Chapter 25
Baylor
Marriage is a bigger deal than we’re pretending. As a guy who never thought about marriage much, my shoulders are surprisingly relaxed, my jaw isn’t clenched, and I’m not sweating. Weirdly, I’m okay. Happy even. Can’t say I would be with any other woman, but Lauralee’s different.
I love her.
The admission, even silently to myself, practically knocks me on my ass.
Love isn’t something I saw coming. I wasn’t even looking for it.
It found me in the time away from her after the festival.
The quick calls we’d share at night and the occasional texts were nice reprieves from the chaos of the stock market. But not enough.
I don’t want to be without her. Ironically, I’ll still be without her most of the time. How will we make this work? I want to be married and go to bed with her every night. Not make a call to say good night to my wife. When I say I do, I’ll mean it. When she says it, it’s temporary. Fuck.
The shower turning off alerts me to adjust my pillows against the walnut headboard before sitting up and situating myself.
After sending some texts, I set my phone on the nightstand and clock the cu rtains still open with dots of light speckling the darkness outside.
I don’t think about the city watching me anymore, but she’ll be exposed.
I hit the remote to close the curtains and give us privacy.
We still have a lot to talk about, but setting that aside, I want to enjoy our time together and lie in bed with her. And other things . . .
“We don’t have to stay married,” she says, coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her torso.
Freshly showered with her hair piled on her head, she’s tan against the bright white of the material, and her skin glistens with a few drops on her shoulders that she missed.
I’ll be happy to take care of those for her with my tongue.
“There have been shorter Hollywood marriages than two weeks, so we wouldn’t be the first to change our minds.
Well . . .” Her hair bobbles on top of her head when she shakes it.
Sitting on the edge of the mattress, she rests back on one hand.
“Not that we’re changing our minds. More gaming the system to work in our favor.
Two weeks tops and then you’re free again. ”
“But what if we did?” The way she views this as a merger more than a marriage doesn’t bother me. It’s only come about because of a business agreement. So that makes sense. I can’t fault her when I haven’t been forthcoming with my feelings.
I can talk about myself all day at work, talk shit on the basketball court, and have never minded bragging about myself to other women.
She doesn’t want that from me. She wants what’s in my head but also my heart.
It’s a big ask. But I’m giving her both without admitting the truth—I’d marry her if she had asked simply because she loves me. I know a good thing when I see it.
“What if we did?” He r eyes widen. “Stay married?”
“Yes.” We’re a new relationship to her with training wheels still attached. I’m already riding without holding the handlebars. I know we’re meant to be together. She just doesn’t see it yet.
“Baylor? Aw. That’s so sweet, but I know you aren’t looking for marriage.”
We agreed to keep it a secret, not to hurt her mom or my family, but to include them when we’re ready to reveal it. If we do. As I listen to her now, there might not be a need.
“Why do you say that?”
She aims her gaze at the pillow next to me and then back at me. “I don’t know why I thought that. Believing that you prefer dating over commitment? When was your last relationship?”
“When was yours?” I snap back.
Offense shapes her expression, dragging her lips to part. Very distracting. “That’s not fair. I don’t have the same options back in the Pass as you do here.”
I stare at her for a moment. I’ve done this to myself, and her best friend probably didn’t do me any favors over the years.
Do I blame my sister? Nah. She didn’t have all the facts, but she also probably wasn’t far off from the truth, and she has my best friend who witnessed plenty of bad behavior.
I’m sure he leaves himself out of some of those details, though.
I won’t spill our secrets. But I do say, “Neither one of us is particularly walking around with our head in the clouds. That’s a luxury never afforded us.
We’re products of hardworking ranching families or seeing things through a different lens.
Who knows. But I want to be clear on marriage. It means something to me.”
She crawls across the mattress to situate herself next to me. With a mischievous grin, she whispers, “It does? ”
“Yes. I know this is about money for us, but I could write you a check if that’s all it was about, or make sure you have free rent for life?—”
“How would you do that?”
Shit.
