Page 25 of Wake Me Up Before You Cocoa

Unfortunately, she was right, though.

Marina Cormier was like a magnet to him. But what did it mean?

Wade sighed. What a mess his life was turning into. Everything had been going so well over the past year. He had a confident, beautiful woman after all these years, with a future he thought was real.

But he never imagined Marina would appear so unexpectedly. And frankly, he wasn’t in any mood to be lectured to—not after Lydia’s father disrupted their evening, purposely cornering him with gross judgment and demands.

Dessert and coffee were hurried, especially when Mrs. Gravois hid a yawn behind her napkin.

Gathering their evening coats, Mr. Gravois pressed the prenuptial packet against Wade’s chest in a confrontational gesture.

“Read it and sign no later than tomorrow,” he said firmly. “You can drop it off with my secretary at my office. Then we’ll talk about wedding dates. The missus and I are discussing next year for the actual nuptials. A year from now, next spring.”

Frankly, Wade was so done with tonight. It was all he could do to keep from blowing up at all three of them.

Once he had helped Lydia into the car and started the engine, Lydia leaned over. “You got so quiet tonight, darling. What’s wrong? Was your food not up to par?”

“The food was perfectly fine.”

“So,whowas that woman?” Lydia asked, and Wade could feel her eyes zero in on him.

“What woman?”

“Don’t play dumb, Wade Kennedy. I saw you looking at each other. Do you know her?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “She reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago.”

“Who? What’s her name?”

“It doesn’t matter, Lydia,” Wade said evenly. He would never discuss Marina with her, ever.

“You don’t have to get snippy. Is something bothering you about your job?”

“Not at all. My company is fine. Great, actually.”

She rubbed her hand along the back of his neck, leaning in to kiss and snuggle before they pulled away.

“Not now,” he said in low tones. “Do you have any idea what an unpleasant and unfair thing your father did tonight?”

“Other than drinking a little too much, what did he do?” she asked innocently.

Impatiently, Wade pulled back to gaze at her, holding her wrist between his fingers and staring into her eyes to make sure she understood what he was saying. “You set me up, Lydia.”

She let out a small gasp of hurt. “What do you mean?”

“First, you invited your parents without telling me. And then your father blindsided me. I personally believe that a prenup is private and strictly between the man and woman in a relationship. He had no business doing that. I was insulted repeatedly this evening.”

“Oh, Daddy is an old softy when you get to know him. He didn’t mean anything by what he said. He’s protective because he loves me.”

“Yes, I think he does love you, but I don’t appreciate how he tries to control other people. Especially otheradultpeople. Our marriage is between us, not your parents.”

“But extended family is important, too,” Lydia insisted.

“Try to see this from my perspective, Lydia,” he said quietly. “Tonight was uncomfortable, to say the least, and I was furious about the things he said and did and assumed. When—if—we get married,webecome a family.Weare the most important part of our family, and we need to discuss and consult about issues and problems on our own before talking to other people outside of our marriage. That is a sign of respect . . . and respect is part of real love.”

“It’s like you’re lecturing me,” Lydia huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and falling back against the bucket seat.

Wade gripped the steering wheel in frustration. She didn’t understand a single thing he was saying. He didn’t know whether to explain or throw up his hands in futility.

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