Page 116 of After the Vows

“Right now.”

“Thanks, bro.”

He clasps my hand. “Whatever you need. Now, get out of here. Your wife is worried.”

I hurry toward the stairs. I don’t look back. Behind me is my past. My future is waiting for me at a brewery.

Chapter 37

Surprise – when you get caught with your husband’s cock in your hands

A week later

Chloe

“Where are we going?” I ask once we’re in Lucas’s truck driving away from our house.

“It’s a surprise!” Natalia shouts.

I gathered it was a surprise when Lucas told me to get dressed in my favorite dress. I wasn’t too keen on the idea until he changed into a pair of charcoal pants that hug his ass and a blue button-down shirt I want to rip off of him at the earliest opportunity.

“Why does Natalia know about the surprise and I don’t?”

Lucas chuckles. “She doesn’t know what the surprise is either.”

“Yes, I do! We’re going toHideaway Haven Resortfor dinner.”

I moan. “I love the restaurant at the resort. They have the best seafood. But I don’t need some fancy dinner. I’m happy to eat atSmuggler’s Cove.”

Lucas places a hand on my thigh. “I want to treat you. It’s been a rough week.”

“Tell me about it. My girlfriends drove my mother out of town and they wouldn’t let me participate,” I joke since I don’t want to bring up how Natalia’s mother was also driven out of town.

It’s been a tough week with Natalia acting out. Refusing to get out of bed, getting in trouble at school for mouthing off to her teachers, and not doing her household chores.

I don’t blame her. I know how it feels to have a mother who doesn’t want you. I’ve let her be bratty all week.

But then Lucas pulled me aside and explained how I’m not helping matters. Natalia needs discipline and boundaries, he claimed. This is what I get for marrying a policeman.

“I’m glad,” Lucas says. “I would have hated to arrest you.”

“But you would have anyway, Mr. Stickler For The Rules.”

“Rules are there for a reason.”

I shake my head. “I had to fall in love with a lawman.”

“You love my dad, Clo-Clo?” Natalia asks.

Oops. I guess the mermaid’s out of the water.

“I do.”

“And I love, Chloe,” Lucas adds.

“Good. Now I don’t have to worry about her leaving.”

I turn to face her. “You never have to worry about me leaving. No matter what happens between me and your dad.”

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