Page 71 of Marrying Off My Husband

“I’d like to explain.”

She flicked her gaze to me. “You don’t have to. I told Louise this last night. You are married. You don’t need to explain what happens between you.”

“I do when I’m dating you.”

“Fake dating,” she said.

The words sliced through my heart like a scalpel. “I know. But I’d still…I’d like to explain what you saw.”

She sighed, her eyes falling on Louise. “I think we should concentrate on her right now.”

“She’s not going to be awake for hours. And you should know.”

She shifted in her seat, still refusing to look at me. “All right.”

I swallowed hard, celebrating the tiny win of her entertaining my explanation. “What you saw was…”

Her gaze fell to her lap as I stammered around, searching for the right words.

“Well, it was fake.”

Her eyes slid sideways to me. “Fake?”

“Yes,” I answered, my heart suddenly hammering against my ribs. “I…we…oh, this is really embarrassing.”

I blew out a shaky breath as she finally twisted to face me.

“Louise asked why we hadn’t kissed yet, and I said…well, I told her that I hadn’t kissed anyone in a while. And shesuggested we practice. And that’s what you saw. Really stupid. Just one friend trying to encourage another. That’s it.”

I finally glanced up at her, trying to stop my hands from shaking.

She stared at me, confusion etched into her features. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

“I’m so sorry. It was must have looked…pretty bad. But I…there’s nothing between Louise and I. We were just…practicing, that’s it.”

Her gaze shifted back to Louise. “I feel terrible. Louise deserved so much better from me.”

I reached across to pat her arm. “She got it. Most people wouldn’t have helped her after what they saw. But you did.”

“She must have felt so abandoned by me, though,” Eve said, tears shining in her eyes.

I wanted to race around the bed and comfort her, but I wasn’t sure it would be welcome. So, instead, I sat there like I normally did, held back by my own fears. “Whenever she wakes up, she’ll know that you didn’t abandon her, and you’ll be even better friends.”

“Poor Louise. She really drew the short straw when it came to mothers, didn’t she?”

My shoulders slumped as I watched Eve’s features pinch over the misunderstanding when I was the one who had felt so guilty. If I’d only had the strength to go after her. Louise had tried and failed, but I hadn’t tried at all.

We sat in silence, the beep of the heart monitor reminding us of Louise’s life hanging between us. She had been the person who brought us together, and still did as we sat vigil at her bedside, waiting for her to awake.

After a few moments, Eve flicked her gaze to me, her features still pinched. “I’m so sorry I thought the worst of both of you.”

I offered her an awkward smile, guilt still eating at me. “It’s okay. We didn’t really give you much else to think.”

She shook her head. “That’s just an excuse. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. And I definitely should have let Louise explain.”

“It’s okay. We’ll just…do better moving forward.”

She offered me a sad smile before she sucked in a breath, stifling a yawn. “I’m sorry, I didn’t sleep much. Do you want some coffee?”

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