Hadley
I floated to work on a cloud the next morning. After years of trying so hard to separate sex and feelings, to build a barrier between the physical and emotional aspects of sharing my body with someone, I was in no way prepared for how it would feel when I let that wall come crashing down. Or how deeply Justin would be felt, how long I would carry those feelings with me.
The mornings after casual hook-ups were usually better mornings by comparison. Good sex—that primal release—always made for a good following day. But nothing came close to the sweetly sublime feeling I had the morning after making love with Justin.
Love.
Honest to goodness love.
A year ago, if you’d told me I’d be married and falling in love with someone, I would have laughed you right out of your crazy pants. Nothing good could come from love. Sex? Yes. Definitely. But love was some sort of chemical imbalance that usually only afflicted needy women.
I watched Riley fall in love with Camden and found myself eating my own words, encouraging her to let the love happen, to stop pushing it away, and all the while I was fighting it myself.
Thank God for Vegas.
Hashtag things I never thought I’d say.
I floated on my sexy love cloud all the way to work and it got me through the first part of my day, only to be joined by more good feelings when Aiden Daniels called me. I hadn’t recognized the number when my cell rang, but as soon as he introduced himself, all the excitement from the project came rushing back.
“I’m glad I managed to get a hold of you. I’m sorry I had to rush the end of our meeting yesterday,” he said. “I feel like we never got to the important part of the meeting.”
“Oh, that’s fine. I completely understand. I was still kind of in shock over the beauty of your house. I probably wasn’t very professional, what with my jaw on the floor and everything.”
He laughed. “Not at all. You were a joy. Sometimes in the thick of it, you forget the most important part of the job, which is how the structure makes you feel. You gave me something I’d been lacking and needed. I needed to see someone love the house. So, thanks.”
“I mean, any time you need someone to drool over gorgeous houses, I’m your gal.”
“I was hoping you’d say something like that.”
He was quiet for a beat and I didn’t really know how to respond, but he continued.
“Do you have time for a meeting tomorrow? I’d like to talk more about our arrangement, maybe set some terms in stone, get a contract started.”
“Definitely,” I said, trying to tamp down the excitement and come across as the professional I knew I was. “When works for you?”
“I’m on a site all day, and then I’d have to drive back into town. Does a dinner meeting work for you? I prefer to talk business over steak.”
“Uh, I think I could work that into my schedule.”
“Great. Where can I pick you up from? Will seven work?”
“Oh, you don’t have to pick me up. I can meet you wherever. Just tell me the time and place.”
“I don’t mind driving you.”
“I appreciate that, really, but it’s unnecessary. And honestly, sometimes I don’t know where I’ll be by the end of the day anyhow.”
“If you insist.”
“Just text me wherever you want to meet and I’ll be there.”
“Looking forward to it. See you tomorrow evening, then.”
“See you then.”
The call disconnected and I held the phone out, just staring at it.
“Everything okay?” Amy finally asked me after a quiet minute.
I turned and saw her concerned expression.
“Yeah. I mean, I think so. I just...”
“What?”
“I’m just not sure if I agreed to a business meeting or a date.”
Amy is quiet for a moment, but then lets out a laugh. “I, for one, have never been confused about that before. What in the world are you talking about?”
I spun my chair around to face her.
“He was calling about a contract. He wants me to stage his houses. But it sounded like maybe he wanted me to do a lot more than that. But he never came right out and said it. I don’t really know what to think about it.”
“You’re probably reading too much into it. Now that you’re off the market you’re just adjusting to having to turn men down. He’s probably just overly friendly.”
I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, nibbling with worry.
“You’re probably right.”
“What a problem to have, Hadley. Really. Men coming at you left and right.”
I raised an eyebrow at her double entendre, making her laugh.
“You know what I mean.”
“I can assure you, I don’t,” I said, laughing along with her.
It was later that day, after lunch, when a smile bloomed at the sight of Justin’s name on my phone screen.
“Hello,” I answered, sounding stupidly sweet even to myself.
“I can hear your smile,” he said immediately, making me blush.
I was still sitting at my desk, trying to get caught up on the paperwork side of owning your own business, and I relaxed back into my chair.
“Seems I’ve been smiling a lot lately.”
“It’s your best look.”
“Did you call just to compliment me? Because if that’s the case, I can free up a little time to talk.”
