Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Cole
I did not want to be here. I would have much preferred to be at home, sitting on the comfy couch with my wife while she inched closer to me as we watched Jeopardy . Then, after we’d brushed our teeth, we’d head to bed, where I’d hold her all night.
We’d never discussed it, but we’d slept that way every night for the last week. I’d been sleeping better than I ever had. Making it through my days more easily too, since no matter what the day threw at me, at the end of it, I got to wrap my arms around Willa.
Even if nothing more ever happened between us, I would be content. She really was my best friend. The person I depended on. The person I couldn’t wait to share my funny stories with. And the person I missed the most after a long day.
Our time as husband and wife was limited, so I’d take every second I could get, even if it was while I was asleep.
But I wasn’t at home with my wife tonight. Nope, I was at the Moose.
I’d avoided this place, like just about every public place in town, for months. But Jude’s band was playing. He’d been such a support to me when I needed him, so it seemed like the least I could do. He was not only keeping my secret but rooting for me to get the girl. So I’d come out to show my support, even if it meant losing a cozy night with Willa.
The Moose was a semi-decent restaurant pretending to be a dive bar. One side was filled with pool tables and dart boards, and the other, vinyl booths filled with families eating burgers the size of their heads.
In the middle was a large stage where the band was warming up.
Willa was chatting with Magnolia, who was in town for a few days. She’d been coming around what seemed like every few weeks. Perhaps it was because of the tiny brunette she currently had her arm around?
I surveyed the room, the crowd, while I sipped my water. Finn was playing pool on the far side with some of the Gagnons, but it didn’t look like Gus and Chloe had arrived yet.
A hand landed roughly on my back, giving it a slap and causing me to spin around.
“Good to see you out and about.” Chief Souza took a swig of his beer, watching me with a condescending gleam in his eye that said he was not, in fact, happy to see me out.
He’d been good friends with my father for years. But since my dad had been arrested for committing a whole host of crimes right under his old friend’s nose, that nose was seriously out of joint.
The chief had been around for as long as I could remember, a stocky guy with a gray mustache and a lot of unearned confidence. He did not hide his how much he disliked me, and I swore he’d taken true joy in arresting me earlier this year.
I could imagine how it chapped his ass that the feds were still crawling around town, infringing on his turf. He was old-school like that. Territorial. And Elliot Ness, he was not. Nothing happened here, and when it did, he was caught unaware, so it wasn’t a big shock that he had been asleep at the wheel when it came to my dad.
Most days, he was more concerned with busting high school kids sneaking beers down by the lake or writing speeding tickets off Route 16.
“Congratulations on your, eh, marriage,” he said, his lip curled. “Still not sure how you landed the town doctor.”
Dick.
He attempted a smile, but it came out like a snarl.
“Neither do I,” I admitted, keeping my expression even. “But she said yes, so now I have to keep her.”
He laughed into his beer. “You always did have a horseshoe up your ass.” With that parting shot, he sauntered away, headed to talk to someone he surely found more important than me. Asshole.
But before I could spiral, before I could let his words get to me, Willa appeared, smiling up at me. Instantly, the anger dissipated. I put my arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze.
“When you’re ready to leave, say the code word, and I’ll carry you out of here.”
She scrunched up her face. “The code word uttered when it’s time to leave the crowded bar.”
I replied on cue. “What is Final Jeopardy, Alex.”
She stood up on her tiptoes as I leaned down. And then she whispered in my ear, “That is correct for four hundred, husband.”
We shuffled toward the stage and found a place on the side of the room. At my height, I was always worried about blocking someone’s view.
Willa stood in front of me, that delicious ass pressed right up against my crotch, swaying to the music. The bar was crowded, which gave me an excellent opportunity to touch her and smell her hair. Yes, I was in deep. I didn’t even care. I’d take every scrap she tossed my way and enjoy the hell out of it.
I’d spent most of my life chasing the next big thing, constantly filled with disappointment because nothing ever lived up to my expectations and because I was always running toward an unknown future where things would surely be right.
This marriage had been a wake-up call. There was no future here. I had no real shot. So all I got were nights like these, pretending in public and enjoying the time I got to spend with her. My therapist had been pushing me to be mindful, to be grateful, and to live in the moment.
