Page 114 of Married with Mayhem

“Are you in danger?”

“No. They’re my first cousins. And my uncle has a strong obsession with blood bonds. He just likes to prove he can make anyone jump when he snaps his fingers.”

“When will you be back?”

There’s a muffled murmur of deep male voices on the other end. Monte seems to be covering the phone but I hear him when he gives an annoyed answer that he’ll be finished in a minute.

“I have to go,” he says into the phone. “I’ll call you as soon as I can but signals can be kind of touchy out there.”

“Out where? Where the hell are you going?”

“Just on a ride with the boys,” he says smoothly. His tone has changed. I’m almost positive there’s someone right there listening to every word he says. “We’ve got some cattle to chase down and we’ll probably be gone for a day or two.”

“So now you’ll be camping out on some cattle finding mission?”

“Yup. I’ll call you when I can.”

If I had to guess, I’d say he sounds frustrated but certainly not terrified. This whole situation is weird. I don’t like these people, these cousins of his. They suck. No wonder why they need to make overseas arrangements to find wives.

“I miss you,” I say to him. “I understand that you can’t talk freely so I won’t await an answer. But I really wish you would have given me the chance to say goodbye. I think I deserved that. Monte, you once told me that you wouldn’t change a thing about me. Don’t you know that I feel the same way about you? You can be obstinate and bossy and yet even in the moments when we clash the most, I’m still wildly in love with you. A minute ago you said these Tempesta pricks are your problem, not mine. But I don’t see it that way. Because I love you, Monte. And for better or for worse, I want to share everything with you.”

There’s silence on the other end. All I hear is the faint pattern of his breathing.

“Anyway,” I say, doing my best to keep my voice from cracking with emotion. “I’ll let you go. I’ll hear from you when I hear from you.”

“We’ll talk soon,” he says and the connection cuts off.

A few seconds later, my phone beeps with an incoming text.

I love you too, cupcake. Miss you more than you know.

The tears don’t fall but they do cloud my sight as I burn the image of those words into my mind.

This wasn’t my vision for exchanging ‘I love you’s for the first time. For one thing, I assumed we’d at least be located in the same state.

But I said it. He said it back.

Well, hetextedit back. Nothing’s perfect. Still counts.

I hear Jane crying inside the house. The cries stop within seconds, meaning one of her loving parents must have rushed into her room to pick her up.

The note Monte left this morning has stayed in the pocket of my dress all day. I pull it out now and unfold the paper.

Yes, I’ll wait for him. I love him desperately and I’d wait for him forever.

But I also have things to do.

I cannot just be the perpetual damsel in distress, always awaiting rescue from her prince.

Before I can build a life with Monte, I need to get my own life back on track.

And I can’t do that from here.

24

MONTE

One by one, the four of them have prowled into the room. If anyone ever wants to know how it feels to be hunted by a wolf pack I can make some good guesses.

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