"Um, you too." He grabs his suitcases, and I open the door for him.

"Call me or text me when you can?"

"Yeah, once we get moving on the road, I'll give you a buzz. Remember your list. And buy yourself something."

"I will." I kiss him quickly on the lips, feeling a lump form in my throat. Don't cry. Don't cry. He'll think you're a freak.

From the doorway, I watch him walk down the slate, flower-lined pathway toward Max, who waves at me and meets Talon halfway to take his bags from him. Just as he's about to get into the dark backseat, I freak out.

"Talon!" I yell, running down the walkway, but I don't get very far because, within seconds, he's got me in his arms, kissing me wildly. Suddenly, we've turned into that crazy, cheesy scene in a romance movie, but this is so much better because it's real. It's us.

"I'm sorry," I sputter between kisses. "I didn't want to be the spastic wife who freaks when you leave."

His hands splay on either side of my neck as he kisses me so deeply I feel like he would crawl inside me if he could, and I would gladly swallow him up.

"Be the spastic wife, baby. It fuckin' rocks."

I hug him tightly, trying to squeeze my feelings into him. "You better go. Just…" I take a deep breath, lost for the right words. "Just come back like this, okay?"

Nodding slowly, his eyes reflect exactly what I'm feeling, and he takes both my hands in his. "I'm not going to let anything change, Aze. Our wheels are moving forward, right? The minute I get back home, we're going to pick up exactly where we were this morning. So I expect you to be properly yummied up with body lotion and that wicked tingly stuff on your lips. You got it?"

"I got it."

He gives my ass a playful smack. "Now get back in that house and take a cute selfie with Pixie for me."

Max's laughter can be heard behind us as we kiss one more time before Talon jogs back to the limo, disappearing behind the dark tinted glass.

"Don't worry about him, Mrs. Valentine," Max calls out to me. "We'll see you soon."

I wave until the limo can no longer be seen and then go back into the house, which already feels twice the size and oddly quiet without him. This is going to be a long twenty days.

* * *

A few hours later, my cell phone beeps, and I almost drop it in my excitement to see if it's a message from Talon.

Talon: Miss me yet? ;)

Me: Who is this?

Talon: Ha. Very funny. Don't break my heart, baby

Me: Never

Talon: Just wanted to say hi.

Me: I miss you lots. I might sleep on the couch

Talon: No. I want you to sleep in our bed.

Me: It’s too big and lonely without you :(

Talon: Get in that bed, woman. And set the house alarm.

Me: It's already set

Talon: Good. I mean it—sleep in the bed. I'll call you in the morning.

Me: Ok. Nitey nite.

Talon: Nite, babe. Kiss the rug rat for me ;)

Carrying Pixie, I walk through every room of the house, although I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for, other than to make certain all windows and doors are locked and no one is hiding out anywhere preparing to attack me once I go to sleep.

After I write in my journal, I decide to skip my nightly bath and just climb right into bed, flicking the television on with the remote, in hopes the glow and soft noise will help me feel less alone. As I try to get comfy without my husband to cuddle up to, I notice my pillow feels strange and lumpy. I sit up to try to fluff it and find his favorite faded black T-shirt, a Post-it note, and a little white stuffed kitten toy under my pillow.

Smiling, I grab the little note and turn on the bedside lamp so I can read it.

Oh, my. He can be so freaking adorable and sweet sometimes, it makes my heart want to burst. Taking off the tank top I already have on, I replace it with his T-shirt, the fabric thin with a few holes, oh-so-soft, and holding faint traces of his scent.

I grab Pixie from the foot of the bed, hold her up against my cheek and snap our picture, making sure he can see I'm wearing the shirt, and text it over to him.

Me: Thank you for this. We miss you. You're the best husband I've ever had. xoxo

After turning off the lamp, I settle back in bed, comforted by his shirt, with Pixie and the little stuffed toy next to me.

Chapter 26

Asia

"Seriously, Asia, I love your house. I totally want to just move in. How many bedrooms do you have?" Kat walks around the kitchen, opening and closing the drawers. "These drawers don't even slam. It's amazing. What life is this?"

I chew my muffin, watching her in amusement. "They're like soft glide or something. They came with the house."

"Remember when your cabinets barely opened at all or fell off the hinges?"

