Chapter Fifteen
Warren
Chucky crows bright and early as he always does, waking me for the day, even when I’m not ready to face what might be in store.
Glancing across the bed, Maisie sleeps soundly, and I’m thankful she didn’t get sick. I hate to leave her here alone, but I have to be at work in an hour.
I take a quick shower to help me wake up, then head to the kitchen to whip up a smoothie for her inevitable headache and some breakfast for myself. Grabbing some pills and a glass of water, I go back to my room and see she’s not moved.
“Maze…” I kneel next to her, rubbing the pad of my thumb over her cheek. “I gotta leave for work soon, but I brought you some stuff.”
My eyes lower to her shoulders and the white T-shirt she’s wearing instead of her dress. I left it out on the chair next to my dresser in case she needed it and she must’ve changed in the middle of the night. I vaguely remember hearing her get up to use the bathroom at some point .
“Hm?” She nuzzles into my pillow, which is now going to smell like her, and wrinkles her nose. “What?”
“Hangover smoothie and water is on the nightstand with some meds. New body scrub and hair products in the shower for ya if you wanna use ’em before you go. An extra toothbrush, too.”
She flutters one eye open, finally looking at me. “You finally stocked your bathroom?”
“For you.”
“Wow, that was very sweet.” A shy smile stretches across her face. “Probably more than I deserve.”
“Well…” Unable to resist touching her, I brush loose strands of hair behind her ear. “I’m in this to win you back, especially now knowin’ who I’m up against.”
Her eyes widen as if she forgot she shared that little tidbit.
“Oh my God!” She smacks a palm to her forehead. “I shouldn’t have blurted that.”
“Not the best way to find out my favorite author’s engaged to my wife, but I’m glad I know now. The chickens will enjoy the ripped pages in their coop.”
She gasps, and I chuckle. Did she really think I’d keep those books in my house? At the very least, they can be used for bedding.
“I was gonna tell you…eventually. There was no easy way to mention it without makin’ things tense.”
I shrug, agreeing that it probably put her in a difficult situation once she saw my books.
“Drunk off your ass was one way to go.”
She squeezes her eyes shut. “I’m so sorry for last night. I fucked up.”
“You needed a night where your brain could shut off for a few hours. I’d rather you do that with me than by yourself anyway.”
“My stomach and head are cussin’ me out, but I had fun dancin’ with you. Felt like we were twenty-one again.”
“I did, too.” My grin forms into a scowl. “Until my brothers stole you.”
She groans, digging deeper into the mattress and pulling the covers over her face. “Any chance we can forget last night happened?”
“Not a chance,” I say, yanking them down so I can see her beautiful eyes. “Forever ingrained into my memory. Especially carryin’ you out over my shoulder and you beggin’ me to kiss you in my truck.”
“And now I’m gonna die of humiliation.” She reaches for my pillow and plops it over her face.
“So dramatic.” I chuckle, pushing it away, then cup her cheek and rub the pad of my finger over it. “As long as you stay sober enough tonight to gimme permission, I’ll kiss you—assumin’ you still want me to.”
A blush covers her face and neck.
“We can talk later. For now, rest and take it easy.” I press my lips to her forehead, tempted to slide them lower.
“You have to leave?”
“In a few, yeah. But stay as long as you want, okay? I made your favorite smoothie, assumin’ it’s still your favorite, or if you wanna eat somethin’ else, help yourself to the fridge. There’s also three loaves of banana bread from my mom and Aunt JoJo.”
“Mm…that sounds delicious.” She smiles wide but then pushes herself up and leans against the headboard. “You should know I told him about you. ”
That has me arching a brow and contemplating my next words carefully. “What did you say?”
“The truth.” She swallows hard, but it’s her expression that concerns me. Guilt, maybe? Or hesitation. “When I confessed some things to him, he told me I had a decision to make by the time he arrived on Saturday.”
“He’s coming…here?”
Nodding, her gaze drops to her hands. “He was gonna surprise me. He said if I can’t decide by then, he’ll decide for me.”
Well, fuck.
“Oh.” I scratch over my cheek, the two-day-old scruff feeling rough under my nails.
I’m about to tell her we can cut the seven-day deal short so she has more time to make her decision, but then I remember my brothers’ advice and my parents’ and aunt’s encouragement—they’re rooting for me to remind her why we should be together.
I didn’t suggest this deal to make it easy on her. The purpose is to help her realize what could be and how in love with her I still am. If I don’t give it my all, it’ll be a missed opportunity I’ll never get again.