“Yes and no,” he said with a laugh. “But if you could find some time this evening, that would be great. My mom just called to tell me they accepted an offer on their house.”
“Oh my gosh! That’s great news!”
“It is great news. I’m taking my parents out to dinner tonight to celebrate and I thought it would be a perfect time to introduce you to them as more than just my friend who stages houses.”
My heart stopped at his words and my smile disappeared.
“Tonight?” It was clear in my tone that night would be a problem.
“Will that not work?”
Shit. “Mr. Daniels called me a few hours ago and asked to meet me tonight to go over contracts.”
“Mr. Daniels?”
“Aiden Daniels. The man who builds the magnificent houses? The one I drove out to meet yesterday?”
He was quiet for a moment and I couldn’t think of anything to say either.
“Can you reschedule?”
“Justin, I normally would, but I don’t want to seem like a flake to a prospective business partner. Especially not this early in our professional relationship.”
“We talked about this, Hadley. It’s important to me that you meet my parents.”
“And it’s important to me, too. I promise.” Suddenly I was panicking, feeling as though I was torn equally in two very imperative directions. “Mr. Daniels and I aren’t meeting until seven. Can I meet you and your parents for an early drink? Happy hour somewhere?”
He let out a sigh. “That won’t work. They’re busy until this evening.”
“I’m sorry. Really. Can we take them out for brunch this weekend?”
Another sigh. “I’ll ask them if they’re free.”
Another silence fell between us.
“Please tell me you’re not upset.”
“I am upset, but not with you. I’m disappointed.”
“If you’d called earlier I wouldn’t have hesitated to meet your parents, Justin. I would have been there, eager, excited to make a good impression.”
“I know. I’m just tired of things getting in our way.”
“Can I come to your house later? After we’re both done with our dinners?”
“Of course.” His voice was soft again and it made me relax a little.
“Tell your parents congratulations for me.”
“I will.”
“I’ll see you later?”
“Count on it,” he said, his tone washing over me.
We disconnect and I let out a long, loud breath.
“What was that about?” Amy asked.
“Riddle me this, Amy. How did I go from having not one care in the world when it came to men to suddenly walking on eggshells, working hard to make sure I don’t rock the boat?”
“Two words. Justin Hunter.” She waggled her eyebrows at me and I cracked a smile, which was exactly what she was aiming for, I was sure.
“You’re not wrong there, honey. That man could make me do a lot of things I never considered before.”
“Yeah? Like what?” she queried, resting her elbow on her desk and her chin on her hand, looking oh so interested.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Hadley, I’ve got my own love life going on right now, but rest assured, you ever want to dish on Justin, I am always here for you.”
My laugh barked out of me. I could understand the sentiment. Justin Hunter was one fine specimen of a man. Even happily married women could be caught ogling him.
“There won’t be much to talk about soon if I can’t get a handle on this whole relationship business. Seriously, single ladies like me—the ones who built and entire identity on playing the proverbial field—should not drink in Vegas when accompanied by their sexual kryptonite.”
“Don’t kid yourself. Getting drunk in Vegas was the best thing you ever did.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“Some of us are trying to work, ladies,” Tim called out from his cubicle. “If you don’t stop talking about other men, Amy, I’m going to have to give you something else to focus on.”
Amy’s eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows at me. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
“This is getting really weird, really quickly.”
“Now you know how I’ve felt all this time listening to you gals gab about your male conquests. Time to pay your penance, Hadley.”
“It’s weird that you’re basically encouraging your girlfriend to tell me all about your exploits.”
The wheels of Tim’s chair could be heard rolling and his face appeared on the side of my cubicle. “It’s my new mission to give her good material to share with you.”
I turned to look at Amy, wondering how she felt about being involved.
“Don’t look at me. I’m not complaining,” she added with a laugh.
“Somehow I feel like your mission to torture me with your exploits is only going to lead to Amy’s supreme sexual satisfaction.”
“Two birds. One stone.”
We all laughed.
I’d gone home to change into something fit not only to have dinner with a potential client, but also something I thought Justin might like to see me in later. I settled for a wrap dress over some pretty sexy underthings. Obviously, the dress covered all the important parts, but it was still a clingy material that accentuated all the important parts.
I was adding a little wave to my hair when my phone pinged with a text.
**Are you ready to have your bestie back yet?**
I smiled at my phone and quickly typed a reply.
