Chapter Six
CROW
Two Weeks Later
T humbing the ring in my pocket, I thought about how things with Paisley and I were going better than I’d expected. We’d been getting along for the most part, only a few minor disagreements. Something I’d expected seeing as we’d grown up bumping heads. But at the end of the day, we were happy and making it work.
Except for the secret you’re still hiding from her.
I blew out a breath. I knew I needed to fill her in before she somehow found out on her own, but the timing hadn’t been right and the more time that passed, the more I convinced myself that I’d do it later.
She’d understand once she knew. She had to.
“Nathan?”
“In here, baby!”
In walked Paisley with another bag with the unmistakable baby boutique logo on the front. She came right to me and offered her lips, which I greedily accepted.
“Missed you.” Fuck, but she was too sweet.
“What’d you get?”
“Too much,” she giggled. P and Arizona had been shopping up a storm for stuff for the nursery and it was almost complete. When she asked if it was okay to make my guest room into a nursery, I couldn’t agree fast enough. From then on, I’d slowly been convincing her to bring more and more of her things over. My goal was to have her completely moved in by the time Violet came.
Violet.
I still couldn’t believe our daughter finally had a name. We’d gone through list after list of baby names we found on the internet and had finally agreed on one we both liked.
She shook the bag. “I’m just going to put this stuff in the nursery then start on dinner.”
I nodded and made for the kitchen, hopping up on the island to wait for P. It had become a routine, one of my favorites in fact. The kitchen had become the hub where we caught up on our days while P made dinner and I kept her company.
The energy in the room shifted, and an uncomfortable feeling came over me. I couldn’t explain it, but in a nanosecond, I knew something was wrong. I slid off the island, spun around, and froze. P was standing in the doorway with her eyes trained on a paper in her hand, and I knew my time was up.
Slowly, she lifted her head and her eyes met mine. Confusion, anger, deceit all staring at me. “Nathan?”
The sound of her voice breaking had a fear like I’d never known consume me. I knew I’d messed up, but she had to understand. I rubbed my hands down my jeans. “Let me explain. Please!”
“How exactly do you plan on explaining this, Crow ? Another lie? We’re fucking married? This is a Las Vegas marriage license,” she hissed.
“I was going to tell you!” I swore, moving around the island towards her. She lifted her hands, a silent command to stay back, and I stopped in my tracks.
“When?” she asked calmly, tears gathering on her beautiful lashes. “Two weeks, Crow . We’ve been together every day for two weeks and you’ve had plenty of opportunities. Instead, you keep this secret.” She waved the paper around again as tears cascaded down her cheeks. “You know what? Just save it, Crow . I thought we were building something, but just like everything else, it’s all bullshit!”
“No,” I shook my head. That wasn’t true. “I love you, Paisley,” I tried to reach for her, but she yanked her hand back.
“Don’t fucking touch me.” She looked at me with disgust and my stomach dropped. How had we gotten here? “Stay away from me, Crow . Understand.”
I stood there in shock as a single question played on repeat in my head.
What the fuck just happened?