“Guess that means I better make sure these next two dates are unforgettable.” I wink, grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles. “Because I’m still in this, no matter who he is or what he says.”
Sucking in her lower lip, her teeth drag over it. “Well, I did agree to seven days.”
She’s trying to hide her excitement, which means she wants them as much as I do.
“Good. You still have to meet my chickens, so come at seven and we’ll head out after. ”
“Is this another no-heels situation?”
Standing, I bark out a laugh. “Honestly, wear whatever you want. I’m puttin’ an air mattress with blankets and pillows for the bed of my truck so we’re comfortable. You probably won’t even keep your shoes on.”
“Sounds perfect after dancin’ all night. My body’s not moved like that in a long time.”
That makes me wonder how vanilla Hayes’s and her sex life must be, but then I shake my head to get that thought out of my brain.
“Quick question, though…” One I haven’t been able to stop thinking about all night. “Isn’t Hayes like fifty-something years old?”
“Um…” She coughs as if she hadn’t expected that. “Forty-five.”
Well…that confirms my vanilla theory. Curious if he can even get it?—
Nope, not thinking about that.
“It’s not what you’re thinkin’,” she says, and I snap my gaze to hers, wondering if I said my thoughts aloud. “That I must have daddy issues, right?”
“No…” I am now , though.
Leaning down, I swipe my finger along her lower lip, plucking it out from her front teeth. “I was thinkin’ how it’s been seven years since you’ve been thoroughly fucked that wasn’t in missionary.”
Her mouth opens but then quickly closes, swallowing down her gasp. “What’s wrong with missionary? We’ve done that.”
“Sure, in between a dozen other ones.” She loved being flipped around, pressed into the shower wall, or ride me in the back of my truck .
I stand to my full height, no longer touching her. “You’re tellin’ me you get off being in one position the whole time? Does he make sure you come first?”
“That’s pretty bold comin’ from someone who hasn’t had sex in years! Just because he’s a little older?—”
“A little?” I bite out. “He was gettin’ his driver’s license when you were exitin’ the womb.”
She rolls her eyes, crossing her arms as if it’s not the first time she’s heard comments about their age gap. Honestly, it only bothers me because it’s him .
A person I idolized because of how much I enjoyed his books and now every one I’ve read feels like a stab to my chest. Every word a lie.
And fuck yeah, I’m being petty, but I no longer care.
“Well, it’s a good thing we didn’t meet until I was twenty-six.”
“You’re not worried that you’ll only be forty-four when he’s sixty? Does he have to take Viagra to fuck you?”
“Warren!” She slides out of the bed, then pushes me out of her way, but I barely move.
“That’s an honest question. Men tend to lose their ability to get it up naturally as they age.”
“So what? Women go through menopause and sometimes lose their sex drives. It’s not supposed to be a deal breaker.”
“But you’d usually go through it together being from the same decade.”
“Well, sometimes people fall in love with older or younger people. Why is this any of your business?”
My jaw tenses and reality slaps me in the face. I’m being a jealous dick.
“You’re right. It’s not.”
Oh except, you’re my wife . And the thought of another man touching her makes me feral. Perhaps it was better when Hayes was a faceless person I had no connection to.
A little too late for that.
I grab my wallet and phone off my dresser but then pause at the thoughts taking over.
“How do you know you’re not his midlife crisis? You met three years ago? He would’ve been in his early forties when a lot of men have affairs or buy expensive cars.”
She stomps until she’s in front of me, tilting her head to meet my hard gaze, hands plastered on her hips. “Are you that insecure you’re gonna nitpick everythin’ about him to justify how I could possibly be with a man like him when I was with a man like you first?”
“Maybe, and yeah, I don’t get it.”
She pokes me in the chest, glaring with fury. “You don’t have to get it! It’s not your life, it’s mine.”
“Your borin’ and miserable life?” I blurt, no longer able to stop the words coming out of my mouth. “It’s why you work yourself to death. It’s why these past few nights have made you come alive for the first time in years. Why you could let loose—you knew you were safe with me.”
“I already told you I work a lot because I love my job.” She huffs, throwing her arms up and pacing. “So which is it now? I work too much because I’m bored or because he’s not sexually satisfyin’ me?”
Both?
“You don’t need to work as much as you do.
It’s not like you need the money! You have a trust fund, for fuck’s sake.
Your parents paid for your apartment and everythin’ else you needed, which means you work yourself to death because you’re missin’ somethin’ in your life.
You work to fill the void instead of admittin’ work is all you have to live for.
Do you even have friends outside of the industry? ”