54. Stefan
54
STEFAN
Wren seems to have lost the ability to speak, so I answer and fill Jaxson in on everything relating to Wren and me. From sneaking around. To Simon Simon and the text. The drinks and then our wedding. I leave out the sexy parts but the lingering sex smell in the room kinda gives that away.
“What? How? What?” he stammers. This is the first time I’ve ever seen Jaxson Scott speechless and rocked to his core … and I’ve done some crazy shit over the years. “You’ve been sneaking around for months?”
“Yep,” I reply letting the ‘p’ pop.
“So this marriage, it’s real?”
Wren and I both answer but it’s with different responses. Mine is a resounding, “Yes,” and hers is a stern “No,” accompanied by a headshake.
“What the fuck do you mean no?” I snap at Wren.
“Exactly that, we can’t stay married Stefan.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“We got married ’cause we were drunk, Stefan.”
“So?” I hiss back at her.
“It needs to end, Stefan.”
I’m pissed the fuck off that she’s talking about ending this … and I don’t know if she’s referring to our nuptials or us in general. The thought of losing her completely doesn’t sit well with me.
“What are you suggesting, Wren?” Jaxson asks her. Finally his tone is less angry and the urge to punch my agent in the face is no longer there, but now I want to throttle my wife for suggesting we end this.
“Well, I think Stefan and I need to get an annulment. We can head down to the courthouse and with a few signatures, boom, we’re no longer married.”
“That won’t be happening, sweetheart. We are NOT getting an annulment.”
“Uhhh, yeah, we are,” she sasses back at me.
“Think again, wife,” I throw back at her. My anger levels have risen to a level I have never felt before, and I’m a hockey player. Aggression is in our blood but this, this is next level.
“Stop calling me wife,” she snaps, and from the expression on her face, she’s as angry as I am now … just at the opposite end of the scale. I love when Wren gets fired up like this. Seeing her all hot and bothered gets me all hot and bothered. If Jaxson wasn’t here right now, I’d bend her over the back of the sofa and fuck her so hard that she’ll forget about this annulment shit.
It’s funny. Of the two of us, you’d think I’d be camping out at the courthouse eagerly waiting to get this annulled, but I don’t want that. I want to stay married. I want to be Wren’s husband. I want to grow old with her. In layman’s terms, I just want her. Wren brings out the best in me, and I’m a better person with her by my side. She’s tenacious and focused. She’s fun to be around and between the sheets, she’s a spitfire. She’s perfect in every way, and I want her as much as I want hockey.
“Well, wife, ” I emphasize the word. “You and I fucked, several times, therefore we consummated the marriage. The only way you’re getting rid of me is to divorce me.”
“Fine,” she hisses. Staring defiantly at me, she stands up, cocks her hip to the side, and rests her hand there. With her eyes glued to mine, she growls, “I. Want. A. Divorce.” She emphasizes each word with a pause.
“No,” I adamantly state.
“No,” she repeats and I’ve never heard her use that tone before.
“That’s right, Wren, no. N-fucking-O! No! This happened for a reason. You love me and I love you?—”
“Love isn’t a reason to get married while drunk in Vegas.”
“Are you listening to yourself right now, Wren? Love IS the reason you get married,” I place emphasis on is. “Wren,” I lower my tone, “it’s the ultimate reason to get and stay married. Those who love one another want to get married and buy a house with a wraparound porch so that every Sunday night they can watch the sunset together. They want to get married because they cannot imagine a life without the other. They want to get married because the other person makes them happier than they’ve ever been before. Love is the whole reason for marriage and, Wren, you and I love one another. Marriage was inevitable for us.”
Her eyes widen and her breath hitches. “You … you remembered.”
Crossing the room, I stop in front of her. Cupping her cheeks in my palms, I stare into her baby blues. “I remember everything about you, Wren ‘no middle name’ D?uchmen.” She rolls her eyes at that but there’s also a hint of a smile. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, Wren. I love you with everything I have and then some. I really want to stay married to you but the question remains, do you want to stay married to me?”