Page 16 of Trust Me With Forever

“What do you mean, ‘No’?”

“No. You’re my wife, Abby. And no matter what it takes, I’ll help you.”

“I haven’t said yes to your plan yet.”

“Do you want to say no?” He stepped aside and gestured toward the door. “If so, feel free to walk out and we’ll never speak of this again. I’ll get the annulment and it’ll be our drunken secret. But if you want to stay married to me for a year, then know I’ll protect you against that asshole ex and anyone else who threatens you. That’s now part of the deal. So, which will it be?”

I searched his gaze, glanced at the door, and back again. “But my past could ruin your future.”

“You have no reason to trust me, I know that. But I take my promises rather seriously. And I will keep that bastard from hurting you, hurting us, hurting anyone else. If my future gets ruined, it’s because of my actions and no one else’s.” He gestured again. “So, are you going to leave? Or will you stay and be my wife?”

The easy route would be to run. After all, with time, I suspected Travis would tire of threatening me and leave me alone.

But what if he doesn’t? What if he gets off toying with people?

And yet, if I stayed, it meant trusting Rafe, trusting a man unrelated to me to not hurt me.

As long as you keep your feelings and heart out of it, you’ll be okay. Friendship is different from a relationship. Betrayal can still hurt, but it’s not as devastating.

I blurted, “Will you promise to tell me what your plan is before you go after him?”

“Yes.”

His words rang with truth. And yet, my cynical ass still didn’t want to believe him.

My first option was suffering for who knew how long, hoping Travis would tire of his games. Or, I could agree to remain Rafe’s wife and hope he didn’t come to regret being married to me when the whole Travis thing eventually blew up. Because, yeah, me marrying a world-famous soccer player would probably set off my ex and make him act out.

Rafe put out his hand, palm up. “Let me help you, Abigail. Please.”

I stared at his hand, my heart thudding inside my chest, and made a decision.

Chapter Seven

Rafe

It took every bit of restraint I had not to rush out the door, find this Travis ex of hers, and beat the shit out of him.

Just thinking about Abby receiving threats from some man who’d manipulated her, used her, and discarded her made me want to kill him.

And with her revelations, any thoughts of letting Abby refuse my offer had gone up in smoke. She needed protection, and I would be the man to give it to her. However, the hard part was convincing her to let me take care of her for a year.

So I gave her choices and did my best to let the truth shine in my eyes and ring in my voice. Although after what that bastard had done to her, I wasn’t sure how she could trust any man ever again, except for maybe her family.

I waited as she stared at my hand, wanting to say more but knowing I had to be careful with this woman. She’d been hurt, badly, and she needed to have choices and control. Maybe I could’ve convinced her with arguments or made her feel guiltyabout embarrassing her family or any of the similar shit her ex probably would’ve done.

But while I was far from perfect, I wasn’t someone who used and abused women, be it with words or fists. And so I waited.

When Abby finally walked forward, I held my breath. But instead of heading toward the door, she gingerly placed her hand in mine. I curled my fingers around hers and asked, “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “As long as you know the risks and won’t blame me for them later.”

“I won’t fucking blame you, Abigail. I blame the ex. What’s his last name?”

“I’ll tell you later, maybe once you’ve cooled down and we’ve set up a routine. But not now. I’m tired of talking about him.”

I squeezed her hand. “Then we’ll table it for the moment. Besides, we have more important things, anyway, like moving you into my place as soon as possible and telling our families.”

She groaned. “That’s the part I dread the most—telling my family.”

---