Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Parker
It felt like I had a thousand tiny bruises all over my body.
Not that Tristan wasn’t careful with me—he was, but I’d never had so much sex in my life.
I couldn’t go near him without wanting to touch him and touching him led to more touching, which led to naked touching, which led to my body feeling like I’d been run over.
“You look beautiful.” Tristan squeezed my hand as we stood on Gabriel and Autumn’s doorstep. “You have nothing to be nervous about.”
“These people have known you forever and love you. I know I’ve met them before, but that was different. We weren’t . . . I didn’t care before. Now I want them to like me.”
“They will like you. Because I like you.”
I groaned. “That’s a terrible thing to say! I want them to like me because I’m a likeable person, not just because—”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” He turned me toward him and cupped my face in his hands, my anxiety draining away.
I was safe, without a care in the world.
“They’re going to like you because you’re kind and funny and a great listener, and for all the reasons I like you.
Not just because you’re my wife. That’s what I meant. ”
“Well, when you put it like that, maybe it’s okay.” I grinned up at him like he’d just said exactly the right thing. Because he had. “Do they know that we’re . . . whatever we are?”
He knew without me having to explain what I meant. “I imagine so. They know most things about me before I realize it.”
I laughed. “The best kind of friends.”
“You’re going to have to stop wearing lipstick so I can kiss you without looking like I’m into drag.”
I shook my head. “Not going to happen.”
Autumn threw open the door, looked at Tristan then at me, then at our joined hands, and squealed. “I knew it.” She gathered us both in a hug before releasing us and racing into the house. “Gabriel! Hollie!” she called over her shoulder. “I told you it would happen in Mexico. They’re holding hands.”
“Does she know we can hear her talking about us?” I asked.
“The good thing about Autumn is that whatever she’s thinking comes out of her mouth. And the bad thing about Autumn is that whatever she’s thinking comes out of her mouth.”
We wandered into the living room, where Gabriel, Dexter, Hollie, and Autumn were all staring at us.
“I’m so excited for you guys,” Autumn said. “You seem so perfect together.”
“Autumn,” Gabriel practically growled, “leave Tristan and Parker alone. If they want to talk about it, they’ll talk about it.”
Autumn looked at us hopefully. “You want to talk about it? Please God, tell me you want to talk about it.”
“I’m hungry,” said Tristan, taking a seat and pulling me down on the sofa next to him. “And Parker and I are a real couple now. We’re taking each day as it comes.”
That was short and to the point. Hopefully the explanation would satisfy everyone and we could focus on having a pleasant evening.
Hollie sat and sucked in a breath, clearly trying to decide whether or not she had something to say. My heart sank when she began to speak. “But there’s no reason why you have to get divorced in ninety days, is there?” she asked. “If you’re a couple, and you’re happy, why would you get divorced?”
“Exactly,” Autumn said, taking a seat next to her sister. “You’d only have to go and get married again later.”
“Which could be fun.” Hollie and Autumn exchanged a mischievous glance.
They didn’t need anyone else to participate in their conversation.
“You two are going to get deported if you don’t watch it,” Tristan said.
Gabriel stood up. “Yeah, you should both be careful, because if anyone can make it happen, it’s Tristan. He’ll put you on Interpol’s most-wanted list and you’ll end up in a maximum-security prison serving life sentences.”
“Do lifers get conjugal visits?” Autumn asked, squeezing Gabriel’s bottom as he passed in front of her. “Did I mention I made sticky toffee pudding and it looks phenomenal?”
I could barely keep up. We’d covered our relationship, prison regulations, and baking in a two-minute window.
Gabriel came back into the living room, carrying a tray of champagne glasses. “I thought we’d celebrate the happy couple,” he said, easing the tray onto the coffee table.
The happy couple? I supposed there were two of us, and we were happy. I took a glass and clinked it against everyone else’s.
“How’s that table coming on, Gabriel?” Tristan asked.
“I’ll show you if you like,” he said.
Tristan slid his hand around my waist. “I’m just going to have a look at something in Gabriel’s workshop. You want to come?”
“I’m okay here,” I said, although I wasn’t quite sure if that was true. He pressed a kiss against the side of my head and stood.
“Tell us all about Mexico,” Hollie said as the door closed behind Gabriel and Tristan. “I’ve always wanted to go.”
“It was beautiful,” I said. “The beaches were incredible.”
“Tristan’s so attentive to you,” Autumn said.
Her eyes were bright and excitable, and she kind of bounced in her seat when she talked.
“It’s adorable. I just knew he was going to fall hard when he finally found someone worthy of him.
He’s such a great guy and so clever and perceptive.
It was clear the player stuff was just an act until he found someone he really cared about. ”
“Player stuff?” I asked.
“She didn’t mean player—Autumn, did you?” Hollie asked.
“Sorry, no. Tristan is just always super flirtatious. Like, I think it’s almost an addiction or some kind of game to him. He likes female attention and he’s very good at . . . getting women to fawn over him.”
Fawn over him? Is that what they thought I was doing?
I took a breath. I wasn’t sure why I was in the middle of this conversation, but it didn’t feel good.
Tristan and I hadn’t known each other long, but it felt like I knew who he was.
