Page 72 of Perfectly Wedded

I prop myself on my elbows, rub my eyes, and take a deep breath. The dark nutty smell of coffee hits me like the first light of morning.

There’s a soft knock at the door before Vale peeks his head in. “I hope I didn’t wake you,” he says with a lazy morning grin and mussed waves that make me want to thread my fingers through his hair. I love being the only one privy to this part of his life, the side that isn’t polished and PR ready.

Vale sets the coffee on a small table next to my bed before opening the curtains. “Have you seen the view outside?” he asks, opening the blackout shades. The light is nearly blinding. The sky is a blue ribbon, the ocean a wavy blanket.

I take a sip of coffee, drink in the dark bitterbite, the touch of cream. Neither of us brings up last night, like the dream of it might disappear, a soap bubble mid-air.

I just drink in the goodness in front of me. His dark silhouette outlined in the bedroom window as he puts one hand on the sill.

Vale is my husband.Mine.

That thought thrills me and terrifies me in equal measure.

What if I can’t be the wife he needs? What if I mess this up? What then?

It feels like a weight on my chest, pressing the air from my lungs like a slow leak. I want so badly to talk to Jaz about last night, how everything shifted fromIandme, tousandwe.

The best thing about having a sister is telling her everything, the deepest secrets of my heart, knowing she’ll carry them too.

But this is the one thing I can’t tell her. My most life-changing secret will stay buried under half-truths. She can’t ever know we weren’t really together, that our relationship was a fraud and we married so I could get Vale’s insurance.

If that ever comes out, it could wreck our relationship.

Because if there’s one thing Jaz hates, it’s lying. All because of Dad, who broke our family apart over a lie. After that mistake, every promise felt like one he couldn’t keep.I’ll be at your recital. I won’t forget your birthday party. I’ll make it up to you.

The promises piled up like bad excuses. They’re the only thing he left behind.

“What do you want to do today?” Vale says, watching me as I stretch my arms in the air.

“I’m looking forward to being thoroughly lazy,” I say with a yawn.

“And I support you being thoroughly lazy,” Vale says with a grin that shows he approves. “Is that thoroughly lazy by the pool or thoroughly lazy in the bedroom?”

“Most definitely poolside,” I say. “I’m planning on reading a book and ordering pink lemonade from the tiki bar.” I shift my legs over the edge of the bed. “Care to join me?”

“I will, as soon as I take a run with Brax. We can’t let this tripmake us soft.” He crosses the room to kiss the top of my head before he leaves. My pulse stutters. “When I finish, I’m back on duty as your personal cabana boy.”

“You meanhusband,” I clarify. I don’t want him to ever feel like our relationship is a joke again.

“I like that even better.” He leaves with a wink, and my heart spins like a top.If this is happiness, please don’t let it ever end.

I know that eventually we’ll have to return to real life and figure out what we’ll do about us. But for now, I’d like to sink my toes deep into this dream world, the one where Vale and I are together forever. If I’m being honest, this could go on forever. Because I’m not sure I ever want to return to reality after last night.

The rest of the day is a hazy blur of pool time with Jaz as we read and dip our feet in the water. The boys join us after their morning run and then decide to do some paddleboarding. I’m still sore from snorkeling, so Jaz and I stay behind while the boys dash off for a day of fun. This feels downright irresponsible, taking a day of doing nothing but lounging around in paradise. In fact, this entire honeymoon feels like a much-needed break after a long stretch of relentless change. And I’m dying to tell Jaz what’s happened between Vale and me, if only to confide in someone how deliriously happy I am. How, for once, I’m sticking to what I promised.

“I have to tell you something,” I say, closing my book, leaving one finger tucked inside the flap in case I chicken out. I take a deep breath. “It’s about Vale and me.”

For so long I’ve wanted to tell her, but I don’t want her to look at me the way she does our father. Now that Vale and I are finally a couple, how we came together seems less significant, and somehow, more forgivable.

Jaz looks up from her magazine, her big sunglasses hiding her eyes, a floppy hat shading her face. “What’s that?”

“I need to tell you about something that happened in Vegas.”

“With Vale?”

I bite my lip. “Yes . . . and Anthony.”

“Anthony?” She leaves her magazine open in her lap. “What does he have to do with Vegas?”

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