Married to My Best Friend

“There we go. See? We’re going to have fun this week. I’m in paradise with my favorite person in the world.”

Jesus, how did he say things like that, feel things like that, and not love me the way I loved him? How did he not see how perfect we were together? “You got lucky scoring me. I’m stuck with you.”

“Always bustin’ my balls.”

There were a lot of things I wanted to do with his balls. Most of them included my mouth and tongue. None of them included busting them…a nut, maybe, but that wasn’t what he meant.

Which was exactly the kind of thing I didn’t need to be thinking about.

“Come on,” Caden said. “Let’s get cleaned up. I’m gonna take you out to dinner tonight. It’s the least I can do after making an honest man out of you.”

I ignored his ridiculous comment. “Jesus, is this legal? Are we really married?”

Caden shrugged. “I think so.”

“Are you really mine now? No one can take you away?” Caden’s fingers brushed against my cheek…

Whoa. What the hell was that?

“But no stressing about that, remember?” Caden continued, clearly having no idea what was going on inside my head—the jumbled memories I’d thought were a dream but were apparently our wedding. And Caden had asked if I was really his? He thought someone would take me away from him?

I said, “You know that no matter what happens, nothing will ever come between us, right? Even if I meet another guy?”

He rolled his eyes. “No shit.” He then tried to walk away, but this time I grabbed him, much like he did to me earlier.

“I’m serious, Caden. Never.” Because as cocky as he was, I didn’t know if he believed that.

“Me neither,” he replied, and…when had we gotten so close? Close enough that I felt his breath on my face, his body heat melting into mine in places other than where my fingers twisted around his wrist…

I brushed my thumb against his pulse, against my husband’s pulse…

It was stupid and dangerous to think of him this way. I was only setting myself up to get my heart broken, but it felt so damn good, I couldn’t help it.

“A?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re trembling.”

I was? I hadn’t even realized it.

“Did you eat enough today? You didn’t eat much breakfast and then just had the candy. We need to hurry and get some food in you.”

Caden pulled back as if being hungry had anything to do with how I was feeling, unless he counted hungry for him.

He added, “You shower first, okay? And here, take my soda and drink some of that.”

“I’m not a kid, and I’m fine, man.”

“You drank a lot last night. It fucks with your body.”

How I was feeling had nothing to do with how drunk I’d gotten last night. No, it had to do with the fact that I was crazy in love with my husband, who didn’t see me the same way. Still, I took a few drinks just to make him happy, then looked at him in a way I hoped said, Are you happy now?

“Yes, I’m very happy now.”

“Get out of my head.”

“Stop being so easy.”

Jesus, this man. I grabbed clothes and my toiletries and locked myself in the bathroom. I was married to Caden. I was Alex Bailey-Hill. Well, technically not, considering I wouldn’t be married after this week, but still, thinking it right then felt pretty fucking amazing.

I thought about rubbing one out in the shower. It wouldn’t be the first time I did that while thinking about Caden, but now it felt wrong. I was married to him and he wanted an annulment while I had heart eyes and was hoping we’d live happily ever after.

So I just cleaned up, dried off, and got dressed. He went into the bathroom after me, not bothering to close the door all the way. He never did when it was just us. Caden had no shame when it came to his body, not that he should, and it had never made him feel uncomfortable to be naked around me like it would some straight guys. It wasn’t like we’d made a habit of it—and most of the time it was sports stuff in high school or communal showers in college—but still, I loved that nothing made him weird when it came to me.

He took longer than I did to get ready. Always had and always would. Eventually, he came out wearing a pair of sage-green shorts and a tight T-shirt that stretched across his chest and arms.

“You know you’re going to get hit on a lot this week, right?”

“I’ll tell them they better leave me alone or my husband will kick their asses.”

I groaned. Fuck my life. He was going to kill me.

“What?” Caden asked.

“Nothing. Let’s go.” I grabbed the key off the counter and headed toward the door.