Page 64 of First Comes Marriage

If he talked to her now, when every part of him was itching for a fight, when he wanted to push and push and push until there was nothing left but him and his Scotch and the quiet—if he talked to her now, he’d say things he couldn’t take back. And even though he was angry, he’d been angry often enough before to know that the feeling always abated eventually, that lashing out at her wouldn’t actually make it go away.

“Yes, now.” He froze at her words, low and assured, like she was holding a lit match above a keg of gunpowder and daring him to open the lid.

“Go to bed, Sabrina.” He threw back the last of the Scotch and set the glass down on the counter a little too hard, the sound of the glass hitting the marble making him wince.

“You know this is what she wanted, right? We didn’t follow their script, so Holly wanted to come and throw a grenade into our lives. Shewantsus to be fighting right now. You can’t—” She broke off with a growl and he couldn’t help but turn to look at her over his shoulder. “You can’t seriously think I would have married one of her other exes.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Why not?”

“Why not?” she shouted. She was up out of her seat now, pacing the length of the room with the kitchen island between them. “First of all, you’re an even bigger idiot than I thought if you believe that.”

“Why shouldn’t I believe it? I just happened to be the one who was there.”

“Do you know how happy I was to see you? That wasn’t about Holly, you big idiot. That was about—”

“Will you stop calling me an idiot?”

“—you.I wanted to talk toyou. To make things right with you.”

“Why?”

“Because I missed you!”

“Why, Sabrina?” He pushed off from the counter and braced his hands on his side of the kitchen island as she continued to pace.

“Because—” She broke off, planted her hands on her hips and turned to face off with him across the slab of marble. She opened her mouth as though she had more to say, her eyes darting between his, but whatever she saw there had her closing her lips without saying a word. With another one of those frustrated noises, she turned away from him, retreating to the far wall of the open plan space, staring out at the bay in the moonlight.

“You had ten years to make things right between us. Why now?” He rounded the island to move towards her even as he kept a careful distance between them. Blood rushed in his ears and his whole being practically vibrated with this restless energy he didn’t trust.

“This whole thing wasyouridea,” she muttered in reply.

“My idea?”

“Yes! You’re the one who had the brilliant plan to make her think we were together.” She turned to face him, her back to the wall of glass, as he slowly advanced on her.

“I didn’t mean for us to get married.”

“Neither did I! I never wanted to get married againever!”

Her words hung in the air between them. He couldn’t explain why it should matter, but it still slashed to ribbons his secret, fragile hopes of keeping her.

Her voice was softer when she spoke again. “My first marriage took everything from me. Not just my partner, because now I know Jordan never was that, but my home, mytown, my work. I signed away half of everything and was left with barely enough to scrape by. Marriage is a trap.”

He rocked back on his heels. “You think I trapped you?”

“Itrappedyou!” She spun away from him, pressing her hands and forehead into the glass in a posture he’d adopted himself on far too many occasions. His hands clenched at his sides as he fought the desire to go to her. “You offered to help me for one night and I’ve saddled you with months of dealing with my problems.”

“I did that willingly,” he said, stabbing a finger at his chest. “I’d do it all again.”

“Why?”

“Why did you miss me?” He threw the question back at her and watched as she once again dodged it.

“I don’t know.” Her refusal to answer felt like a challenge, that lit match dangled over the powder keg, held so loosely it could fall at any moment.

He scoffed, some sick part of him lighting up with satisfaction at the incredulity in her eyes at the sound.

“Why did you offer to help me? First, to make Holly mad and now, with the health insurance?” She advanced on him, but he held his ground, refusing to back away from the fiery redhead threatening to send his whole life up in flames. “Why come to my parents’ house? Why stand up for me? Why—”

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