Page 83 of Fireworks & Forehead Kisses

I sighed and put in the name of the hospital. If he wanted to drive me to the hospital, I wasn’t going to argue with him.

As I lowered my left hand, the sun caught my diamond ring, causing a prism of light to shine off its surface and a wave of guilt washed over me.

I slid it off my finger. “I can’t take this.”

“Yes. You can. You’re my wife.”

“I mean, yes, technically, but notreally.”

“Youreallyare.” His tone was firm.

“I know I am…but…you know what I mean.”

As we pulled up to the stop sign, he turned his head toward me. When his gaze met mine, I felt pinned to the seat by the intensity of his stare. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

“You are my wife.”

He said each word slowly, and they all held a weight to them. The possessive statement caused my heart to pitter-patter and butterflies to flit low in my belly, but I forced myself to ignore my body’s response. It wasn’t a declaration of love, not that I even wanted him to declare he loved me. He was just saying the obvious, that legally I was married to him.

While I was still reeling from four little words that had me become an official card-carrying member of the Swoon Club, he turned his attention back to the road and started to drive again as I exhaled a breath I hadn’t known I was holding.

After a few moments, he said, “I would like you to wear the ring, but that’s your choice. Either way, it’s yours to keep. I’m not taking it back.”

I sucked in a shaky breath as I stared down at the diamond ring. If someone had asked me to design the perfect wedding set, this would have been it. It was a solitaire diamond with a halo wedding band.

“Was this the ring you gave to?—”

“No,” he cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

I could hear the tension in his voice. It clearly upset him that I would even think he’d do that.

“Did she give you that ring back?” It was none of my business. I was just curious.

“No. I didn’t ask for it back.”

I nodded. “Can I ask you about her?” After seeing her picture, I had so many questions.

There was a moment of silence, and I wondered if I’d gone too far, but he finally agreed, “Yes.”

“How long were you two together?”

“Seven years.”

“Did you love her?” Stella told me that she didn’t think he had loved her, and that she didn’t even think he believed in love, but I hadn’t actually heard it from the horse’s mouth.

After seeing her photos, I would think a man would have to be blind not to love that woman. I was half in love with her, and I’d never even met her. I knew that looks didn’t matter, but there were some people in the world who transcended that statement. Some people who were so good-looking that their looks did matter. She was one of those people.

“I cared about her. Serena is beautiful, smart, and driven. I appreciated the fact that even though she had money from her trust fund, she still worked. Although, now, I think her job wasreally more about her ego than actual work ethic. At one point, I loved her as a person, but I can’t say I was ever in love with her.”

That was hard for me to believe, but I had no reason to think that Declan was lying to me.

“And the night we met…was that the day that you walked in on her…”

“It was the night before.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.”

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