Page 39 of Accidentally Engaged
Things move fast then. Jared whips out his phone, and the camera flashes several times. “I don’t want to hold you and Liam up. I’ll send this updated agreement to both lawyers and have it filed at my expense. Okay?”
She just waves, lips fused to Liam’s as he guides her away.
I swallow. “I’m sorry, honey. That was probably hard to see.”
“It was.” Jared looks pained. “I feel so bad for Liam. Are you sure I shouldn’t go rescue him? I could put Patsy in a coma by explaining the difference between a noble gas and an inert gas?”
“I think he’s okay. He doesn’t feed without consent, so finding someone that eager... Well, let me put it this way. Patsy might be his meal ticket for a few days before he can’t stand her attitude. Also, I’m pretty sure he just did this to move our plan along and rescue your dog.”
“Kep! What’s wrong with Kep?” Jared asks, face paling.
“Nothing! He’s home in an outdoor kennel with food and water. It’s just that Patsy said she’d go home tomorrow, and I realized the dog would have been alone for two days at that point. Seems cruel to me.”
Jared’s face twists. “I think so, too.” He swallows several times. “Um. So. I was in the middle of talking to Alban. Let me go catch him real quick,” Jared rasps and runs off, but not before I see how much Patsy’s treatment of his dog has upset him.
I whip out my phone and bite my lip. If I send this text now, it could ruin everything. If Patsy sees it, she’ll know something is up, she’ll figure out we maneuvered her into signing...
Chloe: Bring the dog back with you. I’ll pay you whatever you want—cash.
Please, please, please don’t let Patsy see the text. Please don’t let her realize that we—My phone buzzes and I look down to see the reply.
Liam: I’m sexy, not stupid, sweetie. The dog will be with you as soon as I’m back in town. Tell Papa Bear it’s on the house in exchange for the she-devil looking to score.
Liam: Not literal she-devil. Going dark for now. Have a happy time finding out which bed is just right, Goldilocks.
He’s insufferable, but awesome. I shove the phone back into my pocket. We’ve already got a signed agreement that waives the alimony, and Jared’s keeping his intellectual property. I think about Kep and hope Liam can deliver a hat trick.
“I DON’T KNOW HOW YOUrun the store and that stall. I’m beat, just from the sheer number of hours I’ve been awake,” Jared yawns.
“I don’t always do both. It’s easier with a partner,” I tell him as I change for bed. We’re at my place again because the cat is here, and it’s plain to see that Jared doesn’t want to think about someone neglecting their furry friends. Marmalade is smart. She senses it, too, and is sitting on the rounded spot just under his sternum, purring and getting her cheek stroked adoringly.
“Tomorrow, can you take a few hours off to check out the botanical lab with me?” Jared murmurs, head drooping.
“Of course!” I crawl in beside him, noticing that he’s already dozed off. Marmalade eyes me, seeing if I choose selfish snuggling over letting her have her favorite perch.
“We’ll share him, silly,” I say, and cuddle up beside him. “Love you,” I whisper, the secret easier to say each time, especially when we’re alone.
Except...
Except that it’s suddenly quiet, and I suddenly start to wonder. Am I stupid?
Did I love too easily?
Yes. Yes, yes, yes. A handful of days after two months of casual smiles and waves if we crossed paths, and now my cat has adopted him, and I’m so in love.
Can’t picture life without him now.
And this is the honeymoon phase, where everything seems rosy and fine, but it won’t be one day.
One day, it could be the worst morning ever. The coffee maker will break, I’ll be cranky, my ferns will develop fungus and put people in chokeholds, Marmalade will hack up a hairball on his favorite collectible, and he’ll suddenly say, “I’m done.”
And we will be. Just like that.
My chest hurts, and I rub it to stop the ache, but it doesn’t stop.
We’ll be done, and I’ll still love him, because banshees don’t take lover after lover, and once they sing their song, the die is cast—but the dice rolls right into someone else’s hand. I’ve made my offer to secure an escape, to secure freedom, and he shook his head and picked me.
But what if one day he doesn’t... and there’s nothing I can do about it? He can leave me, holding my heart in jigsaw puzzle shards, and he’ll have the last piece.
