Needing You Close (Ex-Con Duet 2)

Over the years, I’ve dated, but it was never anything serious. Nothing compared to what I have with Gemma. When I imagine getting married and having children, the only woman I dreamed of having that with is Gemma, and I refuse to allow Robert to take that away from me.

She’s supposed to marry me, not him. The idea hits me, and my heart races at the prospect.

“Gemma…” A smile fills my face, and I’m so damn anxious that I can barely contain myself. “I have an idea. It’s a crazy one, though.”

She’s still crying, and I hear her sniffles. I wish she was sitting in front of me so I could place my palms on either side of her cheeks and press my lips against hers.

“Considering I have no options, I’m all ears.”

I lick my lips, my nerves getting the best of me. “When I think about marriage in general, it makes my palms sweaty. But when I think about marrying you, it’s different. It feels so damn right.”

Gemma continues getting emotional. “But I have to marry Robert, and he’d kill me before giving me a divorce. So that could never happen for us.”

“Unless you marry me first.”

The line goes quiet, and I almost question if she’s still there. “Tyler…”

“If you were in front of me right now, Gemma, I’d get down on one knee and tell you how much I fucking love you and always have. You’re the only woman I’ve ever imagined myself growing old with, and if you’d allow me, I’d spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy.” My heart races, and I wish I didn’t have to do this over the phone.

“Tyler Blackwood,” she whispers. “Are you asking me to marry marry you?”

“Yes, yes, I am.” I smirk. “Because if you’re married to me, you can’t legally be married to him. He’ll think it’s legit and sign the paperwork. By the time he realizes what’s going on, it’ll be too late for him to do anything about it.”

“He’ll never see it coming,” Gemma says with a sweetness in her tone.

“Hell no, he won’t. I can’t imagine a future without you, baby. You’re my everything. And I wish you were here so I could propose properly, then make love to you all damn night. I know it’s a wild idea but—”

She interrupts me. “Yes,” she blurts out, and I can tell she’s smiling. “I love you so damn much that I can barely put it into words. I just don’t want you only doing this because—”

“Trust me, it’s not because of Robert. It’s because I love you, need you, and want you forever, sweetheart,” I admit.

She lets out a hum. “You’ve made me the happiest woman.”

I chuckle. “I’ll get all the details together. We can go down to the courthouse and file the paperwork together. We’ll slip out of work separately and take care of it. It’s gonna be the best kind of satisfaction, knowing you’re my wife and not his.”

She lets out a relieved breath. “This really could work.”

“It will. I’ll always protect you, Gemma,” I reassure her. “Now we just have to figure out how to get him away for a bit so we can move your things back to your place and change the locks. Should do a security system, too. Once everything’s done, you can tell him to fuck off.”

She chuckles, and the sound is so goddamn sweet. “I feel like I can finally breathe again. I can’t believe we’re really doing this—getting hitched,” she gushes.

“I told you we’d get through this together, and I meant it. Though I still want you to have the wedding of your dreams, sweetheart. The one you always talked about having when you were a teenager. I don’t want you to be robbed from that,” I say genuinely.

“I’d get married to you anywhere, Tyler. Courthouse. Church. Hell, even inside the deli if we had to. You’re enough for me and always have been,” she confirms. “As long as it’s us, I’ll be the happiest person alive.”

I chuckle, almost shocked by where this conversation has gone because it wasn’t promising ten minutes ago. “I promise to give you the wedding you deserve one day, but right now, we need to just make it legal. Let’s go to the courthouse on Monday. Maybe ask your dad if we can go in to work late. I’ll borrow Everleigh’s car and meet you in Birmingham so no one can tip Robert off. Since there’s no waiting period in Alabama, it’ll be official as soon as we sign and they file it,” I explain.

“That’s perfect. I’ll get with my dad and make sure we can get off. Then the only issue left is getting Robert out of town for a couple of days.”

I plop down on my bed and think this through. Knowing what I know about Robert, he’s easily deceived. When it comes to money, he’ll do anything. “I think I have another idea. What if he has a rich client out of town that he needs to meet? Think he’d fall for that?”