Page 26 of Better Off Wed
“That sucks.”
I nodded. “It did, yeah.”
“Kind of sad that you had to sign up to an arranged marriage.”
I was not going to touchthatcomment with a ten-foot pole.My ego would never recover. Instead, I asked, “You don’t think your grandma should’ve started the program?”
Lola shrugged, twisting her foot into the plush rug covering the ground. “I just think it’s weird. Like, why do we need a bunch of strangers coming to town, anyway?”
“I’m finding it hard not to take this personally,” I said, laughing.
“Notyou,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re cool. But just—everyoneelsethat’s going to show up. It’s just weird.”
I hummed, agreeing, and was thankfully rescued by the call to sit down at the table. We ate, talked, and laughed, and despite Gideon’s animosity, I felt more at home with this big group of near-strangers than I ever had with my own family. By the end of the meal, I was full to bursting with good, home-cooked food, and my cheeks ached from laughing.
Leaving this town—and this marriage—would mean giving up a lot more than just Gideon.
I could build a life here. A rich, layered life with friends and family.
All I had to do was give up my desire for sex. Forever.
But wasn’t that what I’d already resigned myself to do when I signed up to this scheme in the first place? Why did it feel like such a huge loss now?
Gideon was quiet in the car, but there was an edge to his silence. It simmered between us, raking against my skin. Finally, when we turned onto the cottage’s gravel driveway, he blurted, “I thought you didn’t want kids.”
I started. “What?”
“In your profile.” He parked the car.
“I—where is thiscoming from?”
“I saw you when you were holding Ollie. You didn’t look like someone who didn’t want kids.” He turned to face me, his gaze hard. “Is that something you’re going to want as part of this ‘arrangement’ you’re proposing between us?”
“I’m not going to ask you to fuckingbreedme, Gideon,” I snapped. “And by the way, I’m still mad about what you said earlier.”
He clenched his jaw and wrenched his gaze away from mine. I watched his throat bob as he swallowed, a muscle feathering in his cheek. “You’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not going to sleep with your cousins, or your brothers, or anyone else. Okay?”
“Guess six weeks isn’t that long to go without.”
I burned with outrage and anger. “You’re so sure I won’t want to stay married to you, huh? And by the way, my life isn’t ruled by sex. If you know my favorite coffee order, you should knowthat.”
He stared straight ahead, then closed his eyes. Finally, he jerked his chin down in a sharp nod and got out of the car.
Gideon slept on the couch. When I woke up the next morning, my car keys were waiting for me on the kitchen counter. I located my car—new tire and all—parked on the gravel drive in front of the cottage.
Gideon, however, was nowhere to be found.
GIDEON
Seeing Sadie with a child in her arms had hit my chest like a poison-tipped spear. I hadn’t known it was possible to want something so badly…and be so sure I would never have it.
If it wasn’t Fletcher who won her away from me, it would be someone else. The heartbreaking, infuriating, inevitable truth.
EIGHT
SADIE
