Page 75 of Wed to You

She looked at their entwined hands and nodded. “Yes.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Then how about some pizza?”

Her smile could have lit the city with its brilliance. “I love pizza.”

He laughed. “I know. Eat as much as you want. We’ll need the fuel.”

She blushed again, making him relieved she was still open to more sex.

When the first bite hit Jagger’s stomach, he realized just how hungry he was. He never ate well when a family visit was involved. He devoured the first piece and took a second piece before Chelsea had eaten even a third of her first piece.

She broke the silence. “I hope I wasn’t a disappointment.”

He stopped mid-bite. He set the pizza down, chewing and picking up a napkin to wipe his mouth. Once he swallowed, he turned to her. “Disappointment?” He shook his head. “Don’t let the things my dad or any of them say get to you.”

“They get to you.”

“I know, and as you said in the car, I need to let it go. It’s hard, because I’ve had it my whole life. God, Chelsea, don’t let them hurt you. You’re beautiful and kind and I don’t know what I’d do if something they said stuck with you.”

She smiled. “As long as I didn’t embarrass or disappoint you, I’m okay.”

He studied her dark brown eyes, wondering what he’d said or done that had given her the impression he was disappointed. “No, you didn’t. You were gracious and put up with much more than you should have. I’m so sorry you had to endure that. I wish I’d warned you—”

“You did.”

“Not well enough, I don’t think.”

She smiled reassuringly. “I’m not sure you could have. It was hard to imagine the way you described your dad as someone being real. A book or movie maybe, but not in life.”

Jagger bit his lower lip, not wanting to ask the next question, but needing the answer. “Why did you change your mind? About the sex. Pity?”

She flinched. “No. I didn’t feel pity. I felt angry at your dad and sad that he can’t see the wonderful man you are. Even worse, he makes you forget how wonderful you are.” She set her pizza down and gripped both his hands with hers. “That’s why I changed my mind. Because you’re wonderful. You’re generous and loving. What you’re doing for Kaden...that’s what you’re shielding him from, isn’t it? I know you’re safeguarding his trust, but what’s really important to you is that your father doesn’t hurt him emotionally or psychologically. I think that is so amazing. What you’ve done to protect Kaden’s self-esteem and let him be a little boy.”

Jagger let her words wash through him, cleaning away the hurt and bitterness from his father. He lifted her hands, brushing his lips along her knuckles. For the first time in a long time, he didn’t feel alone in the world in his quest to keep Kaden and defend him from his greedy father. Sure, Grayson, Miss Z, and Mrs. Stanton supported him, but he was their boss. He supposed, in some ways, his relationship with Chelsea could be seen as a business deal, as he had paid all her debts. But Chelsea didn’t say those words because she was playing the role of wife or earning her keep. They were real. And they touched him deep in his chest, in a place he’d never been touched before.

“That and, let’s face it, Jagger, you’re too sexy to resist.”

He laughed. “You did a pretty good job of it.”

“It was hard.”

“It was hard for me too.”

Her expression was dubious, which surprised him. Didn’t she know how attractive she was? How hard it had been to agree to her terms?

She withdrew her hands and reached for her pizza. “I hope you weren’t disappointed in that either.”

Her words came out in a murmur, as if she wasn’t sure she wanted him to hear.

“Did I act disappointed? Do you know how many cold showers I’ve taken to keep my word not to touch you?”

“Or maybe…”

“Dammit, Chelsea. I haven’t wanted to touch another woman, not because I agreed not to, but because you’re the only one I wanted to touch.”

Her eyes were round. The surprise in them baffled him.

“Why are you looking at me like you don’t believe me?”

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