Page 37 of No Regrets

“It’s a safe vehicle. Very good on gas. The SUV is great for babies. Has the room without being too bulky. It fits you to a tee.” He rubbed her arms smiling. She had serious money issues.

“Kaden.” She huffed a breath. “I can’t afford that.”

“You aren’t paying for it. We are paying for it.” Kaden pressed his lips to hers. “We’re married, babe. You and I became a we the day that legal document was filed. December fourteenth, as I recall.”

“Yeah but that was an arrangement. Are we really a married couple or are we just playing the parts?”

Her question cut him down. She thought what they shared was just a joke? A game of house between two adults? He just told her he loved her for crying out loud, and she had the nerve to ask him if they were just playing the parts.

“Kaden, I didn’t mean anything by it. I just . . .” She blew out a breath. “I really don’t want to start a fight with you right now.”

“What do you want me to do to prove to you that I’m not going anywhere?”

“I don’t know. Stay the day after we scheduled our divorce.” She slid from his lap. “Kaden, you know as well as anyone I’m an all-or-nothing girl. Brett didn’t give me his all, and I’m thankful because now I have Shiloh, but I don’t need a man to make me happy. Life may be harder, but I’ll be okay. I guess what I’m saying is I don’t want you to feel tied down.”

Kaden crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair to watch Brianna as she paced around the room. She was so scared of offending him she didn’t dare say what was on her mind. He knew he’d get pissed at Brianna, there was hardly any subject they didn’t disagree about but they fit together. They fit perfectly together as if made especially for each other.

“Brianna, stop talking crazy. I told you I loved you, and I meant it. With all my being, I meant it. Why would I give you and Shiloh up for a lonely house and an unfulfilling job?” He leaned forward on his desk watching as she turned around to face him. “I love you, Brianna Lynn Miller-Riggens. And I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got to trust me on that.”

“My name’s Brianna Riggens. No hyphen.” She smiled at him when he rolled his eyes.

Here was his chance. “How soon do you want to have another kid?”

Her eyes widened, but she gained control of her surprise before she thought he noticed. “Let’s wait until Shiloh’s at least out of diapers.”

“Sounds good to me. I want to be there for everything.”

“Yeah. You can deliver it while you’re at it.” She grinned. “Well, I’ve taken up a lot of your time. I need to get going anyway. It’s my one day off, and I promised to take Shiloh to the park. Kristy is supposed to meet me there with Jessie and Marsha.”

“I might not be home tonight. If I stay late, I’ll probably crash at the apartment.”

“Call if you aren’t. Otherwise, I’ll wait up for you.” She bent over his desk and kissed him sweetly with her bubblegum-flavored lips.

“Fine. Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

* * * *

Kaden stumbled into his apartment at around three in the morning after spending most of the night looking through legal books to try and help his current case. So far he had found nothing.

He closed and locked the door behind him, not bothering to turn on the overhead lights. He was tired and missed seeing his family, and he really wanted to go home and stay there, locked away with Brianna and Shiloh.

“It’s about time you came home.” A familiar voice called to him as he kicked off his shoes in the foyer.

“Bethany, what the hell are you doing here?” Kaden rounded the corner to see the gorgeous, leggy blonde, who was also his ex-fiancée, sitting on the couch half naked in a barely-there baby doll. “How did you get in my apartment?”

“Bribed the doorman.” She stood, wearing black five-inch stilettos. “I talked to your mother, and I was worried about you. Being married to the dull Brianna has to be a rag on your sex life. I mean, I thought you vowed to never marry anyone after I broke up with you?”

“Get out, Bethany.” He pointed toward the door, but she stood still, propping her hands on her hips.

“I need a place to stay, Kaden. My boyfriend kicked me out, and I’m in town for a month doing a photo shoot.”

“A hotel wouldn’t work?”

“Not when there isn’t a reason I can’t stay with you.”

“You can stay here one night pending you leave me the hell alone. But that’s it. You’re out of here in the morning.”

---