Page 19 of A Different Husband

“Well, we’re married, and of the two of us, I’m the only one with my own home. I never said anything because I figured you would move in with me.”

“Oh.” I stared out at the puffy white clouds floating across a vibrant blue sky and then turned to my new husband. “Are you sure you want me to move in with you?”

“Court, we’re married. Typically, a husband and wife live together. If you don’t want to…”

“No, it’s not that. I didn’t feel right invading your space if you didn’t want me there.”

“Why in the hell would I not want you there?” The concern in his eyes was genuine and it was yet another reminder that Beckett had been the worst kind of fiancé and boyfriend before that. As if he plucked the thoughts straight from my mind, Flynn sighed and then leaned closer to take my hand in his. “Courtney, I know it’s going to be an adjustment, but I am not Beckett. I don’t know what the fuck he was thinking by not moving you in with him the minute you turned 18, or at the very least, as soon as you graduated from university. No matter how everything plays out, or whatever you decide down the road, so long as we are married and committed to that, I want you living in my house with me.”

“Okay.”

“I mean it,” He said as he reached over and lifted my chin so that I couldn’t hide from his relentless gaze. “If there’s ever a question in your mind as to my intentions, you can come to me.”

“I will.” When he offered up a dubious look that said he didn’t quite believe me, I tacked on, “I promise.”

“Let’s give this a couple months, and if you haven’t run away yet, we’ll plan a honeymoon. I’m sorry I couldn’t get the time off right away, but with the short notice, it was too difficult to have everything covered.”

“No, I get it. Besides, Beckett claimed the honeymoon I planned for us and took the tickets.”

“Wait, didn’t you guys split the cost of that?” Flynn asked. I felt my cheeks heat. There was no way I could tell him that I paid for the majority of it while Beckett only added about a third of the cost.

“That bastard didn’t even chip in and he took the tickets?”

“He paid some of it,” I hedged.

“Come on, Court. I know my cousin. He’s always looking for the best way to get someone else to foot the bill.”

“I paid two-thirds of it,” I admitted.

“Where were you going to go?”

“St. Lucia, there’s an all-inclusive resort there with over the water bungalows, and I’ve always wanted to stay in one.”

“You paid the majority of the price for one of those bungalows?” He asked.

“No. We were going to have a normal room looking out over the garden area.”

“Not even a beach view?”

I was embarrassed to answer. “I couldn’t afford the higher price for the view, so I figured it would all work out, since I didn’t plan to stay cooped up in the room much anyway.”

“Oh, my little Nemesis, there is so much wrong with that statement. Don’t worry, when we plan our getaway, I will pay for the bungalow over the water and we will get plenty of use out of it.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down and then leaned over and planted a kiss right on my open mouth. Then, my new husband licked at my lips. “You always have such sweet things on your lips. How do you expect me to stay away?”

“I don’t.” The words slipped out before I could even process what I said. The minute his smirking face pulled away from mine, it hit me. “Shit. I-”

Flynn held a finger up over my lips to shush me. “Nope. Don’t even think of taking that back. I’m going to take that statement to my dreams whenever you aren’t around, so I can imagine tasting sweet little treats from all over your body.”

“Maybe we should,” I hitched my thumb over my shoulder at the room and Flynn got up and grabbed my hand as he headed back inside. I followed just as quickly, and the minute the sliding door was shut behind us, my husband ripped my robe off my body and tossed me onto the bed, fully naked. He slipped out of his matching robe and joined me.

Chapter 13

COURTNEY

The last artclass before my lunch break headed out with their teacher and I started to pick up the mess they left behind. Normally, part of the class was the cleanup time to teach them to be responsible, but that didn’t work out because we had so much fun, even I lost track of time.

“What put that big ass smile on your face?”

I turned to see Beckett in my doorway, and the smile immediately slipped away. The bastard had not only stolen my honeymoon out from under me, not paid me back for the money I put into it, but apparently he charged the woman he took in my place half the cost, which was more than he paid in.

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