Her arms encircle my neck as her bare chest presses to my back, her lips ghosting along my ear. “I love you,” she whispers. “Always.”
I hold up my phone as she rests her chin on my shoulder. It takes her a minute to read through my conversation with Lucy.
“Our daughter is evil,” she says.
“Strong-willed like her mom.”
“Relentless like her dad.” Tatum kisses my neck.
“Had Lucy not lied … would you have married Josh?”
“I … I don’t know. I know he’s been concerned this past month about my well-being. He’s been concerned about the canceled dates and my reluctance to commit to moving to Chicago. It’s hard because I do care for him. I did fall in love with him. But the one thing that’s harder than loving him and moving closer to our marriage is loving you more.”
I kiss her hand. “It’s nice to be loved a little more.”
“Exponentially more.” She bites my earlobe, and I twist my body to grab her waist and bring her to straddle my lap.
“I’ve missed my wife.”
Her eyes redden behind a few captive tears. “I’ve been a terrible wife.”
I shake my head. “A terrible fiancée, but not a terrible wife.”
She laughs and it chases away those tears. Her hands press to my cheeks as she kisses me, and I decide I need to be inside of her again. It still doesn’t feel real.
“Dad? Mom?”
Tatum jumps off my lap and scurries around, looking for her clothes. “Shit, shit, shit …” she whispers.
I step into my underwear and jeans, but at a casual pace.
“Hurry up!” she whisper-yells at me.
“She’s going to—”
Tatum leaps toward me, covering my mouth when I don’t whisper. “Shh!”
I peel her hand away and lower my voice to appease her. “She’s going to find out because the bedroom door is shut. Your car is in my driveway, and my shirt is in the hallway.”
Tatum’s eyes widen. “I don’t want her to know I’ve cheated on Josh. It’s a terrible example.”
“Oh my god … are you guys having sex?” Lucy yells.
Tatum’s head drops, her chin nearly touching her chest as she zips her jeans at a much slower, defeated pace.
“No. Luce.” I open the bedroom door and slip out into the hallway, closing it behind me.
Her jaw unhinges when she sees my naked chest as I bend down and pluck my shirt from the floor.
“You had sex,” she says slowly and softly like she’s surprised that her plan worked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Your mom showed up angry as hell from the lie you told. We fought. She stormed out, but then she noticed she locked her keys in the car, so she started running toward home and I couldn’t catch her. So … feeling completely rejected, I had one of my friends from work hook me up with someone to physically ease the ache of rejection.”
Lucy’s brows knit together. “Oh my god …” her head whips backward. “You have some random woman in your bedroom?” Disappointment bleeds along her cheeks and down her neck. That might be more than disappointment; it might be anger. She’s one hundred percent her mom.
With a tight smile, I shrug.
Her hand goes to her mouth like she might get sick just as the bedroom door opens behind me.
“Enough with the random woman scenarios, you two.” Tatum brushes past me, bringing life and hope back to Lucy.
I smirk as Tatum hugs her, and Lucy mouths to me, “Oh my god,” before squeezing her eyes shut like all of her dreams just came true.
“Now …” Tatum releases her. “I’m starving. What’s for dinner?” She saunters into the kitchen, and Lucy and I follow.
Lucy grabs a glass of water while I sit in my chair to resume eating my now cold dinner. Before I even pick up my fork, Tatum plants her ass on my lap and steals my fork, then she starts eating my dinner.
This display brings so much joy to Lucy’s face as she sits in the chair next to us.
“So, how was your date with Racer?” Tatum asks. “Did you have dinner with him?”
It takes Lucy a few seconds, like she still can’t believe what’s transpired tonight. Then she nods. “Yeah. His mom made us dinner.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Tatum cancels the wedding.
We haven’t talked in over two weeks. She asked me for time … time to mourn the loss of what she had with Josh and his family, time to reconcile the part of her heart that knows she cheated on him no matter how hard we tried to justify our love being greater—destined from the day we met. I miss her, and it’s hard to deal with the reality that she gave part of her heart, no matter how big or small, to another man.
“You should love her even more because she’s the kind of woman who feels love and pain, who recognizes guilt and her imperfections and deals with them.” Mom tries to cheer me up while Lucy and Racer ride the four-wheelers around my parents’ property like she never lost use of her legs.