First comes love.
Then comes marriage.
Then comes a-
Unfortunately, life is not a checklist, and there's no white picket fences and baby carriages. After a failed long and stable relationship, Arryn Rivera tries her hand at online dating and gets mo...
اوووه! هذه الصورة لا تتبع إرشادات المحتوى الخاصة بنا. لمتابعة النشر، يرجى إزالتها أو تحميل صورة أخرى.
Rhys pulled into traffic and took his mind back to the earlier interview, and how Arryn took command. It was a side he'd not seen before, and he liked it. Everything she said seemed sincere like she believed all that stuff about his ability. He admitted she'd gone beyond his expectation of endorsement. Made him out to be a better husband than he was. Husband. Until today, the word sounded foreign to him, because he'd not thought of himself that way. But now, he did. He was Arryn's husband, and lies be damned, he wanted to be.
He watched her stare out the window. The late afternoon sun highlighted wisps of curly hair that had hung over her forehead from her high ponytail. He liked to watch her pull it up. Gather it with both hands, hold it with one, while she raked through the stands with the other to smooth it. The way she twisted and turned her head with the procedure did things to him. Crazy things.
God, he wanted her back in his bed. In his arms. But she didn't feel the same way, because earlier when he moved to touch her, she pulled away. Tonight, he'd have an excuse to hold her. There'd be dancing at the party.
As he made the final turn down the road to his cabin, he looked over at her. "I haven't mentioned what a great job you did decorating the house." She didn't face him, just continued to gaze outside. He wondered what was on her mind. She'd hardly talked all the way home.
"Thanks. I decided I may never have a house this beautiful again, so I splurged. Besides, our daughter will spend time here during the holidays, so I want it to be special for her. Until you remarry, I'll be happy to help with it each season."
Rhys' chest tightened. "We don't need to worry about that right now. I mean, there's no deadline for a divorce."
Now she turned to face him. "I understand. It's still ten weeks before the baby comes, but by next Christmas, you'll be a year into working for Rolland, and your track record will speak for itself. You won't need a wife anymore."
He wanted to argue the point, but it seemed she had it all planned out, so what was the use? He stopped in the drive and killed the engine. Next Christmas. He'd have a baby girl, with Arryn's dark hair and maybe his eyes. That made him smile. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to convince her mother to stay, too.
Once inside the cabin, he went to his room and Arryn to hers. He hated that. More today than yesterday. He wondered if this was how it would be from now on—living as strangers when they were alone, but as the perfect couple in public. Well, he had to take the blame for that. He'd made her play by his rules, and she'd agreed. The baby didn't come until February. Arryn had no job. No house. She couldn't leave. She had nowhere else to go. As mean as that was, it made him happy. Maybe he still had time.
While she finished getting ready, he waited on the back deck, breathing in the frosty air. He loved the country. No traffic sounds. No hustle and bustle. Life slowed, and he needed it to survive, but it occurred to him, she might get lonely.