This hole keeps getting deeper. Eventually, I need to put the shovel down. Not tonight, though. I’m going into this with my eyes wide open because it feels real to me, as real as she is before me now. When should I let her in on that secret?
I’m starting to think that the perfect time is after the I dos, which makes me a horrible fucking person for taking advantage of the situation. Looking at her here in bed with me, she fits into my life in the city like this is every day for us. It could be.
Though I shouldn’t trick myself into believing she’d move here because I know she won’t or can’t. Both. So I enjoy her presence and the way she looks so at home while I can.
“I’ve made plenty of money.”
“Oh,” she says, looking down at the folded towel on her thigh.
She’s already shaking her head before looking back up.
When those beautiful browns hit me, she smiles.
“I can’t take it, like I said before.” Moving closer, she lowers her eyes to my mouth as her hand slides over the cotton restraining my erection.
My breathing deepens as she awakens my entire body with her touch. “C’mere.” Climbing onto my lap, she straddles me. Bringing her face closer, I whisper into her ear, “What if we want to stay married?” I kiss her cheek and under her jaw.
She sits back with that mouth open again, reminding me how stunning those lips are wrapped around my dick. “Do you want a contingency plan?”
What do I want her to say? That this isn’t just about finances? My phone vibrates on the nightstand, causing me to look over at it. “It’s from the judge.”
I reach for it. His text reads: I’ll fit you in at two p.m. Have the license stamped by the clerk. I’ve left your name and instructions for my assistant.
Flashing the screen so she can see it, I say, “Seems we’re getting married tomorrow.”
“Shouldn’t I be nervous?”
That’s my girl. I knew I wasn’t alone. Hoping, at least. Holding her hips, I push the towel up on one side to see my favorite strawberries. As I run my fingers over the tattoo, I reply, “I’m not either.”
She leans forward just enough to wrap her arms around my neck. “People have rushed into marriage quicker.”
“We don’t have to justify it. If it feels right, it is.
” I start to unwrap my pretty package, untucking the corner of the towel and discarding it on the floor.
Pulling her closer, I tongue her pink buds and then kiss the space between her breasts, imagining how they would feel wrapped around my erection.
Shaking myself from the thought, I know I’d rather be inside her right now.
Sitting back, I watch as her chest rises with each deep breath she takes and lowers on the exhale. She rocks her hips slowly back and forth, seeking her own pleasure as her lids flutter closed.
The damn phone buzzes across the wood nightstand again as an unwelcome distraction. Her eyes slide to the screen and then to me. “Busy guy. Do you need to check that?” she asks through panted breaths.
“It can wait, but I can’t.” I flip her to the mattress, wedging myself between her legs. Her laughter fills my ears, and the way she looks at me like I’ve hung the moon makes me feel whole again. “I’m so fucking glad you’re here.”
As soon as I pay for the license, we’re good to go until this afternoon. I hold her hand while we cut across the courtroom and out the doors. “I want to take you somewhere.”
“Where?”
I turn back. She stopped two steps higher than where I landed. The happiness that seemed to come from the inside when we were filing for the marriage license is wiped clean from her face. “What’s wrong?”
“This is happening really fast.” She takes one step down, bringing us closer, and basically eye level.
“I know I wanted it, but it’s like I didn’t take time to acclimate to the idea, and now we’re here in a hurry from place to place to get stuff done, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. ”
“You’re not supposed to. It’s not every day we get married.
” Running my hands along her waist, I try to give her comfort.
“You’re not alone in this. As for the errands, I want you to get a dress that you love, one that will make you feel as beautiful as you are to me when you look back at the photos. Not one you just happened to pack.”
“I didn’t even think about photos. I haven’t had time to think about any of it, and it’s all hitting at the same time now.”
“Hey, don’t stress. We have four hours until we need to be back, and I have you covered.” I start walking down the steps with her, and say, “All you need to do is go back to my apartment.”
The tension has eased from her face, and I’ve earned a smile from her. “What’s at your apartment? ”
“Everything you need. Dresses, hair, makeup. Lunch because I don’t want you starving when you say I do.”
When we reach the sidewalk, she stops again. “How’d you do all that on short notice?”