Page 70 of Perfectly Wedded

“About what?”

“I want to know all the dirt on Sloan Summers.”

“You won’t find any,” she says overconfidently. “But you can try.”

“Okay, how many guys have you dated?”

She squints at the sky as she thinks. “Not many. Maybe three if you’re not counting first dates.” She looks at me and pokes me in the arm. “I’m not a famous hockey star like you.”

I scoff. “Three?”

“I know, it’s hardly any,” she says apologizing. “I’m not good at sticking with something, remember? And I’m really picky.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s the number,” I say, suddenly feeling protective of her. “That means you dated them longer. You probably even had feelings for them.”

“I’m not sure the feelings were mutual. Anthony was the longest at two years. The others were shorter. Maybe a year, if that.”

“A year?” I gasp, the jealousy growing in my chest. “That’s practically married!”

She frowns. “Definitely not married.” She studies me for a moment, her mouth curving into an amused grin. “Wait a minute. Are you...jealous?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m not jealous. I just can’t think about you with anyone else without becoming irrationally angry.”

“Vale,” she says. “That’s what jealousy is.”

“I know, and now I’m regretting asking you.” I run my fingers through my hair, sighing angrily. “I don’t even want another man looking at you ever again.”

“That’s impossible,” she says. “Just because I dated someone doesn’t mean I was in love with them. I thought I was with Anthony, but looking back, I realize it never really was. I just wanted it to be something more. And honestly, I felt like I never had a real kiss until today. Not even with Anthony.”

Now I’m the one who’s confused. I let out a hoarse laugh, rub the back of my neck. “What do you mean you’ve never had a real kiss?”

“I mean the kind of kiss you remember long after it happens. The kind that makes everything in you feel alive again.”

“What about those guys you dated before Anthony?”

She shrugs. “It always felt forced. Like I was playing a part. Doing it because it was expected. Tonight felt different, even though I know it was just to make Anthony jealous.”

I level my gaze. “It wasn’t just to make him jealous, Sloan.”

She frowns. “That was the agreement. You only kissed me because he was there to see it. The problem is, I felt confused, like I wasn’t just playing a role anymore. Because when you kiss me like that, I don’t want it to be for Anthony, or my sister, or anyone else.”

I stare at her in disbelief, my thoughts unraveling like a tangled thread. “I thought you wanted me to kiss you. I thought we were following therules.”

She turns to me, her body facing mine. “We were, but then I realized something had changed. And I know I agreed to this, but things are different now. I don’t want you totouch me because of the rules. Or kiss me because someone’s there to see it. It’stoo realfor me. Which is why I can’t kiss you again. Not unless it’s for me and no one else.”

“There’s no one here now,” I say, my voice a low rumble. I move closer to her. “This time, it’s not for show.”

Then I take her face in both my hands and kiss her.

It’s swift. Messy. Breathless.

My hands slide down to her back, feeling the curves of her shoulder blades, the ridges of her spine, the dip of her waist.

The water spins and bubbles around us, the heat rising, the sweat prickling down our neck, along the curves of her shoulders.

In a ragged voice I pull away just enough to tell her between kisses, “I’ve wanted to kiss you every day since I married you. Every time I heard your laughter in the house. Every time you were close to me. Every night you were in bed alone.” I drop my head into her damp shoulder, leaving a kiss.

Her hands slide into my wet hair as she brushes my ear with her lips. She pulls back just a little, her breath in my ear. “Then why didn’t you?”

---