Page 112 of The Vow

I push him to the mat and repeat, "Sit."

It takes a minute until he relaxes, but he finally does.

"Good boy," I praise, then step into the shower next to Blakely.

She glances at him. "Aww. He's pouting."

He's curled into a ball with his paws under his chin.

"Looks like you," I tease.

She bites her smile.

I slide my hands on her cheeks and stare at her for a moment.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she questions.

Nerves dance in my belly. I admit, "I thought I might never get you back. All I wanted was to return to how things were between us. I'm glad we're finally back to normal."

She pins her eyebrows together, and my gut drops.

More anxiety fills me. "You don't want to be back to normal?"

She steps closer and runs her hands through my hair. She answers, "No. It's not that."

"Then what is it?" I ask, fretting.

She opens her mouth, then shuts it.

My stomach lurches. I demand, "Tell me."

The line on her forehead deepens. She carefully states, "I just think we should take it slow."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't get upset."

"Upset? How am I not supposed to get upset at that statement?"

She turns her head.

With gritted teeth and my pulse skyrocketing, I inquire, "Pet, what does slow mean?"

She hesitates again, then answers, "I don't want to rush into anything."

"Rush into anything? We're married," I remind her.

"Yes, I'm fully aware."

Anger fills me. I demand, "You don't sound as if you're fully aware."

"That's not fair," she claims and steps out of the shower. She grabs a towel, and King Madden jumps at her feet.

I follow, tugging the other towel off the rack. I admit, "This conversation is confusing me."

She dries off and secures the towel around her. She picks up King Madden and says, "Let's talk about this in bed."

I attempt to stop the quivering in my gut and tightening in my chest, but it's pointless.

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