My teeth grind together. "Yeah, Kat, I do. I'll never forget those things. And ya know what? If I had to, I'd live like that again. I couldn't care less about kitchen cabinets." Sipping my coffee, I swallow it, hoping my annoyance goes with it. "What matters to me is the man who has provided all of this for me."

She leans against the kitchen island where I'm sitting on my usual stool and studies me. "So, how are things going? Tell me the truth, because I've been a little worried." Honestly, she's not a bad friend. She's just easily distracted by bright and shiny objects and doesn't have much of a filter when it comes to pointing out the obvious about someone's situation. Especially mine.

"Are we allowed to talk about details?"

Waving her hand, she perches on the stool across from me. "Screw Dr. H for now, Asia. You're my best friend, so you can tell me whatever you want. She knew you were my friend when you got into this, so of course, she knew we would talk. I just can't tell you anything I've learned at her office."

"Okay, then. Things are a lot better."

"You finally fucked him, didn't you?" she yells, pointing at me. "Finally! I knew you looked different when I got here today. Your vag is thanking the heavens and spreading glow juice though your veins."

"Glow juice? You are a twisted, horny freak, Kat."

"I know.”

Shaking my head, I finish off my coffee. "Great. Anyway, yes, we finally slept together, and it seems to have brought us closer. We're both really happy right now. At least I think he is." I chew my lip. "I'm pretty sure he is."

"I'm sure he is," she confirms. "I can't believe you tortured him for two months with no sex."

Geez. I hope Talon didn't feel like I was torturing him the entire time. "I didn't torture him—"

Her eyes bug out at me. "Um, yes you did. You don't marry a hot as hell rock star and make him celibate. That was a huge, risky move, but I commend you for sticking to your guns. You are totally my idol. I could never get a guy to stay without giving him the goods by the third date."

"It really wasn't like that. He understood my reservations. He's actually a really sweet guy." My lips curve into a smile just thinking about him.

"So, is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"You know—" a sly smile touches her lips "—about the eleven inches."

My mouth gapes open. "Kat! I can't believe you asked me that!" My cheeks burn and I can't even look her in the eye. Does the entire female population know about my husband's cock? That's something I never thought I'd have to worry about.

"Well, he's kinda known for it. Google it."

"No! That's disgusting. He was right; women just wanted to use him. He's more than a piece of meat."

She tries to stop herself from laughing but isn't doing a good job. "You should see how red you are. You're so cute, Asia. And I am very envious of what you've got."

"Shut up, whore," I tease. "The size of his dick was the furthest thing from my mind, believe me."

"Is he good? I seem to remember you telling me Danny was a two-minute wonder."

I grimace at the thought. "Ugh. Don't remind me. If you must know, Talon is amazing. Words can't even describe, and I'm not even gonna try because it's too personal. I just never thought it could be that way. He's wicked sensual." A tingling sensation ripples through my pelvis as flashbacks of him crawling all over me flip through my mind.

She pouts. "Damn. I love Rob, but he's kinda just missionary. I'm jealous. You love him, don’t you?”

"I'm definitely getting there. It's been a really hard journey to get to where we are now. But, yeah." We smile at each other and giggle like we did when we were younger. "I'm pretty sure I'm falling in love with him."

"I'm so happy for you, honey. This is exactly what I wanted for you. I've never seen you look better or happier." She leans forward a little. "So you know I type the notes for all the chats and stuff for Dr. H, but everyone is identified with a number and I don't know who they are. Though, I'm fairly confident I have figured out what your numbers are, and I can't say too much, but… Dr. H. thinks you two have the best chance out of all the couples of staying together."

"Get out!" I squeal. "You really think she thinks that?"

She nods excitedly. "I'm as sure as I can be about which notes go with you two, and I'm sorry if that weirds you out, but you know I love you, right? I know I can be a crazy bitch, but I love you."

"I know that, Kat. I trust you and I love you. I never would have met him if not for you."

"Well, the other couples have had some serious issues. One has been unfaithful, one is pregnant already, and the other two just can't seem to get their shit together. It's really crazy."

"Oh wow! What a shame." I feel really bad for those other couples, because this really is not an easy situation to go through.

"Well, I didn't want you to feel like you two were the only ones who had issues. It hasn't been all unicorns and rainbows for the others either. They're all trying to work it out, though. But, Dr. H did mention in her notes that these two certain numbers—" she glances sideways with a little grin "—are the most devoted to each other and much more 'serious about being married than the others.' And I'm sure that’s you two."