier in the day.” Pulling me by the hand, she leads me to the steps that flow to the sand.
“So this was the plan all along?”
Shrugging, she laughs. “Tomato.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
We make it out without anyone noticing, and even into the Ferrari the valet pulled around. Hopping in, I’m tempted to squeal the tires in a fast getaway, but that would draw too much attention, so I drive the speed limit instead.
We make it a few lights down, cruising toward the highway entrance. Sitting at a stoplight, I rest my hand on her leg. “I love you.” I feel so fucking happy. I didn’t know life could be this good until Catalina Farin, now Faris, showed me by loving me.