Page 101 of The Billionaire's Wife

“Hey.” Megan interjected. “We aren’t mean.”

I made a humming sound. “Anyway, it made me and Tristan talk—for real—and put all our cards on the table. Speaking of which, why don’t the ladies play poker with the men? I like poker.”

Megan laughed. “That is a can of worms we have all tried to open and then given up on. But there’s nothing stopping us from breaking out the cards when we’re hanging out.”

“We should. Then we can organize a co-ed night and clean their clocks.”

Megan shook her head. “You think we would? I know Cody’s pretty good. I haven’t actually ever played poker.”

“For real?” I brushed away her objection. “I’ll teach you. It’s easy.”

Megan looked skeptical. “Back to you and Tristan. What does having those cards out mean? Be specific.”

I shook my head, chuckling. “It means we’re married. And we’re going to stay that way. And not because of outside forces, but because we want to.”

I could tell Megan wanted to ask about the outside forces, but I was saved from having to dodge by a customer and her armful of books. The look Megan sent as she headed back to the office worried me slightly. I’d need to ask Tristan what we were telling his—our—friends about the whole Ortega thing.

And that would all be easier if we had closure on the legal end of things.

I pushed the thoughts away and smiled at the woman. “Did you find everything all right?”

“I did. I don’t know how I missed this place before! And to use the Stephen King quote in the name of the store is so clever.” She beamed and set the stack of books down. “I’ll be back. Probably tomorrow, honestly, because the coffee is amazing. And the brownies. Although I can’t eat those every day or I’ll be waddling inside of a week. The local and indie authors section is so fun—I’ll be sharing that with some friends.”

I grinned and rang up the books, letting the woman prattle on. She didn’t seem to need more than an occasional nod or grunt of agreement, and that was easy enough to provide. Even better? She didn’t blink at the final total—just tapped her credit card to the machine while she continued to gush.

“I put a calendar of store events in the bag. We have author readings and signings often, as well as some fun events for kids. And there will be sales starting Friday going through Christmas that you won’t want to miss.” I slid the bag of books across to her. “Thanks for coming in.”

“Thank you!” She peeked in the bag, grinned, and then headed for the door.

I had just enough time to shoot Tristan a text asking about how much I could say to Megan before another customer approached with a pile of books.

Between the steady stream of customers and going through the shelves to straighten books and note what needed restocking, the rest of my afternoon passed quickly. For once, I was actually anxious to leave on time. To go home.

How long had it been since I’d had a real home? One I was excited to get to?

Too long.

I knocked on the office door before entering to grab my stuff. “I’m off.”

Megan looked up from the computer and frowned. “Already?”

Her gaze darted to the clock on the wall.

“Yeah. It’s time. But business was good today. I think the café is going to be a winner. I left restocking notes for shelves that are looking bare if I couldn’t find anything in storage that would go there. When did you last do inventory?”

Megan winced. “I’m behind. I’ll bump it up on the list if I have downtime tonight.”

“Okay. If there’s a way for me to help, let me know.” I gathered my things. “Have a good night.”

“You too.” Megan lifted a hand before returning her attention to the computer.

I pulled the door to the office closed behind me and did a quick scan of the store. It wasn’t crowded and the few people left seemed happy to be engrossed in their coffee and treats. Hopefully, Megan would come out before anyone needed help.

If things kept up this way, she was really going to need to think about another full-time employee. She needed to be focused on the business details, not trying to do it all. I wasn’t sure if I had the rapport with her to mention that, but I’d think about it.

I exited the store and started down the sidewalk toward home. There was a wet chill in the air that hadn’t been there this morning. The sun had set—thanks daylight savings—and a wrinkle of unease settled in my gut.

Maybe I did need a car. Or at least to start driving the one I had. Tristan was right, though. It wasn’t super reliable. Which meant maybe tonight we could do some looking online to see what I might want to buy. I was definitely going to pay half. That was nonnegotiable. I’d prefer to pay it all, but I didn’t want it enough to have a big fight with Tristan about it.

---