Page 4 of What About Now

“I forgot to take off my ring.” My right hand reaches for my left.

“Don’t.”

I freeze and turn to look at him. “What?”

“Don’t take it off.”

“So, we’re just going to tell them what we did?”

He gives me a stiff nod. “This is my one and only wedding. Let me enjoy having a wife while I still can.”

“We’re not really married, Mad,” I whisper.

“We are. Our names and signatures are on that marriage certificate. It’s legal and binding. You are my wife, and I’m not hiding that.”

“But it was a drunken mistake,” I counter. He bows his head, his chin falling to his chest as he grips the back of my shirt. “Right?” I ask him.

When he finally looks up, his blue eyes are liquid fire. “You are my wife.” He repeats the same four words he said just moments before.

“On paper.”

“Give me this. We’ll get through breakfast. Besides, you’re not going to hide this from your sister, and I’m not going to hide this from my brothers.”

My shoulders fall. “You’re right. Not to mention Maggie and Lachlan were probably there. Maybe they can fill in some of the gaps.”

“Maybe,” he says, pressing his lips to my temple. “Let’s get you some breakfast.”

No more words are spoken as he leads me out of the room and to the elevators. There’s an older man and woman already on board, and they smile at us.

“Newlyweds?” the woman asks.

Maddox pulls me closer to his chest. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Young love.” She grins. “We just celebrated our fortieth anniversary.”

“That’s incredible,” Maddox replies.

“Congratulations,” I say, finally finding my voice.

“Enjoy it. Marriage is work, but having one special person to spend all the good days, and the bad days with, makes it worth it.” The door chimes, and they step out first, and we follow along behind them.

My steps become slower as we reach the hotel restaurant and even slower when I see our group.

“I’m right here, Brogan. You’re not alone in this.”

“I can’t believe we let this happen.”

“Come on, wife, let’s get you fed,” he says, ignoring my statement.

With a heavy sigh, I follow him to the table. He pulls out a chair for me and waits for me to sit before taking the one right next to me.

“Aunt Brogan, you almost missed breakfast!” River exclaims, shoving a bite of pancake into her mouth.

“We said ten, right?” Maddox asks.

“We did,” Roman answers. “The girls were hungry, so we came down a little early.” He gives Maddox a look, one that only they understand.

“What did the two of you end up getting into last night?” Lachlan asks.

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