Page 62 of Four-ever Single

“What the fuck?” Jones growled beside me, wrapping an arm protectively around me. “Can you block them so they can’t email you anymore?”

“Yeah, this isn’t the first person I’ve had to do that with.” My fingers moved quickly across the screen, immediately blocking the email address.

“Have you gotten messages like that before?”

“No, never like that. Usually, they’re either hitting on me and trying to get me into bed, or they’re from women who want to make sure I feel ashamed for what I do.”

“I hate this for you,” he replied, shaking his head. “I don’t hate what you do. I hate that people feel like they have a right to talk to you this way.”

“Me too,” I admitted, setting my phone down beside me.

Usually, I would try to ignore the hateful messages and move on with my day, but this one felt worse. It felt more personal, and whoever had sent it knew about the wedding yesterday. Which wasn’t a big deal because the entire town was talking about it, and the pictures had made the front page of the newspaper. But this felt different—more menacing, and that was a feeling I couldn’t shake.

Thirty-Seven

Jones

I didn’t sleep well last night, and it wasn’t because I was worn out from pleasuring my wife all night. No, it was because I couldn’t get over the disgusting emails she had received. I wished that the coward didn’t hide behind some coded username so I could find who it was and go kick their ass.

Monday morning, we checked out of the hotel and returned our luggage to the house before I went with Bella to run errands. We needed to get the marriage certificate dropped off so they could file it, and then I promised her we would go grocery shopping and spend the rest of the day at home. I could tell she was still bothered by the email, and so was I.

While I didn’t want to push Bella to be out if she didn’t want to be, I also didn’t want to encourage her to hide just because some creep online was being a douchebag. I was there to protect her and wasn’t planning to leave her side any time soon.

“Do you want to grab lunch before heading to the store?” I offered, holding her hand as we walked to my truck.

“Sure.” She smiled, but I noticed how it didn’t meet her eyes as she glanced around the parking lot, making sure there wasn’t anyone to worry about.

I held her tighter and guided her to the truck, helping her in before closing the door and going around.

It was quiet at Rockin’ Rooster when we got there, with most of the crowd having already come through this morning for breakfast pastries and coffee. We placed our orders, and then I sent Bella to grab a table while I waited for our food.

I was talking to the lady at the register, just making small talk while our food was being finished when I heard the panic in Bella’s voice as she called my name. I rushed over to find her at a table by the window, hand trembling as she pointed out the window.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, bending down to see what she was staring at.

“That’s the guy from the other night,” she said, pointing to a guy walking away with a hoodie pulled over his head.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, her face white as a sheet.

“Stay here,” I commanded before darting out the door and running down the crowded sidewalk to catch up with him.

Just like the other night, he vanished into the crowd without leaving a single trace behind.

BY THE TIME WE GOT home, I could tell Bella needed a break. She had been rattled ever since she saw the creep, and I hated that I hadn’t been able to find him. In a sea of people, it should have been easy to find someone wearing a hoodie, given how warm it was outside, but by the time I rounded the corner on Main Street, he was gone.

I didn’t want to take the time going into every store looking for him when I knew that Bella was upset. While I wanted to find the guy and figure out what his problem was, I wasn’t willing to leave my wife in the state she was in. It was my job to take care of her, and that meant being there for her however she needed me.

“Hey, baby, how about a warm bath and a glass of wine?” I offered, rubbing her shoulders as she stood in the kitchen staring blankly out the window.

“I can make dinner,” she offered, but I could feel the weight of the world sitting on her shoulders.

“How about I deal with dinner when you’re done soaking? I’ll bring you some snacks so you don’t get too hungry.”

She turned and wrapped her arms around my neck, smiling at me.

“I’m going to gain so much weight being married to you,” she teased.

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