**Abso-fucking-lutely. When are you getting back?**
**Day after tomorrow. We land early afternoon. Will you come over for dinner and bring dinner?**
I laughed out loud at the invitation to provide her with a meal.
**Of course! I’ll bring wine too. Because I drank all of yours.**
**Perfect. I’ll bring you home a coconut bra.**
I laughed again, but the second laugh was laced with a little sadness. I hadn’t seen my friend in almost two weeks and she had no idea I was married. How do you tell someone something like that? Plus, I missed her terribly.
**Tell Camden after dinner he has to leave us alone so we can have some proper girl time. I miss talking to you.**
**Trust me, by the time we get home, he’ll be aching to ditch me.**
**He will not. Stop.**
**Okay, well, I’m just saying it won’t be hard to convince him to go get a beer with Justin.**
**I’m headed out to a work thing. I’ll be by around six with dinner day after tomorrow?**
**Sounds perfect!**
I silenced my phone so I wouldn’t have any interruptions with Mr. Daniels, checked my makeup one last time, and went outside to wait for my Uber.
The restaurant he’d picked was notorious in Portland due to its location at the top of the tallest skyscraper with three-hundred-and-sixty-degree panoramic views. It was one of those restaurants you saved for special occasions. This seemed to qualify as such for Mr. Daniels and I wasn’t going to argue with his choice.
I spent the ride checking my email and sending Justin one last text.
**Tell your parents congrats from me. I miss you. I’ll see you after dinner.**
When he didn’t reply right away I figured he was busy with his parents, so I tucked my phone back in my purse and watched the city fly by my window. The sun was waning, the sky an orangey-purple behind the trees to the west, and the sunset was reflecting off the Willamette River. The waterfront park was full of people and everyone seemed to be enjoying the nice weather.
The Uber dropped me off and I spent the long elevator ride mentally ticking through the list of why I was perfect for this job, pulling together the best parts of my résumé, determined to convince him I was the right person to bring into the project.
I gave the hostess my name and told her who I was there to meet and she led me through the dining room immediately, saying, “Right this way.”
I spotted him at a table by a large picture window and immediately knew I was in trouble.
When I’d met him at his property he’d looked like any other contractor. Jeans, steel-toed boots, T-shirt. The man sitting at that table was clearly dressed to impress. He was wearing a suit obviously tailored to his body because it fit like a fucking glove. It was a dark navy blue with a sky blue button-down underneath. He was clean-shaven and his blue eyes lit up when he saw me.
I watched with horror as his eyes moved up and down my body. It wasn’t creepy—it was appreciative. It was exactly how I’d always wanted men to respond to me—with interest. It was exactly the response I would have—a year ago—been looking for. But I was unprepared for Aiden Daniels to want me.
Immediately I was panicking, trying to figure my way out of the mess I was already walking into.
He rose from his seat as I approached, his hand coming to my elbow, and he leaned in to press a kiss to my cheek. It was friendly, but it wasn’t professional. I tried to hide the disappointment welling up inside.
“Hadley, I’m so glad you could make it,” he said, motioning for me to take my seat.
“Thank you for fitting me into your schedule, Mr. Daniels.”
“Call me Aiden. Please.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“You look lovely,” he added as I took a seat.
“Thank you,” I said through a forced smile that I was sure looked like a grimace. “I’ve only been here once or twice, but I knew it was a little on the dressy side.” I reached for the water glass closest to me and took a sip, hoping he’d hear what I was saying and understand. I did not dress for him. And even though he looked fantastic in his suit, I wasn’t going to comment.
“Yes, well, sometimes I can come out of the woods and enjoy some finery.”
“Why would you ever want to leave those gorgeous houses?” Yes. Let’s talk about houses. “How did you get into those kinds of projects anyway?” I was interested in the history behind his work, but even I knew I sounded too interested.
“And so you did,” I replied softly, a smile coming across my face.
“I would have,” he added, his voice sadder. “She died when I was twenty.”
“Oh,” I said with a small gasp. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. But no need to be sorry.”
“I’m sure she’d be so proud of you and the work you do.”
“I like to think so.” He took a sip of his water again, his eyes never leaving mine. “I think she would have liked you.”
“Mr. Daniels—ˮ
“Aiden.”
