Page 228 of The Reason I Married Him
“Wow.” She slow claps. “I don’t think I’ll ever look at Wyatt the same. Good for him. Wait, no, good for you.” She pats my shoulder. “I’m happy for you. I love a good neck hold while being pounded into. Does Wyatt say things like he’s going to slit his throat and use the blood to get himself off?”
“What?” I hiss. “No. Oh my God, Hattie, where are you getting that from?”
She shrugs. “Just . . . places.”
“What the hell are you and Hayes doing?”
She scoffs. “Well, if you hadn’t interrupted me while I was telling you about the garden hose, you would know.”
I hold up my hand. “Please, spare me.”
She shrugs again. “Your loss.” Then she stands. “I have to go to the bathroom. Don’t say anything too juicy while I’m gone.”
When she’s out of earshot, Echo turns toward me and asks, “So . . . how was it really?”
I lean in and whisper, “So freaking amazing, Echo. He told me he liked me, and I told him I liked him. We both want to see where this goes, and then it just felt effortless. Nothing was awkward. Everything was right. Like this is what we should have been doing this entire time. And oh my God, I like him so freaking much . . . like borderline feelings here.”
Her eyes widen as she whispers, “Like . . . love?”
I nod and press my hands to my cheeks. “I can’t believe I’m even saying that, but yeah, I think so. There’s somethingdifferent about him, Echo. And I know what you must be thinking?—”
“I’m sure you don’t,” she says with a smile.
“You’re not thinking this is insane?”
She shakes her head. “No, I’m thinking this is amazing.” She presses her hand on top of mine. “You deserve happiness, Aubree, and you’ve found it.”
I nod, feeling my emotions get the better of me. “Yeah, I did find it in the strangest of ways.”
Echo laughs. “I wasn’t going to say that, but now that you’ve put it out there, yes, it was a roundabout way to find someone to love, but I like the unconventional.”
“I do too.” I sigh and shake my head. “God, how life has changed so quickly. I never would have guessed this is where I’d be a few weeks ago, falling in love while married to a man who initially irritated me more than anyone else.”
“Yes, I do remember you wanting to throw him off the side of the cliffs.”
“Desperately.” I laugh. “How was he able to change my mind so quickly?”
“Because he’s a good guy, and you allowed yourself to recognize that.”
I nod. “You’re right. He’s a very good guy. Besides my brother, he’s the absolute best.”
Just then, Hattie comes walking toward us, rubbing her hands together. “Did I miss anything good?”
I glance at Echo, who smiles. “Nope,” I answer.
Hattie looks back and forth between us and huffs. “You totally talked about the sex, didn’t you?” She shakes her head in disappointment. “Aubree, what kind of sisters are we if we can’t share about our sex lives?”
“Normal ones,” I answer. “Healthy, normal ones.”
“So boring,” she mutters, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Hey, you,”Wyatt says as I walk into the farmhouse after taking a long, hot shower. When I returned to the farm after lunch, I decided to help Echo finish the bee house so she could expand her product line, but it wasn’t easy. We got very sweaty and dirty, and I went straight into the shower, not bothering to check on Wyatt, who’s been watching Mac this evening while Ryland attends meet the teacher night.
“Hey,” I say as I walk up to him. Leaning into his chest, I stand on my toes and kiss him lightly on the lips. His arms wrap around me, and he holds me close, kissing me again.
“Missed you today,” he says before giving me another kiss.
I smile against his mouth. “I missed you, too.”
