Page 43 of The Best Man

He’s slightly less on edge after that, but he’s still careful. “What about it?”

“When we got married, you had rings.”

He doesn’t speak.

“We didn’t use the ones Joey bought for our wedding.”

Still, not a word.

“And, I mean, I guess you had a little time away from me before you got to the church, but not much. And there are no jewelry stores in town. The closest one is… what? A half hour away.”

His gaze narrows.

“So, about an hour round trip,” I say innocently. “And while you did have a little time before you got to the church, you didn’t have that much. And you had enough time to get ready and look all handsome in your tux.”

“Is there a question in here somewhere?”

I smile up at him, then bite down on my bottom lip. “I was just making an observation.”

“A few of them,” he says, nodding along.

I shrug. “It just seems like you already had the rings, that’s all I’m saying.”

“So, what? You believe him? You think I sabotaged your relationship? That Imadehim cheat on you so I could justify sweeping in and stealing you for myself?”

My easy smile fades and I lock my arms around his neck again to hold myself close. “No. I agree with what you said in there. I know you have a devil’s tongue, and you can pretty much convince anyone to do anything. I’m aware that you have the ability to use that power for good or evil, whichever mood strikes you. But I don’t believe even you canmakesomeone cheat if they don’t already want to. Unless of course you tied him up the first time, too?”

A smirk tugs at his perfect lips. “I didn’t.”

I nod. “So, even if he’s right, even if you stacked the deck… He still had to play his part in order for the house to fall. He could have made different choices, just like I could have.” In case he still isn’t certain, because I know I’m too important to him to risk telling the truth if he’s not sure how it will play out, I give him the answer to the question he won’t ask. “I don’t care if you did. I don’t care if you manipulated me into this. It doesn’t make a difference to me. If anything, I’m flattered. And grateful. My heart would have been broken when I found out he’d been cheating on me, but you gave me a soft place to land. You gathered up the broken pieces and put me back together before I even knew there was a fracture. I almost made the biggest mistake of my life marrying him, and you stopped me.”

He sighs—with relief, I think—and his grip on me tightens. “No, you wouldn’t have. I wanted to let you come to the decision on your own, but if you hadn’t… I wouldn’t have let you go through with marrying my brother, Jessa.”

I cock an eyebrow. “No? You cut it pretty close, don’t you think?”

He smirks, leaning in to kiss my jaw. “I was recording in the living room.”

My heart lurches. “What?”

“Joey and the stripper. Obviously, I didn’t know you’d be in the bedroom that night. That became a quickly put together plan D. There was a plan A, a plan B, and a plan C ahead of it. You just gave me a better opportunity to get in there a lot quicker, so I took it.”

I pull back to look up at him, my eyebrows rising. “If that was you thinking on your feet, God help anyone you plot against with advanced notice.”

He smirks. “You didn’t stand a chance.”

I sigh. “Who is the sexiest man on the planet, and why is it my husband?”

Marcus chuckles as he kisses my neck, but I’m startled into pulling away when I see Jared coming down the stairs with Layla on his hip.

“Is it over?” he asks.

Marcus cracks a smile, naturally tugging me into the spot beside him and settling his hand on my waist. “Yes, it’s done. Joey had to leave,” he says dryly.

“Your mom invited him back for dessert,” I add. “But… I doubt he’ll come.”

Jared shakes his head. “When’s that kid ever gonna learn?”

“Hey, it took you some time,” Marcus reminds him.

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