Page 47 of Teddy

“I thought we covered this already,” he says calmly, his fingers in my hair pulling me around to face him. “You didn’t drag me into anything. And you aren’t fucking up my life.”

“I’ll get it changed,” I whisper, unable to look away from those deep brown eyes. “I’ll give you back your name.”

“Kipp,” he says softly, shaking his head. He opens his mouth but closes it again before letting me go. I try my best not to mourn the loss, but it feels a little like I’m a boat that’s just been unmoored. “It’s not a legal name change. You’d have to file paperwork with the Social Security Administration. You’re okay.”

“Oh,” I say, wondering why the hell I’m so disappointed by that. “So I’m still a Mercer?”

There’s a pause before he says, “Yes, you are.”

“Okay. Well, there’s that, at least,” I mutter, blowing out a breath. “Guess the pictures weren’t wrong, though, huh? We really did tie the knot.”

“Guess so,” Teddy says.

“Who, um…who’s John Elvis?” I ask, pointing at our witness.

Teddy snorts. “I’m guessing we got married with an Elvis impersonator.”

I groan. “I can’t believe my memories of this are gone. If we ever get married again, we’re recording the whole thing.”

It only takes me a second to realize what I said.

“Not that we’d get married again,” I hasten to add. “Or if we did, it wouldn’t be at a Vegas chapel. It’d probably be somewhere understated but nice, like near the mountains at sunset. That’d be a pretty backdrop, you know? And holy shit, I swear I’m not planning our second wedding.”

Teddy chuckles, which is good because otherwise I’d be very concerned about getting tossed out on my ass. The man is definitely a saint for putting up with me.

“You want an outdoor wedding?” he asks, his fingers tracing over the shell of my ear.

I swallow. “I haven’t actually thought much about it.” Lies.

He hums, his hand falling away. “Maybe next time.”

What?

“What, Teddy?” I call after the man who’s now halfway down the hall. “Teddy! You can’t honestly tell me you’d marry me twice. You’ve met me. You know my red flags. Every single one of them.” I pause to consider. “I think.”

He chuckles loudly. A second later, the shower comes on.

Fuck.

Why the hell does my husband have to be so damn charming?

And why the hell don’t I want him to stop?

Chapter 13

Teddy

“Daddy.”

Silence.

“Daddy. Daddy. Daddy.”

I press my lips together tight.

“I can see you smiling,” Kipp says. “Just because your eyes are closed, that doesn’t mean you’re invisible.”

I do my best not to laugh, I really do, but a snort sneaks out.

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