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“I’m so sorry,” I say. I want to take her into my arms, but there’s still an invisible wall between us.
“What happened between you and Ruby?” she says.
“Ruby is the most selfish human being I know. We dated for less than six months,” I tell her earnestly.
“What I don’t get is this,” Marian says. “Why didn’t you tell me about the dinner if it was so innocent?”
“It was short notice. Going to my parents for dinner is not a big deal, and I planned to tell you afterward. But when I found Ruby there, I decided not to. I didn’t want to cause unnecessary hurt.”
“You should have told me,” Marian says.
“I can see that now,” I tell her. “But, sweetheart, I wanted to protect you.”
Marian folds her arms across her chest. “You can’t protect me from life, Declan. How can I trust you after this, knowing that you keep stuff from me?”
I stroke her cheek. She remains stiff and unyielding. “Have you never kept anything away from me to protect me? Something that would hurt me?”
She’s quiet, and I let out a sigh.
“I’m a married man, Marian, and I love my wife. Nothing would make me fuck up the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
She sniffs after a moment, and I realize that she’s crying. I pull her into my arms, and even if I can’t hold her the way I want to in the car, it feels good to have her in my arms.
“Let’s go home,” I tell her.
“Okay,” she says. “I’ll just tell Brooke and Jason and follow you in my car.”
I’d prefer to have her here in my car next to me, but I nod. I wait until she enters the house and reach for my phone to call my mother.
She answers on the first ring. “It’s a little late for a call, Declan.”
“Mother. This won’t take long. I’m going to make it short and sweet. If you pull a stunt like the one you pulled with Marian today, I’m going to cut you out of my life. I mean it. I’m married, and it’s time you accepted that.”
“That’s not a marriage; it’s a sham,” she hisses.
I refuse to get riled up. “Think about what I said. Goodnight.” I disconnect the call and wait for the guilt to come. It doesn’t, and it feels good to know that I told my mother exactly what I think without feeling bad about it.
I’ve let her get away with a lot, but that’s a thing of the past now. We’ll have to learn how to relate on an adult level whether she likes it or not.
Marian leaves the house and goes to her car. When her headlights come on, I start my car and head toward home. I’m so relieved that we’ve worked things out. So relieved to have Marian back.
I think about what she said about Leonard. That’s something to celebrate. Marian and I are legally married. I was worried that our union would turn out to be null and void, and Marian would not agree to marry me again.
When we get home, I go straight to the kitchen and take out the bottle of the dry white.
“Are we celebrating something?” Marian asks as she follows me to the kitchen.
“Yes,” I tell her. “We’re still married!”
She beams. “Yes, I almost forgot about that in the midst of all this. I feel bad for Samantha.”
That name rings no bells in my mind. “Who is Samantha?”
She looks momentarily startled. She waves a hand away. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll get some glasses.”
She doesn’t want to talk about it. We shouldn’t keep secrets from each other; I see that now. But things are so good between us, and I don’t want to risk another falling out. I’ll leave it for now.
She brings the glasses, and as I take them from her, our fingers brush, and suddenly, I can’t wait another moment to take her into my arms. I place the glasses on the table and slip my arms around her waist.
“Oh, Declan,” she says before her words are swallowed by my mouth on hers.
Her scent wraps around me like a hot blanket, igniting my senses and her hands go around my neck imprisoning me. This is one jail I’d be happy to spend a lifetime in.
“I love you so much,” I say in between kisses. I drop my hands to her ass, and she lifts her legs and wraps them around my waist.
We kiss each other hungrily, with Marian’s hands threading through my hair. I groan into her mouth as she presses her breasts against my chest.
“Let’s go upstairs, Declan,” Marian breaks the kiss to say.
I kiss her again and move toward the stairs. She giggles. “Are you going to carry me up the stairs?”
“It won’t be the first time,” I tell her.
I stop after every few steps to kiss her.