“Aiden,” I corrected myself. “I’m married.” The words rushed out with significantly less tact than I was aiming for, but I couldn’t help but feel relief after I’d said them. I was married. I told him and now the awkwardness would be gone. Right?
His eyes widened and I watched as his gaze tripped over to my left hand—my ring finger. Empty. Of course.
“Oh,” he stammered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—ˮ
“No, please don’t apologize. I’m new at this—at being married—and I’m flattered, but not interested. Not interested romantically. I am very interested in your houses and working with you. But if this isn’t work related, then I should probably go.”
“No, wait,” he said as I started to stand. “Hadley, please, there’s no need to leave.” He cleared his throat and I sat back down, but was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. “I’ll admit, I am attracted to you and was hoping this dinner would be more than a business meeting, but I am still very interested in working with you, if you’re up for it.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “I would really like that.”
“I’m sorry if I was too forward. I never would have said that if I knew you were married. You’re not wearing a ring…” His voice trailed off as he motioned to my hand.
“I know. Like I said, I’m new to being married.”
“I’m not going to pretend like that makes sense,” he replied with an uncomfortable laugh.
“I got married in Vegas not very long ago. It’s all very new, but I’m still very married. Happily. Just not great at giving off the married vibe, I guess.” A nervous laugh erupted from me and luckily, Aiden laughed too.
“Your husband’s a lucky man,” he said, giving me a friendly smile.
“Thank you. I hope so. Although, I think he got the raw end of the deal.”
“Doubtful.”
“If you’re willing, I would be more than happy to pretend the first part of this night never happened and move forward with the project.”
“Absolutely,” he said, sounding just as relieved the awkward part of the evening would be over as I was.
The next half hour was focused on work and the more we talked about his vision and my involvement, the more excited I became. Aiden was looking to hand me full creative control of staging, wanted nothing to do with it, in fact. He very adamantly stated he liked to build the houses but had no desire whatsoever to decorate them.
“Can you have the house we toured staged by the end of next week?” he asked as he took a bite of his steak the server had brought him a few minutes prior, his voice a mixture of hope and skepticism. I was aching for the chance to show him what I was capable of.
“Absolutely.”
“Then it’s a deal.” He held his hand out to me over the table and I readily took it, giving him my best, firm handshake.
“Hadley? Oh, my, what a small world!” I turned and saw Mrs. Hunter, and recognition ignited in my mind. Then my eyes drifted to the figure next to her and my heart plummeted. There stood Justin by his mother’s side. Another man flanked her and I assumed it was his father.
“Mrs. Hunter, what a nice surprise,” I said, standing to greet her. I gave her a polite hug and stepped back. “This is Aiden Daniels. He’s a contractor who works in the area.” My eyes darted to Justin just as the muscle in his clenched jaw ticked. “Aiden, this is Mrs. Hunter, a client, and her son, Justin. And I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting you,” I said, looking at the handsome man next to Justin’s mom.
“Allen Hunter,” he said, shaking my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Honey, Hadley is the one who staged our house,” Mrs. Hunter informed her husband.
“Of course,” he replied politely, smiling.
“Well, we don’t want to intrude on your date,” she said, giving me a knowing grin. It was almost comical how unknowing it actually was and I panicked in response.
“Oh, no, we’re not… this isn’t… he’s not my—ˮ
“This is a business dinner,” Aiden interjected. His voice firm but polite. “I have it on good authority that Hadley is a happily married woman.”
“Married?” Mrs. Hunter asked, her eyes turning back to me with curiosity.
“I, uh,” I muttered, my eyes darting helplessly to Justin. “Well—ˮ
“She’s married to me.” Justin’s voice cut through all the noise and he reached his hand out to me, smiling that half grin that made my knees wobble. Time stood still as his hand extended toward me and it all felt too monumental, as though the gesture weighed a million pounds.
I placed my hand in his and he gently pulled me to his side, tucking me in like it was where I belonged and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. When his lips pressed gently to my temple it was all I could do to close my eyes. I wanted to revel in that moment, the peace that washed over me at his touch, because I knew in just a second, the peace would be a memory.
“Mom, Dad, this is Hadley, my wife.”
I put on my best smile and gave them a shy wave. I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to act in that moment.
“Married?” his mother asked, her voice filled with confusion. “Justin?” She stared at him as though she clearly wasn’t understanding.
“What in the world are you talking about?” His father sounded less confused and angrier than his mother.
