Page 52 of Perfectly Wedded

Sloan’s eyes cut to mine.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Jaz says with a yawn. “I’m tired from the flight.” She stands and heads to the door, glancing at the bedroom. “Did you like the rose petals and chocolates? We asked the concierge to arrange it for you.”

“Quite the surprise,” Sloan says in a mock cheerful voice, not meeting my eyes and trying to inch away from me.

“Yeah, Sloan couldn’t wait to fall into them,” I add, not looking at Sloan.

“Vale loves to exaggerate,” she explains, then looks back at her sister. “Can we meet up in the morning, bright and early?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I say, hooking my hand around her shoulders and pulling her under my arm. “We might be exhausted... since we’re newlyweds.”

Sloan’s eyes widen before she looks at me like she wants to stab me with the hotel pen. I lift my eyebrows to remind her of the plan. We need to look like newlyweds who can’t keep their hands off each other, not retirees rising at the crack of dawn forfree hotel breakfast.

“We might just do breakfast in bed.” I give her a wink.

She blinks before looking back at her sister. “I’ll text you in the morning.”

Brax steps toward the door. “We thought we might go snorkeling tomorrow.”

“Oh, really?” Sloan says. “That’s exactly what we had planned!”

She’s lying through her teeth, since I’m the one who made the list of dates for the week. This is her attempt to get away from any situation that might leave us with too much time on our hands in the bedroom.

“Maybe we could go together?” Jaz suggests.

“I love that idea!” Sloan says. “Let’s plan for that all day, and then maybe we can have dinner together afterward?”

“Sounds perfect,” Jaz answers, then links her arm through Brax’s. She beams up at him. “That airplane seat did a number on my back, and I’m starving. What do you say we order room service and go to bed?”

Brax’s lips curl into a wicked grin. “Is that even a question?” They leave, the door slamming with an ominous thud.

So much for having Sloan to myself tomorrow.

Sloan immediately pulls away from my arm before she wheels around. “Did you enjoy embarrassing me in front of my sister?”

“What?” I shrug. “I’m just behaving as obnoxiously as any newlywed couple would.” If Sloan considered me her real husband, of course I’d brag about getting up late and spending time alone with her. And I wouldn’t feel the least bit guilty about those bragging rights as her husband.

“What they don’t know is that I’m sleeping on the couch tonight,” I add. “So clearly I’m not winning. Unless you’d rather we tell them the truth?”

Sloan looks at me, stunned. “The truth? Do you know how much that would hurt my sister, knowing she arranged this and it’s all a sham? We owe Jaz and Brax this, even if some day we haveto break the news that we’re ending the marriage and my sister blames me.”

“Why would she blame you?” I ask.

“Because, according to my family, I don’t stick with things. I’m always on to the next shiny thing in my life, whether it’s a new job or a new boyfriend.”

I frown. “What do you mean? You’re not a quitter.”

She sighs. “But I’ve never stayed in a relationship very long. Not even with Anthony. Even though he left me, I knew long before that he wasn’t the right guy for me. In every relationship, I’m always wondering if there’s someone better for me. Someone I can never have.” She looks at me for a fleeting moment before flopping onto the couch. “Apparently, I’m better at committing to a fake relationship than a real one.” She leans her head back against the couch and closes her eyes.

I sit next to her, but this time I don’t touch her, even though I want to more than anything. “Sloan, you are the most loyal friend I have.”

She gives me a weak smile. “I’m also married to you, so I kinda have to be loyal.”

“But you don’t have to be my friend. You choose to be. There’s a difference,” I remind her, holding her gaze. “Just for the record, when you find the man who’s right for you, I think you will stay for the long haul.”

Her eyes meet mine. “You really think that?”

I nod. “I do.”

---