I set out for the shower in my bedroom upstairs, taking two steps at a time since I needed to get a move on. But to my surprise, the door to my bathroom was closed and the fan was turned on. Just before I reached to knock, the door jerked open to reveal Maggie in a towel, droplets of water covering her skin, her wet brunette hair cascading over her shoulders. She startled at the sight of me, sweaty and surprised, before letting her expression return to a blank slate.
“My shower doesn’t work, so…I had to use yours.” She didn’t sound nervous, but she didn’t sound sure of herself either. Her wide eyes bounced back and forth between mine.
Nonetheless, I was entirely distracted by the amount of skin showing from the towel, leaving little to my wild imagination.Fuck.I shouldn’t have been thinking the thoughts I was thinking, but they were there, and not even Maggie’s current state with me could stop them.
Well, except for Maggie sneaking past me and locking herself in her bedroom with haste. Her perfect body was gone as quickly as it came, and I grieved the view. I stared through my bedroom door across the hallway at hers in disbelief. How the hell was this supposed to work? Were we just going to see each other half-naked all of the time? Sneak past each other with little clothing and work around it like we were roommates?
We couldn’t do anything, I knew that. But seeing Maggie’s body on display like that—especially now that she carried part ofmeinside of her—was the ultimate test of chastity.
Trying to tame myself before I stepped into the cold spray, my mind ran through the endless possibilities of tonight’s dinner. How Maggie and I would portray ourselves as if we were in love. If we were going to tell Mike that we were pregnant. If it was possible to win Maggie back before we got there. How we would act around each other…at the dinner and for the rest of our lives. If I would be lucky enough to witness another smile on the brunette beauty’s face.
Fuck.
I couldn’t think of her that way. Not with the amount she cared about me. Not with how easy it was to break down into her arms the night before. I grabbed a towel from the rod outside of the shower and wrapped my torso before glancing at the digital clock on the vanity. I only had fifteen minutes before we had to leave. Only fifteen minutes to get on Maggie’s good side before this dinner because, if I didn’t, it would be awkward as hell and not particularly believable that we were newlyweds.
I quickly dressed into khaki pants and a blue button-down, not even attempting to deal with my wet hair yet. “Maggie,” I called toward her room, starting the buttons on my shirt. Her door opened after thirty long seconds.
Truly, I didn’t mean to stare, but seeing Maggie put together in a nice outfit with her hair done did something funny to my heartbeat. I much preferred her in her barn clothes—ormyclothes, for that matter—but myGod, she looked stunning. She wore white jeans that flared at her ankles and a burgundy top wrapped around her neck like it was trying to choke her.
Lucky top.
“Yes?” she asked from her doorway. I motioned for her to come into my room. She hesitantly obliged and stood at the foot of my bed. Discomfort coated her features. “What is it?”
Not wanting to flash her with my half-bare chest as I worked the tiny buttons on my shirt, I made eye contact with her through the mirror above the dresser. “I wanted to apologize. Again.”
“Okay…” Her eyes left mine in the mirror as her index finger drew circles on her jeans. “About what?”
I groaned, struggling to fit my fingers around the tiny buttons. “About this morning. Shutting you down like that was rude, and I’m sorry.”
“Did you change your mind about telling me how you feel?”
“How I feel about what?” I leaned closer to the mirror to see the last damn buttons I had to secure.
“Okay, I can’t watch you do this.” Maggie stepped forward to help me since my shaky fingers weren’t up for the job. Her scent invaded me as she came closer, and it took everything in me not to audibly inhale her scent.
But it was too late. She had already violated every one of my senses. Her small fingers secured the last four buttons on my shirt, her nails accidentally scraping my chest along the way. My eyes caught hers for a fraction of a second before she pulled them back down to my shirt. Her pillowy lips were so full, the bottom slightly bigger than the top. I wanted to sink my teeth into them.
My breathing became uneasy.
“Maggie.” Her gaze met mine again. “I didn’t change my mind. I can’t come to you for every worry I have. It would be too much right now.”I would never give her those burdens, but if I gave her the slightest bit of hope, maybe she could find it in her to forgive me. Her eyes followed my hand as I reached for the now-opened brown box on the dresser.
“These…” I pulled out the studded wedding band and clutched her left hand in mine. “Are our wedding bands.”
Maggie didn’t move as I slid the ring onto her finger. Instead, she took a sharp breath and stared at it like it was a disease spreading throughout her body. Despite her shock, I slid my own ring on my left ring finger and intertwined our hands. Fear and something unfamiliar sparked in my chest.
The realization set in that this relationship might not have beenreal, but our circumstances were. Maggie and I, both incredibly unfit romantic partners, had entered a temporarily binding agreement to act as if we were unequivocally in love. And now we had the rings to prove it.
“I know this is terrifying, but I’ve got you every step of the way. I don’t want you worrying about me when we have enough on our plates. We have no idea what these next few months will look like, but I want you to trust me because that’s all we have.”
I didn’t expect her to jump into my arms and kiss me, but I surely didn’t expect the next words that came out of her mouth.
“If you can go on about trust and being there for each other for an entire monologue, I sure do worry about what kind of bullshit you’re going to tell our kid. You’ll lie to me about being fine, and I’ll be left clueless about where your head is.”
There wasn’t a moment of hesitation. Those were her feelings, and she spelled them out, clear as day. It was a kick to the fucking chest. I couldn’t lie to Maggie, and she knew it. But I couldn’t give her what she wanted. I couldn’t be transparent about my concerns. It was only going to stress her more.
“Maggie, what do you want from me?” My voice sounded unfamiliar, desperate.
She closed her eyes and took another breath. She wouldn’t know I caught the glimmer of a tear before her eyelids hid it. She wouldn’t know it fucking killed me to see it, either, but if I didn’t keep her at an arm’s length, I would let her down.
