Page 38 of Uncovering Love: The Wedding

“What?”

“For our anniversary. I wanted to surprise you.” He shakes his head and glances around, his eyes searching as they settle on the lot of us. “You thought I was cheating? For months? And you didn’t say anything. All of you were in on this?”

“It was only a few weeks. We’d do anything for Melissa,” Jon says.

While that’s true, guilt pricks at my conscious. Ihadwanted to say something, but I also wanted to respect Evie’s choice in handling the matter.

Drew shakes his head, laughing again but this time without humor. “Except straight up ask me what was going on.”

“To be fair, most cheating husbands lie to cover their tracks. Your explanations or alibis would have been immaterial,” Kate chimes, but Drew only casts a shake of his head at both Tate and Jon before offering his free hand to Melissa.

She contemplates a moment before placing her hand in his.

His stare holds no teasing or joke as he speaks. “Melissa. I wanted to surprise you.”

“With divorce papers?” She tries to draw away but Drew only tugs her closer, holding her hand to his chest. Claire giggles, thinking it’s a game.

“God, no!” He shakes his head and lets loose a rough chuckle before smiling. “You’re so pregnant, you know that?”

Melissa’s eyes fill with unshed tears. “So, you’re waiting for me to have the baby and then leave me?” Her chest rises and she seethes her next words through clenched teeth. “You bastard!”

“Enough.” Drew’s voice commands attention. “You need to stop and let me talk now.” He meets my glare but only shakes his head while a trace of a smile plays at his lips. “I wish you had talked to me about your concerns. I was trying to surprise you, but I guess I didn’t cover my tracks well enough for the mystery gang.”

“That’s what cheaters say,” Kate whispers loudly. Jon has the wisdom to stop her from talking with a kiss to the lips.

“Remember when we were dating, our last year at ASU, and we were making plans for our life after college and all the things we wanted?”

Her shoulders are tight, along with her frown. “We did that a lot back then.”

“Sure did. But there was that one time, right before finals, and it was the night I decided for maybe the hundredth time that I would do anything if only you’d one day be my wife. We were having dinner in the MU and I asked you if there were no limitations, no budget, no obstacles ... Where, of all the places on Earth, you’d go.”

Her gaze narrows. “I don’t understand what this has to do with—”

“Paris.”

Her eyes are glassy and she nods. “I remember, Drew.”

“You said you wanted to drink wine and eat cheese at every meal, walk hand in hand through the Royal Gardens, and kiss beneath the lights of the Eiffel Tower.”

“I remember.”

“We didn’t have the money when we got married, but I was hoping to take you for our fifth anniversary this year, except—”

“Baby number two.” Melissa sighs and rubs her hand over her belly.

“That’s right. And I’m so damn happy. But I wanted to do something special. Since we couldn’t go on your dream vacation, I-I wanted to bring France to you.”

Her gaze lifts to meet his. “For me?”

“I found a grad student who agreed to trade French lessons for statistics tutoring.”

“You’re so smart,” she whispers.

“And when she found out I was also planning to take cooking lessons, she offered to let me practice in her kitchen. That’s when I started paying for tutoring. She helped me learn to speak and make authentic food. Amelia’s really such a sweet woman, and I’d love for you to meet her. I even gave her Evie and Jon’s business card.”

Evie gasps, and glances at everyone before words tumble from her lips. “All this time we thought Amelia was trying to throw us off her husband stealing scent when she was really only looking for love.”

Melissa sobs aloud and wipes the tears from her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Drew. I never should have doubted you.”

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