I didn’t want two near-perfect strangers telling me something about my husband that I didn’t already know.
I needed to be able to trust that the man I saw was the man he was.
I’d had enough men pretending to be people they weren’t to last me a lifetime.
“Autumn, you’re making him sound like an asshole. And he’s not. He’s just flirtatious and he’s never seemed particularly set on being a one-woman guy—”
I jumped to my feet, too uncomfortable to stay seated. “I think I’d like to see Gabriel’s workshop after all.”
“Oh God!” Autumn said and she rushed to the door. “Tristan! Come back here. I’ve upset Parker.”
I tried to take some deep breaths. I was sure Autumn and Hollie were trying to be kind by pointing out how my relationship with Tristan was different from any he’d had before, but characterizing him as a flirtatious player wasn’t the way to do it.
Tristan appeared in the doorway. “I was gone two minutes. What did you two do?”
“I called you a player,” Autumn said. “I was trying to say you’re different with Parker, but it came out . . . sideways.”
“It’s fine,” I said. I just wanted everyone to stop talking.
“And I was trying to say how nice it is to see you reformed,” Hollie said.
“Fucking hell, you two. Bloody Americans. I want to talk to Parker, privately.”
“No,” I said. “I’m fine.” I didn’t want to blow this up into some big drama.
“I’m so sorry.” An alarm started ringing in the kitchen and Autumn ran past us both. “Shit, it’s the chicken. Gabriel,” she called out, “your dinner is burning!”
“Is this too much for you?” he asked. “It’s not like this with Stella. She’s less . . . boisterous. We should have gone to dinner at Beck’s place.”
“They’re in Barbados,” Gabriel said, striding out of his workshop. “You’re stuck with us. Come eat some burnt chicken and we can unpick whatever Autumn has done.” He guided us to the dining room and I let him, despite the fact that I had my metaphorical running shoes half laced up.
Tristan sat on the shiny oak bench and I slid in next to him. I felt like we were about to embark on group therapy, but I just wanted to forget everything. Autumn and Gabriel piled dish upon dish upon dish on the table, handed out plates, and everyone began to help themselves.
“Okay,” Tristan said. “So what exactly did you say, Autumn? Let’s deal with this.”
Autumn and Hollie were like a double act, relaying what they had said to me in the living room. “It was meant to be a compliment,” Autumn said.
Tristan shook his head. “I’m a pretty laid-back guy. I don’t mind being roasted by you lot. I can take your jabs and your jokes.”
“Yes,” Hollie said. “You’re lovely.”
Tristan ignored her and continued. “But there are some things that I’m not laid back about. I’m not laid back about work. I’m not laid back about anyone who hurts my family. And I’m not laid back about people weighing in on Parker and me.”
My stomach somersaulted at the idea that I was some kind of exception in Tristan’s life.
“We weren’t trying to hurt her, Tristan,” Hollie said.
“Honestly we weren’t,” Autumn added.
“I know you meant well. You both have good hearts, but despite the fact that we’re married, Parker and I are still getting to know each other.” Tristan was calm but firm in his tone.
He squeezed my leg. “I’ve always been a flirt. I’ve always liked women. That’s not to say I was shagging everything in London.”
It felt like the entire table was watching for my reaction. I wanted to slide off the bench and under the table. “I flirt,” Tristan continued. “Or I used to. I was single a long time before you.”
I nodded. He never talked about a serious girlfriend, so what he was telling me shouldn’t be news. He was hot and solvent—no doubt he had ninety percent of the single straight women of London panting for his attention. “Okay,” I said. “It’s fine.”
“By getting married like we have, we’ve lied to a lot of people. But I’ve not lied to you. I promise.”
“I’m sorry,” Autumn said. “Tristan is a lovely, lovely man who takes more than his fair share of shit from these guys.” She pointed at Gabriel and Dexter. “We’re just so happy that he’s found someone who makes him so happy.”
Warmth thawed out my ready-to-run limbs and my shoulders unlocked. “He makes me really happy too,” I said. “It’s early days and the way things started for us—”
“The cream puffs!” Autumn said. “He told us all about how you peeled one from your dress and took a bite. He knew right then and there he had to take you out.”
A smile unfurled on my face and I turned to Tristan. “That’s when you decided to bid?”
“I didn’t know you were being auctioned at that point. But I knew I wanted to get to know you. Any woman more concerned with enjoying a cream puff than preserving her dress is a special case.”
I laughed. Tristan slid his hand over my leg and squeezed.
“I think what my beautiful fiancée was trying to say was,” Gabriel said, his tone low and steady, “we care about Tristan a great deal. We just want to see him happy.”
“I am happy,” Tristan said.
“You hear that, Americans?” Gabriel said. “He’s happy.” He shot them a look that said they needed to watch what they said. From the way they responded, they’d had the look before.
It was no wonder Tristan was a flirt—it would be a waste if he wasn’t.
With his smile and those pale blue eyes, most people probably assumed he was flirting even when he wasn’t.
Now he flirted with me exclusively. I made him happy.
The idea that Tristan’s happiness was something I contributed to filled me with a warmth I’d not experienced before.
It was like an ice cube, buried deep in my heart, that I’d resigned myself would stay frozen forever, had started to melt.