“Maybe we shouldn’t do this here,” I whispered quietly to Justin. My gaze flitted around the restaurant, filled with people who were expecting to have a lovely dinner with a spectacular view, not dinner and a show.
“Please, sit, join us,” Aiden offered. He stood and waved over a waitress, who swiftly brought over three extra chairs.
No one argued with him, none of us sure how to proceed. We all just sat while the wait staff brought over place settings, menus, and glasses of water.
“Justin, tell us what’s going on,” his mother asked once we were finally alone again.
Justin reached over into my lap and took my hand, threading our fingers together under the table, and then he answered.
“When we went to Vegas for Cam’s wedding, Hadley and I decided to get married.”
“Are you serious?” she asked, her voice a harsh whisper.
I couldn’t decide if she sounded more hurt or disbelieving. Clearly, she was stunned.
There was movement out of the corner of my eye and I looked over to see Aiden leaning over the back of his chair, saying to a waitress quietly, “We need a bottle of white and a bottle of red here.”
“And scotch,” Justin’s father added.
“And scotch. Top shelf.”
This would go down in history as the worst business meeting ever.
“We know this is sudden and out of left field, and it wasn’t something we planned, but it happened and we’re dealing with it.” Justin’s voice was firm.
“Dealing with it?” Justin’s mother parroted, her voice full of concern.
“Figuring it out,” he replied, his voice less firm than before.
“I’m very sorry you had to find out this way. This isn’t how we wanted to tell you.” I did not want my first interaction with my in-laws to be argumentative, so I wanted to do my best to smooth things over.
“I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just have it annulled,” his father queried.
“We’re not getting an annulment,” Justin said, his voice hard like stone. His fingers squeezed mine and I shifted so both my hands were wrapped around his.
“We don’t want an annulment,” I added, trying, again, to smooth things over. “We want to be together, to see where this leads.”
“I don’t understand. Are you in love?” His mother asked the question and looked pleadingly at Justin.
I couldn’t tell if she wanted him to say yes or no. To say yes meant he’d gotten married without his family there to witness his happy moment, but to say no meant he’d made a mistake and cheapened everything we thought we were building together.
“These aren’t ideal circumstances—we know this. But Hadley and I have known each other for a while and are trying to make it work.”
“So you’re not in love.”
Just as his mother said the words the waitress came back with all three bottles of alcohol. We were quiet while she placed everything on the table. When she left Justin leaned forward, his voice low.
“I’d be lucky to spend the rest of my life with Hadley. Regardless of how deep my feelings for her go—and that’s not something I’m willing to discuss with you right now—I’ll take her for as long as she’ll have me.”
My heart cracked open a little more for him at his words. I didn’t need him to defend me to his parents. I could deal with whatever fallout there was from our choices, but hearing him defend me, us, what we had, to his parents was the same as wrapping a warm blanket around me in a sense. I immediately was more sure, more secure, about our relationship and believed wholeheartedly that what we had was worth fighting for.
“Clearly,” I stated slowly, making sure my tone was soft, “Justin and I are aware of the gravity of our decision. We are not taking this lightly and we aren’t kidding ourselves into thinking it’s not an enormous deal.” I looked over at Justin and saw the love for me radiating in his eyes and I knew I’d walk to the ends of the earth for him, do anything to make sure nothing stood between us anymore. “But we want to be together. We want to give ourselves the chance to build a real relationship on a solid foundation.” I moved my gaze to his mother and spoke softly. “I am sorry you’re finding out like this. When we met at your house I didn’t even realize what was going on and I never want you to think we’d lied or tricked you. We are very much stumbling through this ourselves.”
Justin’s parents were quiet but exchanged knowing looks. Looks that spoke a thousand silent words. Communicating through a connection that only came with time, love, and cultivation. I wanted that so badly with Justin. Not today, and not tomorrow, but someday I wanted to be able to look at him and hear the words he was thinking, know what he’d say before he said it. I wanted to be able to show him how much I cared about him with just a look, convey emotion simply by catching his gaze. It was not something I’d ever wished for with any other man.
“This will obviously take some time to sink in,” Allen said after a moment.
“Never in a million years would I have ever thought you’d do something like this, Justin,” his mother added. She smiled as she said the words, but there was hurt in her eyes. I couldn’t imagine what Justin was feeling because I was torn up. We’d hurt his parents, that much was clear, however unintentional it was.
