Page 41 of A Different Husband

“You don’t like wine, do you?”

“I don’t dislike it.” She smirked at my answer.

“You prefer to drink liquor or beer though,” Courtney encouraged.

“Honestly, I don’t have an alcohol preference because I rarely drink.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“I don’t dislike it.” My wife smirked at my answer.

“You prefer to drink liquor or beer though.” It was a statement, not a question, but I felt the need to correct her assumptions, since we needed to do better about getting to know one another.

“Honestly, I don’t have an alcohol preference because I rarely drink.”

“Wait, seriously?” She asked. When I gave her a non-verbal yes, she asked, “How did I not know this? I always thought you were a partying playboy through college.”

“No. I don’t know why everyone assumed that. I spent a lot of time playing Designated Driver for friends, so maybe they assumed I was drinking with them.”

“Huh.”

“Is that a good ‘huh’ or a bad one?”

She laughed at me. “It’s just a‘learned something new about you’sound. It’s good to know, though.” Courtney stared at me thoughtfully for a few minutes and then grinned as if she had a secret. “You only had one glass of champagne at our wedding reception.

My cheeks burned red-hot at her proclamation. It was true, but I hadn’t realized she had been paying such close attention. “Yes.”

“It’s weird that I only just now realized that, even though I watched you all night.”

“You watched me all night, huh?”

“Well, you were my new husband. I was trying to figure you out.”

“I’m not a stranger. You already know me.”

“I knew you as a friend, not a husband. They’re totally different.”

I took another sip of the wine and looked back up to meet Court’s eyes. “This reminds me of summer for some reason.”

“It’s the honeysuckle. It always makes me think of sitting on a porch swing and watching kids play before a barbecue kicks off or a relaxing summer night out in the field stargazing.”

“One day soon, you’ll be able to watch the kids play from a porch swing.” My house didn’t have the swing, but it did have a wrap-around porch, so I hatched a plan to make sure she got one, so when next summer came, she could sit out there with me and have a glass of wine as we tended to our son or daughter. They would be too young to play on their own in the yard by next summer, but those moments would come with time, and I couldn’t wait to share them with her.

Chapter 23

FLYNN

“Isit weird that we always leave these appointments and go straight to eat somewhere?” Courtney asked.

“No. You’re pregnant. Feels like good planning to me.” She laughed at my answer as I got her squared away in the car and walked around to the driver’s side. “Are you sure you’re up to dinner with my family tonight?”

Courtney couldn’t answer right away since she was mid-yawn. “We need to tell them, so it seems like the perfect time since your sisters will be there too.”

I held the ultrasound photos in my hand before I tucked them in my pocket with my phone. “At least we’ll have the fresh images to show everyone.”

“Do you think they’ll be excited?”

“My mom is going to lose her damn mind,” I assured her. Courtney glowed as a beautiful smile spread across her sweet face. Maybe it was the pregnancy, or the excitement of finally being able to share our news, but whatever it was, it looked good on her.

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