Page 114 of Married With Malice

“I do like her,” he says slowly. “I think she’s good for you.”

Cale is a tough judge of character and he wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t true. He just wouldn’t answer at all.

“She is good for me,” I say and climb to my feet. “And I’ve got something special planned with her tonight so let’s get this stupid fence finished.”

“You got it,” he says and accepts my hand to haul him up.

I keep close tabs on the time as we go from one chore to the next. I’ve told Anni to be ready to leave at four and to wear something both warm and casually comfortable. It’s a forty-five minute drive to our destination and I want to be sure we make our reservation in time.

After wrestling my brother, fixing fences and scooping out horse shit, I’m ripe for a shower. Anni is waiting for me when I emerge, fully dressed in jeans and a flannel I borrowed from Cale.

“Will this do?” She twirls around. Her hair is pulled into a cute ponytail and she’s wearing a warm turtleneck sweater with black leggings.

My eyes settle on her shapely ass and my cock twitches. “You understood the assignment. You’re wearing socks, right?”

She’s mystified by the question. “Uh, yeah. Why?”

“You’ll see.”

A fun fact I’ve learned about my wife that she takes immense pleasure in signs of physical affection. I’m thrilled to cooperate. Every chance I get, I hold her hand. Or I drape my arm over her shoulders. Or I place a protective hand at her back. And I always enjoy the way she responds with a blush or a shy smile.

What I want is for her to feel unsurprised by any of this. She should expect it all from me. I’ll always deliver.

“Give me a hint,” she begs from the passenger seat when she realizes we’re not stopping in Sleepy Rock.

I’m tickled by her enthusiasm. “All right. Expect a workout.”

“Are we going to a motel?”

“Not that kind of workout.”

“It’s too cold for a hike,” she muses.

“Nothing outdoors. Now stop guessing before the surprise is ruined.”

She pretends to pout but she also squirms with excitement. When we finally pull into the parking lot of the rink, I watch her reaction.

Anni peers at the building. There’s genuine shock on her face and she cups a hand to her mouth. “Are we…going skating?”

“We have the ice all to ourselves for a full hour. There are skates in your size waiting inside and I asked Sabrina for a playlist of your favorite eighties ballads so you’ll have a good soundtrack.”

Anni stares at the building. Then with no warning she unbuckles her seatbelt and launches over the seat, straight into my lap. She kisses me with unrestrained passion and her body feels so excellent that for a minute I forget where we are and why we’re here.

The sound of a honking horn from the road jolts me back to reality. As much as I hate to put an end to this make out session, she can’t kiss and skate at the same time.

We hold hands on our way into the rink and encounter a group of little kids exiting their skating lesson. Anni hangs back to watch the kids with a wistful smile.

I squeeze her hand. “Do you miss teaching?”

“Yeah,” she sighs. “My father told me that being a wife was now my job.”

“Hey.” I pivot and cup her chin in my palm. “Your job is whatever makes you happy.”

Her eyes grow soft and she puts her hand on my chest, right over my heart. “Youmake me happy. But I would love to teach again.”

“Then do it. If your father decides to make any noise, I’ll set him straight.”

A pair of little girls, twins by the look of them, are wearing glittery skating costumes and they dart past us, giggling, while their harried mother chases them with winter coats. “Do NOT set foot outside until you’ve zipped up!”

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