“Time is something we can give you,” I said softly.
“I know it doesn’t help hearing this, but the marriage doesn’t change anything. Not really. Hadley and I are just like any other couple who’ve been seeing each other. I care about her, a lot, and she is my wife, but we’re taking it day by day.”
“Hour by hour, really,” I added, trying to bring some levity to the situation. “Neither one of us was prepared for this at all.”
I gave a silent thank you to some higher power when his parents laughed at my joke.
“You all sure know how to liven up a dinner meeting.” Aiden’s voice struck the mood of the table like a splash of cold water. I’d forgotten he was even there. Everyone laughed, myself included, and I watched as he stood from the table. “This has been an interesting evening to say the least, but I think you all could use some time to yourselves to get to know one another.” His eyes darted toward me. “Hadley, could I borrow you for just one moment?”
“Of course,” I said, standing and following him to the hostess’ stand. He approached the young woman and placed a hand between her shoulder blades to get her attention.
“I have to leave, but I want to make sure the ticket for my table goes entirely on this card.”
“Absolutely no problem, sir. I’ll go run it and be right back.” She took the credit card from him and left her station, also leaving me gaping at him.
“Mr. Daniels, no, I can’t have you paying for a dinner I ruined. Please,” I stated, mortified.
“You have to stop calling me that. My name is Aiden. We can’t work together if you make me feel like I’m sixty.”
“Work together?” Surely, after what just happened, there was no way he still wanted to work together.
“That was the best, most entertaining dinner I’ve had in a long, long time,” he said, laughing. “You’re nuts.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I promise, this is the craziest dinner I’ve ever had too. Things like this don’t happen to me.”
“Well, that’ll be a shame. I was looking forward to endless entertainment. Tell you what,” he said as the hostess brought his card back and had him sign a receipt. “Thank you,” he said, handing it back to her and then returning his eyes to me. “Let’s both agree that tonight never happened. I still want to work with you and I hope you’ll still join the project.”
“I would love that. Thank you for being so understanding.”
“Partners?” he asked, holding his hand out to me.
I took it, gladly, giving him a firm handshake. “Partners.”
“Great. When will I see you out at the house next?”
“I am booked tomorrow and the day after, so how does Friday work for you?”
“Sounds great. See you then.”
He turned with a smile and walked toward the elevator and I watched until the doors closed and he gave me a friendly wave.
An exhausted sigh escaped me. I knew I’d dodged a bullet there. Aiden could have very easily seen my crazy and backed out of the deal. I knew I’d be busting my ass to make sure he knew I wasn’t some looney tunes crazy woman. I wanted him to see how hard I worked, what kind of results I could deliver, and having that night as our starting point was only going to work against me. My job just got a lot harder.
“Everything all right?” Justin’s voice surprised me and I turned around just as his hand hit my waist.
“Yeah. Mr. Daniels—er, Aiden—just left. He insisted on paying for our dinner, though.”
“That was unnecessary,” he said before pressing a kiss to my temple. “But he seems like a good guy, so I’m not surprised.”
“Me neither.” I sighed. “He also said he still wanted to work with me, even after witnessing that train wreck.”
“That’s because he knows you’re damn good at your job.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “We should probably get back to your parents.”
“Yeah.”
“Are they pissed?” I asked with a wince. I did and didn’t want to know the answer to that question in equal measure.
He shook his head slightly. “No, I honestly think my mom is more upset than anything. Sad she didn’t get to come to my wedding. My dad is just upset that my mom’s upset.”
“I feel terrible.”
“I know, baby. So do I. But it wasn’t intentional and all we can do from here on out is be honest.”
“Okay,” I replied, cupping his face with my hand. “I’m sorry about all this. I can’t help but feel responsible.”
His eyes darkened at my words and his voice dropped. “Do you regret it?”
I stilled at his words.
“Regret marrying you?”
His head moved with just a fraction of a nod, and he waited for my response, not breathing, eyes darting back and forth between mine. I knew the question was heavy and that my answer could break him. But I answered honestly.
“No.”
His shoulders dropped at my words, tension leaving him in waves, and his mouth pressed to mine in the softest, purest kiss.
“Come on,” he said when he pulled away. Then he took my hand in his and led me back to the table to have dinner with my in-laws.