There had been a moment where she had felt so free with him. Free to actually talk about things they never had before, and now it was like she was facing the reality of what they still weren’t able to discuss. What he wasn’t willing to share. And because of the other intimacy it felt more pronounced, not less. She touched the blue necklace the way she had wanted every day since their fancy dinner. Because she had decided to hang on to it like he had said. Until she was building a better life. Like his grandmother. He didn’t seem to notice that was the symbolism of it, but she supposed that was a very male thing.
This was the better life. As far as she was concerned, this was the better life.
But she was finding her footing, and she wasn’t quite sure how to go forward.
Talking used to be the easiest thing. Now it seemed to be sex. Maybe that was fair because it was still new. Maybe that was why they were burying themselves in that for now. Because it was something they hadn’t been able to do for so long.
Still, she wished talking was easier.
Physically, things couldn’t be better.
She never spent a night in her room, though she felt compelled to keep her things in there. It was just that he hadn’t fully invited her to move into his room. Sleep in it, yes. But not actually move her things into it.
“Had you ever spent the night with a woman before?”
She asked him that over dinner one night.
“No. But I’ve spent the night with you plenty of times, so I guess it doesn’t seem different.”
That bothered her. Because it felt like he was downplaying, even though she supposed it was a fair thing to say. She was special, either way, because it wasn’t like he had actually spent the night with other women. It was just he felt the comfort of it being her. She shouldn’t be salty about it.
In spite of little moments like that, the next three days went well. And then finally, he decided they should have dinner at his family’s.
He kept such a healthy distance between them when they went inside, and it was silly that she was offended by it because she had been so adamant that they keep it a secret when they had first left for the honeymoon. Denver knew, but she didn’t know about anyone else. And now it seemed like it was Justice who was more concerned with still keeping lines there. Even though they had erased the other boundaries that they had put up, he seemed to be heavily concerned about this one.
Everyone was purely and truly themselves during dinner, and she was having trouble. Everyone was here tonight, Landry and Fia, Arizona and Micah, their children, Daughtry and Bix, and Denver.
“We missed you,” Arizona said.
“Thanks,” Justice said. “We didn’t miss you, since we were busy enjoying the fancy-ass amenities at the place we were staying at.”
Everybody knew they had gone, so Justice acting casual about it was really the only way to make it so they weren’t announcing that something intimate had occurred.
“You should takemesomewhere fancy,” Bix said, grabbing hold of Daughtry’s arm.
“I’ll take you wherever you want to go,” he said. “Paris?”
Bix’s eyes rounded. “Are you serious?”
“Of course. Name the place you want to go for our honeymoon and I’ll take you there.”
Bix’s eyes were shiny. “Would you really take me to Paris?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“He’ll take youfancy,” Denver said. “In fact, that will be my wedding gift to you.”
Daughtry made a scoffing noise. “I don’t need you to pay for my honeymoon.”
“I know you don’t need it,” he said. “But I really want to give Bix the fanciest thing she can get.”
Bix glowed with pleasure, and for a second, Rue could only marvel at the similarities between Justice and Denver. They were caring, even if Denver was more reserved than Justice in general. But they both seemed like they were happiest—if you could call it happy—when they were isolated. Alone. They had people in their lives, but did they really?
There was just this big wall around parts of Justice. And Denver was much the same. She had known thiswhole family for most of her life, and yet with a lot of them, she couldn’t say she actually knew them deeply.
They ate, and talked for a while, and then the men took their home-brewed alcohol outside, which left Arizona, Bix, Fia and Rue alone.
“So,” Bix said, her sharp gaze pinning her to the spot. “How was the honeymoon?”
