Page 42 of For the Promise

“University of Colorado Boulder is my alma mater.”

“Good school.”

“Did you think I went to a crummy school? Just because I’m not a nerd doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

He chuckles. “You’re trying to distract me again.”

I blow him a raspberry. “You really won’t let me distract you?”

“Nope.”

I notice the time on the alarm clock next to the bed. “But we’re going to be late for the welcome lunch.”

“I don’t give a shit. I’m not going to an event where I will most likely run into your asshole ex without knowing the full story. He already doesn’t believe we’re married.”

My brow wrinkles. “He doesn’t believe we’re married? How do you know?”

“He told me. Several times.”

Damn. If he doesn’t believe we’re married, he’ll never drop the lawsuit. My face crumples and I fight to keep the tearsforming in my eyes from falling. I will not cry in front of my fake husband.

Jaxon wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me near until I drop my head on his shoulder.

“I hate when you’re hurting,” he murmurs as he combs his fingers through my hair.

My heart thuds in my chest. No one’s cared whether I’m hurting or not in a long time. I nearly forgot how it feels to be offered physical comfort. I nestle into his hold.

I know this is fake but I’m accepting the comfort anyway. No one said I wasn’t allowed to have some benefits from this arrangement.

“I hate to hurt you more, but I have to know the truth. Alan will make our lives a living hell this weekend otherwise.”

I push away to stare up at him. “Are you serious? You want to continue with this charade?” He nods. “But this isn’t what you signed up for.”

“I don’t remember adding a clause to our agreement about backing out if things got tough.”

“But…” I snap my mouth closed. Bringing up how he ran away and avoided me after our panty-melting kiss won’t help anything.

I blow out a breath and gather my courage. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything, but I’ll settle for why Alan’s suing you.”

Unfortunately, I can’t explain why Alan is suing me without explaining everything.

“My parents were awesome.” He cringes but I can’t stop to ask him why. If I stop now, I’ll never finish this story.

“Mom couldn’t have any more children after me. So, Mom, Dad, and I were a tight-knit unit. I was never one of those kids who was embarrassed of my parents. Why would I be? They were awesome. Our house is where my friends congregated every day after school. Mom always had cookies for us, and Dad would come home with pizza at least once a week.”

“Your childhood sounds magical.”

I sigh. “It was.”

I clear my throat and force myself to continue. “I didn’t want to leave for college, but CU Boulder has an excellent chemical engineering department.”

Jaxon fiddles with the ends of my hair. “And you met Alan at CU Boulder?”

I nod. “After graduation, he got a job in Boulder and I decided to stay there with him. I should have gone back home to Denver. I never should have stayed.”

He squeezes my shoulder. “What happened?”

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