Tommy’s mom is behind him with a pen and napkin, and Josh takes it, signing his name but never taking his eyes off me. I’m about to bolt. I know it, and I’m sure he does too. He smiles for the kid, pats him on the head, and walks toward me.
“Hello, Mrs. Chambers.”
I wince when he calls me by my married name. I look around the diner, and sure enough everyone is hanging on every word.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him and then hold my breath. He must have finally received the copy of the divorce papers. But that doesn’t explain why he’s here. All he had to do is sign them and send them back. I put that in the note.
He cages me in, one hand on each side of me. “Why do you think I’m here?” he asks softly. His tone doesn’t match his stance. He’s rigid, and I can almost feel the electricity raging through his body. It was the same way the night I met him. Just being next to him is like being next to a live wire.
I shrug, not answering him.
There’s a hush in the diner, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is going to be spread all over Whiskey Run before sunrise. Everyone in town will know about legend Josh Chambers being in the diner to talk to me. But that’s the least of my problems.
I reach out to put my hands at his waist and pull back instantly. I was going to push him away, but I know I can’t touch him. I know what happens when I do.
“Is everything okay, Violet?”
I look over Josh’s shoulder, and Sierra and Evan are standing behind him. Josh grabs my hand and turns to face them. “Yeah, everything is fine. I just came to talk to my wife.”
There’s a gasp in the restaurant, and everyone is obviously shocked. But not Sierra—no, she’s looking at me with a smug look on her face. She may not have known the whole story, but she saw the marriage certificate; she knew who I was married to. Evan steps in front of Sierra, no doubt able to feel the waves of testosterone coming off Josh. I swear I wouldn’t be surprised if he took out a full-page ad in the Whiskey Run Gazette telling everyone I am his wife. I mean, he might as well for how he’s acting.
I step around him. “Evan, I’m fine. Thanks.” And then I turn back to Josh. “I sent you the divorce papers. All you had to do was sign them and send them back. That’s it.”
He grunts, and coming from him, it’s more like a growl. I’ve seen three hundred pound men scared of him but not me. No, I’m not scared in the least. At least not physically.
It’s like I can hear his jaw cracking when he says, “I’m not signing the damn papers.”
I blink. Once, then again. “What do you mean you’re not signing the papers? That’s the only way to end the marriage.”
He wraps his big hand around my neck and pulls me in close. “I’m not signing the papers because you’re my wife... and I’m keeping you.”
I shake my head. “What did you just say?”
He repeats himself, and I heard him right the first time, but he enunciates each word. “Because. You’re. My. Wife. And. I’m. Keeping. You.”
And without any warning at all, he leans down and presses his lips to mine. The kiss is equivalent to every explicit dream I’ve had since the night I married him. I have no control when he looks at me, touches me, or kisses me, and even months later, it still remains the same. The man can kiss like nobody’s business.
He plays dirty. I know this about him. He seduced me at his house in Jasper months ago. He’s made grown men cry on the football field. He’s tough and gruff and never loses, so I shouldn’t be surprised that he didn’t like my letter asking for a divorce. But surely, he’ll come to his senses. He’s a famous football player who’s in his prime. I’m a diner owner from a small town who’s six years older than him. Surely, he’ll realize I’m not what he wants, not what he needs.
I wrench my lips from his, and I’m breathing heavily as if I’ve been running a race instead of kissing my husband.
I turn to walk away, and he grabs my hand. “No way, darling. You’ve escaped me once but not again. Where you go, I go.”
He walks with me to the back of the diner, and as soon as the swinging door shuts I hear half the town sitting in my diner all start talking at once.
I walk out the back door and try to figure out how I’m going to get myself out of this mess.