Page 77 of Just Between Us

“Okay,” I said. “Good.”

The tension fell from his face and he squeezed my hand. “Good. Now, please don’t make me eat this entire roll by myself.”

“Okay.” The knots in my stomach abated just enough to take a few bites. “What are your plans for this morning?”

“I’m going to run to Pierce for a bit. Not more than an hour. I’ve got to drop off my suit at the dry cleaner and check in on the gym. You want to come?” He retrieved my coffee and placed it in front of me, tipping my head up for a kiss, his lips sugary sweet.

“I do, but I need to go to Bunny’s before dinner. I’ve got a few boxes I’ve been meaning to clear out now that I have the space.”

“You want me to help?”

I shook my head. “I think Bunny’s itching to go through them with me. It’s nothing, just a bunch of old pictures and mementos. She’s been awfully sentimental since the wedding.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you there when I’m finished?”

I nodded.

“What are we doing tonight?” The barely concealed grin on his face told me exactly what he wanted to do tonight.

I wanted the same.

“Night in?”

* * *

“So, you didn’t ask about the lipstick?” Thea asked over the phone as I navigated the back roads up to Len and Bunny’s compound.

“He loves me, Thea.” I turned the declaration against Thea with subpar results.

“Great, but you haven’t answered my question.”

“He said he wasn’t with anyone else while we’ve been married.”

“So, the lipstick was, what exactly?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Payton got too close when they were taking the picture.”

“Yeah, that happens to me all the time. I’m constantly kissing guys’ necks during picture-taking opportunities.”

“Weren’t you advocating for me to be reasonable before?”

“Yeah,” Thea agreed. “Back when it was just a picture.” She exhaled loudly. “Okay. You’re right. He said he hasn’t been with anybody and, ignoring the lipstick for a minute, he hasn’t lied to you before. Maybe it’s smoke with no fire. I just don’t want you to get hurt, and throwing around the L-word… it’s just a little much, isn’t it? Like maybe he’s over-compensating?”

“You didn’t hear him, Thea. He means it.”

The silence over the phone dragged on for too long—long enough to plant a seed of doubt in my mind. She had a point. He’d dropped the declaration on me not even two months into our marriage, but after what we went through to get there?

I loved him. I’d loved him since I woke up from the post-operative anesthesia, and he’d been sitting there, watching some terrible cooking show while he massaged my head. But Thea’s apprehension made me doubt.

No, I couldn’t put all the blame on Thea.Ihad doubts.

“I don’t doubt he means it. Who wouldn’t love you? No one in their right mind. Just, maybe don’t slip into a new relationship fog just yet,” she hedged.

“I’ll ask him. Tonight. No big deal.”

As much as I didn’t want to say the words, I had to. I had to know for sure.

“Good. Good,” she repeated, more for herself. “Just call me either way, okay?”

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