Page 24 of The Marriage Policy

I grab my laptop, which is thankfully on the coffee table, sit down on the L-shaped couch, and pull up the unemployment website. I don’t know if I’ll qualify, but it’s better than nothing, and at least it will give me something to do.

For about an hour, because that’s all it takes me to finish, and now I’m bored again.

I wonder how Donovan is doing today. He’s meeting with human resources to get his new husband—a.k.a. me—added to his policy.

That thought makes me nervous. I can’t help worrying he’ll regret it. That he’ll regret me. What would I ever do if I lost him?

“You’re being ridiculous,” I say into the empty house. We should get a dog. Then I wouldn’t be bored. But then, Donovan might not want a dog with me, considering we’re not staying married. Still, best friends—especially ones who are roommates—can get dogs together, right? If I ever move out, our pup can stay with Donovan since he’s in a house and I’ll likely be in an apartment, but I’d still come over every day and help take care of him.

My next hour is spent researching dog shelters in the area and saving photos of all the cute dogs—well, and the ones with sad stories.

I smile when my phone buzzes with a video call. “Miss me?” I ask Donovan.

“Are you bored?” he counters.

“Oh God. Out of my fucking mind.” I flop back on the couch.

“Yeah, I figured you would be. It’s hard enough to keep you busy when you have a lot going on. You’ve had a job since we were seventeen.” He winces. “Not to rub salt in the wound or anything.”

“Eh, it’s fine. I know what you meant. Hey, what do you think about a Lab mix?”

His brows pull together cutely. He’s wearing scrubs with rainbows all over them. “Huh?”

“I was looking up dogs at the shelters.”

“No.”

“But they’re so cute!”

“Eric, we’re not getting a dog.”

I roll my eyes. “Why not? You like dogs. I like dogs. It makes sense we would get a dog.”

“I don’t know why not, but no.”

“You’re boring.”

He sighs. “Do you really think now is the best time for us to get a pet?”

Shit. He’s right. What was I thinking? Why would I plan to get a dog when I’m unemployed and don’t have any money coming in? “Fuck. I wasn’t thinking about the money.”

He frowns. “I wasn’t talking about the money, babe. I meant because I’m gone twelve hours a day and you’re on crutches. Plus, I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to make big decisions like that right after getting married.”

I grin, knowing he said that to make me smile. “What about a cat? That’s a smaller decision. Most cats hate their owners, so we won’t have to do a lot.”

He shakes his head as if he doesn’t know what to do with me, and I can’t say I blame him. I don’t know what to do with me either.

“We’ll talk about it when I get home. I mostly just called to see how you’re doing and let you know that everything went well at HR. We’re all good to go.” He glances away as if unsure, which makes me want to reassure him.

“Best. Husband. Ever.”

That does the job, making his brown eyes glint. “I’ll see you tonight, okay? Get some rest if you need it, and if you’re bored, you should call Ana or something. It’s your house too, so you can have someone over.”

He really seems to be pushing this Ana thing, even though I told him we’re just friends.

“I’ll make us dinner.”

“Only if you feel up to it.”

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