And when I was with Willa, those things came easily.
The band was excellent. Jasper was a great musician, but Jude had the most talent. Despite his role as a supporting player, he led every song on the guitar like a pro.
Willa motioned for me to bend down.
“I’m gonna grab another water. You want one?”
“I’ll come with you.”
With my hand on the small of her back, I guided her through the sea of people back toward the bar and seating area. Away from the crush of the crowd, it was instantly easier to breathe. It was quieter over here too.
I ordered two bottles of water and mentally calculated how much longer I needed to stay in order to check be a supportive brother off my to-do list.
Next to me, Willa stiffened. “Oh. Hey, Jonathan,” she said, her voice pinched.
I turned around quickly and found Jonathan Billings hovering close to my wife. My eye twitched, and I balled my hands into fists as words Willa had spoken about this man echoed in my head.
The guy was maybe five-ten, balding, and wearing a starched dress shirt to a bar on a Friday night. I wanted to grab him by the collar and throw his preppy ass out into the snow.
“Hi, Cole,” he said, his tone friendly.
My response was a glare. We’d grown up in the same small town, but I had probably said five words to the guy in my whole life.
I tipped my chin. “Do you know my wife?” I asked, putting heavy emphasis on the word. “Dr. Willa Savard?”
“Of course.” His smile spread.
I wanted to punch it off his face. This man had been her first kiss. And that alone made me want to beat him.
Instead, I pulled Willa close, spreading my hand over the swell of her ass and bending down to kiss her cheek.
Jonathan looked between us awkwardly.
Willa said nothing, just stared at him, her cheeks pink and her green eyes wide.
So I took that as my cue to step up.
“Yup. Not sure if you heard. Convinced her to marry me in Vegas. I’ve been obsessed with her forever, but for years, I was sure she’d never give me a chance.” I gave her ass another healthy squeeze, the move causing her eyes to widen. “So I had to lock it down quick, you know. Before she realized she could do better.”
“C-congrats,” he sputtered, scratching at the back of his neck.
I bent down and captured her mouth in a kiss that was far too intense for the bar, and when I pulled back, I grinned, hoping I looked a little feral. “Thanks, man. Fuck, I’m a lucky guy.” I turned and stared at Willa, feasting on her with my eyes in a way so blatant that anyone in a one-mile radius could see exactly what I wanted to do to her.
“Anyway, good to see you. I think I gotta get my wife home.” I licked my lips and threw some cash on the bar. As I turned and said “we’re newlyweds,” I punctuated the declaration with a lascivious wink, making sure there was no doubt he understood that I was going home to fuck my goddess wife senseless.
Joke was on me, since that was not gonna happen, but I sure as fuck wanted boring-ass Jonathan and the entire town to know she was mine.
Breathing hard, I pulled her toward the door and snagged her coat from the antler hooks by the door.
She yanked her arm away as soon as we were outside.
“Cole,” she hissed, her face pink with embarrassment. “You didn’t have to do that.”
I pulled her green hat over her head for her and gave her cheek a pat. “Oh, wifey, I sure did.”
“You verbally peed on my leg,” she huffed. “Marking your territory for Jonathan and the whole town.”
Arm crooked, I offered it to her as we walked through the icy parking lot toward my car. “Yup. And I need to do it more often. I think bragging about my hot wife may be my favorite hobby. It’s up there even higher than knitting or watching Jeopardy .”
I gave her ass a firm smack for fun. Shit, I was already getting hard.
“Jesus, Cole. We’re in public.”
I pulled her close, leaning over so that my lips ghosted over her earlobe. “That ass is legally mine, wifey. The least you can do is let me give it a little smack once in a while.”
Her breath hitched. Oh yeah, I wasn’t the only one feeling the heat.
“Did you like it?” I asked. “When I manhandled you, claimed you, and made sure Jonathan and his pleated khakis knew you were mine?” My heart was pounding and my cock was hard as stone.
Pulling up short, she peered up at me, her eyes wide and her teeth sunken into her bottom lip.
“I fucking loved it,” she said softly. And with that, she shuffled to the SUV, climbed in, and slammed the passenger door shut.