Page 65 of Broken Bonds

I don’t know if he means more fun in our bed or if he’s talking about our adventure outside this house. None of that is important, as long as we are together.

Together and moving forward.

Because the future awaits us.

Chapter 21

“The best husband awards are on the other side,” Lionel murmurs in my ear, making my body shudder at his nearness.

Smiling, I turn to face him, three small golden statuettes like those of the academy awards are in my hands.

“Unfortunately for you, the deal is three for ten dollars, and I already have all the ones I need.”

I raise the three souvenirs to see what they have written on the base. It is more than clear who they are for. One for my mother, another for Valerie, who will laugh hysterically when she sees the ridiculous gift, and another for my aunt Felicia, who’s been helping my mother with my bees the last couple of weeks. She’s my father’s sister, the only one who still lives in Carrollton, and we have a pretty close relationship.

Lionel presses his hand to his chest, in a somewhat exaggerated gesture. I know he was wounded quite close to the heart, the doctor told us in the hospital, an inch to the left, and it would’ve been a different story.

“Let’s pay for this, it’s time to up my game.” Lionel takes my hand and leads me to the register, where he pays for the awards, a few postcards, and magnets I picked out. Yeah, today I’m playing the tourist part. Souvenirs, check.

For about an hour, we have been wandering around the famous star-studded sidewalk. Having a new phone with the best camera on the market has its benefits, tonight I will be able to send a thousand photos to Valerie and my mother. I’m sure they will be over the moon.

“Are you going to take me to the wax museum?” I joke with him for the millionth time, making him roll his eyes in response.

“You’re out of your mind. I’m not going into that tourist trap,” he says.

“And I thought you were upping your game by making your wife happy,” I add, getting up on the balls of my feet to kiss his unshaven jaw. “Haven’t you heard that happy wife, happy life?”

His hands wrap around my waist as we wait our turn to pay. “It turns out, I know many other ways to make my wife happy, and none of them involve seeing celebrity wax figures.”

Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes. “You are so boring, Lionel.”

He laughs softly before murmuring in my ear, “I bet you will regret saying that later. I accept blow jobs as a payment method.”

“I married a romantic,” I sigh, complaining dramatically.

“I have my moments.” That is the last thing he says before it’s our turn to pay, and we leave the store holding hands to where the luxury black SUV that has been driving us around awaits.

“Where are we going now?” I ask him without taking my eyes off the window as the driver drives through the crowded streets. There is so much to see here, so many places I would love to go.

“The possibilities are endless,” he answers, and I’m sure it’s true. But I doubt the day will be long enough for that and he’s still recovering.

“What’s your plan?” I insist, and he puts his hand on my knee. The leather seats we are sitting on are separated, so more than a foot is between us.

“To make you happy, what else?”

And with that, our conversation is finished. It isn’t until the car stops in front of a small street that it’s impossible not to recognize. I’ve seen it thousands of times in magazines and movies, especially in Pretty Woman, one of my favorites. Valerie and I must have seen it at least a hundred times.

We get out of the car at the foot of the stairs next to the jewelry famous for its blue boxes.

“Do you want to go in?” Lionel tugs on my hand when he realizes I’m carefully watching every detail of the vertical lines that adorn the stone façade.

“I can’t afford anything they sell in there, so window shopping is fine with me.”

He laughs. “You can buy whatever you want without thinking about it twice, believe me, we won’t be short on money just because you give yourself a little treat.”

I look at him out of the corner of my eye, focusing on the stores on the other side. Everything is just as I imagined, yes, but there are more people around.

“I don’t need any of that to be happy,” I declare. “Let’s go for a walk, it’s a lovely day and I don’t want to fight about money.”

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