Today’s little visit from that guy with divorce papers shows how that went.
“I knew how she felt. In hindsight, I guess she was more unhappy about it than I understood.”
Normally about now, I’d be uttering the words in my defense, but this time, there’s no use. I have no defense. I know that.
“The girl? Sam? The one you brought to the party last week? What was that all about if you and Eden were married?” Ronan asks.
God, the questions keep getting harder. What a fucking mess I’ve made.
I blow the air out of my lungs and shrug. “Just more of me being stupid. Ava kept setting her up with guys because she didn’t know we were together. I told Eden I didn’t want her to even pretend to be with him, but she said Ava would know something’s up if she didn’t. She was doing what I wanted by keeping us a secret, but I hated it because I was so jealous. So I called Sam and told her to come over. I thought I was showing Eden how if felt to see someone you love with another person. I think you know how that went over.”
My brothers simply stare at me like I’m some complete moron. Maybe I am. I have an incredible woman who loves me as my wife, and I spent the last two years keeping her hidden away.
“So are you going to sign the papers?” Matthias asks as he gets up to check on Matty in the stroller who’s starting to make noises like he’s hungry.
I shake my head at that ridiculous idea. “Hell no! I’m not getting divorced. Eden and I will be able to work this out.”
“How’s that?” Kellen asks with a chuckle.
Shrugging, I answer in the only way I can. “She’s still in love with me, just like I’m still in love with her. All I have to do is make her see that.”
Kellen stands up and looks at me like I’m out of my mind. “Dude, she went to a divorce lawyer already. She served youwith divorce papers. This isn’t going to be something like just convincing her the way you always put the toilet seat down is proof you’re a wonderful husband.” He stops and looks over at Ronan. “Damn, I’m never going to be able to get used to that word being used to describe this guy. I thought he’d be single forever.”
As the two of them talk about me like I’m not there, Matthias sits down in front of me holding his younger son. “I need to feed this little guy, but here’s my two cents, for what it’s worth. Don’t listen to Kellen and Ronan. I can attest to the fact that even when it looks like you’ve done something that you can never come back from, if she truly loves you, then there’s always a chance.”
I can’t help but smile at how big a romantic my older brother has become since falling for Ava. “Look at you. It’s like looking at a walking Valentine’s Day advertisement. I’m not worried. She’ll take me back. I know she will.”
“Good. Any chance you want to explain why? She looked pretty upset when she left here today,” he says as Matty makes louder noises that say he’s already hangry and if Matthias waits any longer, we’re all going to be treated to his piercing vocal talents.
“She loves me, and like you said, if she loves me, there’s still a chance. I’ll just win her back.”
Matty loses his patience and begins to cry loudly, so Matthias hurries him inside to eat, leaving me to figure out exactly how I will win Eden back. It’s not impossible. I know that. I just have to do it right.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Eden
I heara noise downstairs in the kitchen, and instantly, my stomach twists into a tight knot. I can’t see Marius right now. We’ll just end up in a big fight, and that’s the last thing I want to do with him.
“Eden! Where are you?”
Throwing the covers off, I jump out of bed and hurry down the stairs to see Ava looking around the penthouse like she’s in awe. “Not too shabby, huh? The man is an ass, but he does know how to buy a girl a gift.”
She looks at me and her mouth drops open. “This doesn’t belong to both of you? He bought you this place?”
I nod, knowing how incredible that makes Marius sound. “Yeah. I told him I wanted a place of our own instead of us spending all our time in hotels, so the next week, he bought this penthouse. Doesn’t mean he’s a good man or anything. Just that he has money.”
Why I say that I don’t know. Marius King is a good man. He’s never lied to me, and he’s always been the man he said he would be when we got together.
But I’m not in the mood to sing his praises right now.
Ava doesn’t respond to my attack on Marius and instead just opens her arms to invite me in for a hug. That’s all it takes to make the waterworks start all over again. I stumble over to her and practically collapse against her as she wraps her arms around me.
Sobbing, I say, “I hated not telling you. You have no idea how much I wanted to tell you we were sisters-in-law.”
She rubs my back and starts to cry too. “I know. It’s not your fault. It’s his. I want you to know I was so mad at him that I slapped him right across the face.”
I lean back and sniffle as my tears continue to come. “You did?”
