“Oh.” I didn’t think of that. “I should, shouldn’t I?”
“You left town to avoid him, so I’d say so. It’ll help if he shows up at your door. Unless you decide to shoot him first.”
I snort. “Tempting, but I don’t look good in orange.”
“You look good in everything, but you being in prison would put a damper on my sex life.”
“Is that all I am to you?” I laugh and slug his arm.
“You know you’re not.” He bumps his shoulder into mine. “Anyway, what’s else is on your mind?”
“Well…” I bite my lip. “I accidentally told Carly and Charlotte that you were the one who told me Alana was working this weekend. Carly didn’t catch on, but Charlotte homed in like a hawk.”
He scratches the back of his neck. “She’s on fire lately.”
“What do you mean?”
“She forced me into a heart to heart last night. About being so hard on myself.”
“Good. I’ll take all the backup I can get.”
He makes a throaty sound. “She and my aunt were close, so in a way, it felt like my aunt sitting me down like she used to.”
“She passed away, right?”
He nods. “Five years ago. Breast cancer.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too. She was a mother to me longer than my actual mother was.”
He brushes a smudge of dirt from his jeans, and I reach for his hand, cow poop and all.
I have a big family, and we’ve always been so close. I can’t imagine feeling like I’m going it alone in this world. Or feeling that way in a society that expects men to be so strong all the time.
“I’m always here to talk or listen.” I press a kiss to his shoulder. “To be that safe place for you.”
He tips his head to the side and rests it on top of mine. “We haven’t known each other that long, and you’re already my best friend.”
Sudden emotion lodges in my throat, and I hold my breath to keep from giving myself away. Because I feel the same. And sometimes I wonder if maybe we weren’t so crazy to make those vows to each other in Vegas.
“What if we…” I pause to swallow down the lump. “What if we didn’t get the marriage annulled?”
I expect him to stiffen or even laugh. Instead, he takes a slow breath and lets it out just as carefully.
“You want to stay married to me, sweetness? Why?”
Because I’ve fallen in love with you.“If we’re going to keep seeing each other and we already feel like we do, then maybe,” I glance up to him with a nervous, hopeful smile, “maybe fate knew what we needed before we did.”
His eyes dart back and forth between mine.
“We wouldn’t have to tell anyone if you’d rather not kick up more dust with my brothers. But just so we’re clear, I wouldn’t care if we told the world. In fact, I came in here to tell you that I don’t want to hide our relationship anymore. And once my brothers find out we’re together, they might as well know we’re married, too.”
He gives a skeptical laugh. “You’ll need a bigger bed, for sure. Because the second they hear that, I’m gonna need a place to live. Assuming I make it out of Montana alive.”
“If they even think about doing something that foolish, I’ll never speak to them again.”
“Tessa…” He stands and rubs the back of his neck. “I’d never ask you to do that.”
