Page 31 of Tangled Vows

His gaze softened, and he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Of course. Anything you need,” he said without an ounce of hesitation. And just like that, he stole a tiny piece of my heart.

23

EASTON

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell Shayla I knew what she was going through. Our grandparents raised Roni and me after our parents died, and when cancer took Grammy away, it was like losing my parents all over again. But I hadn’t been able to speak the words. They hurt too bad, and I was already raw from our conversation. Shayla really believed that I would step out on her while we were married. Even before her declaration of no sex ever, I swore to myself I would keep my word and forsake all others. I did havesomemorals. And not fucking other women who weren’t my wife was one of them.

“So,” Shayla began, standing from her seat and reaching her hand out to me, “that settles it then,” she announced, stirring me from my thoughts.

I took her proffered hand for a shake. Unable to resist, I pasted on my most charming smirk.

“Sure you don’t want to seal this deal with a kiss?” Damn, I was good at deflecting when my emotions took over.

“Ugh,” she groaned, dropping my hand like it had burned her. “Are you going to be this insufferable until we get this thing annulled?”

My teasing bravado wavered, and I swallowed thickly past the emotion suddenly clogging my throat. She was already looking forward to our marriage ending. It shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did, and I couldn’t explain the ache in the center of my chest at her words.

Plastering on a fake smile, I replied with humor I didn’t feel.

“Probably.” Unaware of my inner turmoil, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

“So when are we doing this?”

“The sooner the better. I was thinking sometime in the next few weeks.” She nodded, her expression turning somber. “We have a game in Vegas soon,” I added, and her gaze snapped to mine, uncertainty swirling in the stormy gray depths.

“I-I can’t get married without my mom there.”

“We can fly her out,” I offered. “Does she know what you’re planning?”

“No!” she said, her eyes widening. “She can’t know. If she finds out, she’ll try to talk me out of it.” She worried her lip between her teeth, her anxiety palpable.

“How do you want to proceed? She’s going to know something is up if you tell her we’re getting married soon and she’s never even met me.”

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“You’re right. Maybe Vegas is our best option. We’ll surprise everyone.”

“When we get back, we can start moving your things into my house.”

“I’m not moving in with you,” she shrieked, her eyes widening like it was the most absurd idea she’d ever heard.

“Shayla, this has to be believable. Don’t you think it will look a little suspicious if we’re married but not living together?”

“But my mom is sick. I can’t leave her.” Her chin wobbled, and guilt gnawed at my insides. I didn’t want to take her awayfrom her family, but this wouldn’t work with us living in separate houses.

“You can still spend as much time with her as you’d like, but you have to come home to me every night.” She sucked in a sharp breath at my declaration, and I realized too late how it sounded. It was too intimate, too raw. I wasn’t her doting husband, but a means to an end, and I needed to remember that.

“There’s too much at stake for us to risk anyone suspecting this isn’t real,” I continued, ignoring the hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. “This is my one condition.” She had hers, and this was mine.

She nodded, her shoulders sagging. “Okay,” she conceded, and I would’ve felt triumphant if it hadn’t been for the defeat written all over her features. Was the thought of living with me so unbearable?

“You’ll have your own space, your own bedroom. You can come and go as you please,” I added to soften the blow, “but you have to be home to sleep. Once news breaks that we got married, there could be reporters following you, taking your picture. If they see you staying somewhere else, it could jeopardize everything.”

“I understand,” she replied solemnly.

“I realize I’m asking a lot, but I plan to compensate you for your time and effort.”

“Compensate me?”

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