Page 76 of The P Arrangement

Her eyes were filled with awe. “When did you have time to get these?”

I slid mine on, too, and the familiar feel of it was comforting. I’d missed it. “When I picked up the marriage certificate.”

She smirked. “So, you were pretty sure of yourself then?”

“More like hopeful.” Threading her fingers in mine, I squeezed. “Come on. Let’s go inside. I need to talk to my mom.”

“Uh…I can wait out here,” she offered. Or rather pleaded.

“No. I think it’s best you come with me.”

What I had to say to my mother was something I wanted Delaney to hear. I wanted her to know how things were going to be around our house when it came to Rebecca St. James.

We walked through the garage and into the kitchen, which was empty, so we continued out to the entryway.

The lights were on in my office, and I called out, “Mom?”

I heard some shuffling and then, “Preston, it’s about time you got back. You raced in here and then left right away before I could talk to you about your mistake.”

“FYI, my mother was the one who opened my mail from Nevada. She called me on my way to the restaurant.”

“Oh, great. She sounds thrilled,” Delaney said dryly.

She was trying to act like she didn’t care what my mother thought, but I knew she did. My mother’s treatment of Delaney hadn’t been responsible for our divorce, but she sure hadn’t done anything to help our marriage. I’d often let things go because I didn’t want to create scenes, but that stopped today. Delaney deserved the whole world, including a mother-in-law who respected her.

I cleared my throat. “Mother, can you come out here, please?”

“I’m coming. Give me a minute,” she snapped.

“How you came out of her I will never understand,” Delaney said.

“Honestly, me neither,” I admitted.

A few seconds later, her heels clicked on the floor. “I had to turn off your computer. I was researching annul—” She halted when she saw Delaney standing next to me, and she pursed her lips. She straightened her back and stuck up her nose. “I was researching annulments. We can’t have you two getting another divorce.” Her hand went to her throat. “Can you imagine?”

The woman was completely ignoring our clasped hands, and I had to wonder if my mother was in full denial or if she was just a bitch.

“That’s not necessary,” I told her. “Delaney and I aren’t getting divorced.”

“Preston, you’re not thinking things through,” she whispered, as if Delaney couldn’t hear everything she said. “Sheleftyou, son. She could do it again.”

“She left because I wasn’t being a good husband, like I’d promised her I would be on our wedding day. I’m just honored she is willing to give me another chance to prove myself.”

“And I’m not going anywhere, Rebecca. I love your son with all my heart. We’ve both made some mistakes in the past, but we are working on rectifying them.”

My chest swelled at hearing Delaney say she loved me. I let her hand go so I could wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close.

“Speaking of mistakes, one of them is how I let you treat my wife in the past, and I want you to know that it ends today. You seem to think the last time I kicked you out of our house was a fluke. Or maybe you’re just doing what you always do and ignoring things that you don’t like, but I was very serious that night. Delaney is an amazing woman, and a wonderful wife, and an excellent mother. I know you think she doesn’t deserve me, but honestly, I feel like I don’t deserve her.”

Delaney looked up at me with love in her eyes.

I love you, I mouthed.

Turning back to my mother, I continued my speech. “From now on, I am going to treat her like the goddess she is. You can treat her with the respect she deserves, or you will be asked to leave. You won’t get any warnings. This is your warning. I will not tolerate you disrespecting her. And believe me when I say, you get three chances, and then I will ask you to stay away from us forever.”

My mother’s jaw dropped.

“Also, don’t think you can treat her one way around me and another way behind my back because Delaney will tell me if you are rude to her. And I will believe her. Do you understand?”

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