Page 59 of Falling for the Forward

He lies down on his side, looking at me. “You’re sexy when you read.”

I look away from my book, smiling at him. “I feel like I’m sexy when you’re horny.”

“I’m horny a hundred percent of the time, so that tracks.”

“Are you angling for a quickie?”

“Nah. Not with the girls awake.”

“Maybe later.”

He hums his disapproval. “Won’t be a quickie, though. Take a nap and a multivitamin, baby, ’cause I need to make up for all the nights I’ll miss with you on my next road trip.”

Tyler used to call me “baby.” It feels different from Carter, but I still feel the stab of betrayal and anger I get every time I think of Tyler.

“I’m going back to the game,” he says, getting out of bed.

“Hey, don’t forget Darling’s bath.”

He groans. “Fuck. Fine. If you aren’t sure how much I love you, that should say it all.”

My heart pounds faster and I meet his gaze. He looks a little alarmed, but then his expression softens.

“Yeah. I do love you, Suki. I wanted to talk to you about us, actually.” He stands at the foot of the bed, crossing his arms. “This isn’t a one-year thing anymore. I want you to stay.”

My brows shoot up. “Stay?”

Aggravation flickers over his face for a split second before he schools his expression back to neutral. “Yeah. Neither one of us is faking anything anymore. I love our family and I want it to be permanent. Don’t you feel the same way?”

I set my book down and take a deep breath. “Where is this coming from? It’s only been a couple of months and we just started sleeping together a few days ago.”

He knits his brows together, the aggravated expression back. “So what? I don’t need any more time to know what I want.”

I pull my knees up to my chest, emotions warring inside me. I swore to myself I’d never blindly fall hard and fast for a man again. I was so depressed and humiliated after Tyler left me it took months to start feeling like myself again.

“I love the girls, and I probably love you, too. But I?—”

“Probably?” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “What the fuck, Suki? I’ve done everything the right way. I haven’t even looked at another woman, I spend all my free time with you guys and I got you something nice for Christmas. What more do you want from me?”

I just look at him in disbelief. “Do you seriously think you get to decide this for me? Because youhaven’t looked at another woman for two months, you spend all your free time at home—which you should do, Carter, it doesn’t make you a saint—and you bought me some jewelry?”

“It’s more than I’ve done for any other woman.” His tone is laced with bitterness, fueling my anger.

“I don’t care about other women. We got married because youneededme. It had nothing to do with your feelings for me.”

He puts his hands on his hips, scowling. “I didn’t have any feelings for you then. I do now.”

“Good for fucking you. What aboutmyfeelings?”

He scoffs. “Guess it’s good I’m seeing this side of you now. What the fuck? I tell you I love you and this is your reaction? Fuck me, it’s all about you?”

My pulse pounds as I walk closer to him, lowering my voice so the girls can’t hear our argument.

“True or false, Carter? Your feelings for me are at least partially based on how much the girls love me.”

He narrows his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Answer the question.”

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