“You’re not going to start breaking promises, right?” She asked with a half-smile and a slight tremble to her voice.
“Not today, not tomorrow, not ever,” I vowed, and she nodded. “Okay. Let’s go to the hospital.” I rose and bent, lifting my pregnant wife, and hurried to the parking lot, thankful that Oleg and Coral hadn’t left. They gave us a ride there, whereAspen March was born not two hours later in an unexpectedly easy delivery.
epilogue
Olive
three years later
I sat at a bar nursing the red wine I’d ordered. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was decent.
“Excuse me, this seat taken?” a deep masculine voice asked, and when I turned to look into the bright blue eyes of the handsome man standing next to me, I shook my head. I didn’t dare speak. “My lucky day.” He winked. And sat down. I peeked at him. Older, with gray blending in at the temples of his lighter brown hair. Deep laugh lines at his eyes like he enjoyed having a good time.
“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked, and I tilted my head.
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head, my eyes on the colorful bottles behind the bar.
“Come on, I bet you’re not even enjoying that red you ordered.” I turned to give him a look. “You look like more of a tequila kind of girl. Maybe a margarita? On the rocks, not blended.”
“I’m married,” I shared.
“So am I.” His arrogance made me roll my eyes when he had the audacity to wag his brows.
“She must hate you flirting with complete strangers.”
“I don’t know. I think she likes to flirt, too.” That made me laugh and lean closer to the man. “If you won’t let me buy you a drink, what if we hit the dance floor?” I chewed on my bottom lip. What would people say about two married people dancing?
“What if your wife’s friends saw you?” A thrill coursed through me with the way the pads of his warm fingertips touched my bare back.
“I’d be fucked.” He shrugged. There was an animal like magnetism that drew me to him. I leaned closer, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Hmm, maybe later,” I whispered for his ears only. I hopped off the barstool, and he joined me, taking me by the hand and leading the way to the small makeshift dance floor of the old biker bar on the edge of town. He pulled me close, and we swayed back and forth to the rhythm of the song.
A song that sounded all too familiar.
“Is this…” My eyes popped up to meet Luke’s bright blues as I snapped out of our little roleplaying characters.
“The first song we danced to?” he said and then nodded, dropping his head lower and pressing his cheek against my temple. “How does it feel to be the sheriff’s dirty secret, Mrs. March?” I shivered.
I wasn’t really his secret.
Everyone knew we were married and had two kids, but it was nice to pretend to keep the spice alive. Not that we needed it. He found all kinds of ways through the years to keep it spicy. I nuzzled my face against his chest with a smile on my lips. Ten years later, I still couldn’t believe I’d somehow thought Luke March could be vanilla. I didn’t think he had a boring bone in his body.
His obsession had only grown along with his love for me throughout the last decade. The box of pictures in the garage had tripled. He even snuck into our room after a late-night shift.
Only now, he woke me up.
Damn, it was good being the sheriff’s dirty secret.
