Page 46 of Fall Over You

“Sure. Thanks.”

I sneak glances at her as I dry a plate. “You’ll be okay without your dog tonight?”

She hesitates, nibbling her lip before cracking a tired smile. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. T-Bone might still get up to find me, but maybe not if she’s comfy.”

I set the first plate on the counter and pick up the next, running the towel over it. My mind wanders to Becca’s usual sleeping arrangement. “Does T-Bone stay with you when you have people over?”

Becca smirks. “What people?”

“You know. Partners.”

She shakes her head and laughs, picking up a scrubber to get at the corners of the lasagna pan. “Dwelling on what I do in bed?”

“No. I mean, yeah. Sorta. I just—” I know my impulse control is down right now and I’m probably going to say something I shouldn’t. “If you’re going to have people over, I’d rather Ellie not know about it.”

The look Becca gives me tells me she’s about to yank my chain. “I thought you said we had to be faithful. Is this one of those classic cheater strategies? Deflect that the other person is cheating when it’s actually you? You don’t even have a rock on my hand and you’re already plotting how you can have a guest over.”

“No! I have no plans, but I don’t know if you’re doing something else . . . privately.”

Her tongue pokes into her cheek. “You want to know what I do to get off?”

“No, god!” I scrunch my eyes shut like that’ll prevent me from hearing whatever she was about to dump on me. I can’t know about what Becca gets into in the bedroom or I’ll be tearing down her door like a starved animal outside the meat locker. Three-plus years without sex is a long time. “I just want you to keep it quiet if you do end up doing that.”

She turns off the water and shakes her hands over the sink before snatching the dish towel from me to dry her hands. “Why, are you planning to sneak someone in?”

“No, of course not!”

“Good. Neither am I.” She tosses the towel back at me and turns to grab another set of dirty dishes.

I can barely breathe. I have no right to control Becca’s sex life, but we do have a secret to keep. It seems ludicrous that she’d really agree to all this. “You’re giving up all of that for me?”

“That is the idea of marriage, Tyler,” she deadpans. “Just one person for the rest of your life.”

This is all so hard to believe. “Even if I’m not going to fuck you?”

“Jeez, rub it in,” she grumbles, turning toward the opposite counter where a notepad sits and picking up a purple glitter pen.

I rub my forehead, because I’m obviously upsetting her. “It’s just a lot to give up. You’re really going to stop having sex for my shop?”

She tosses her pen down and sighs. “And that sweet little girl upstairs. And my farm, Tyler. You forget that I’m trying to get this damn farm off the ground and not have to run around like a chicken with my head cut off every damn day.”

Becca is twenty-five years old and giving up prime years on the prowl for this. I’m used to living like a monk, but per her reputation, she is not. “Then when are we getting divorced?”

She widens her eyes. “Ye of little faith. Sheesh. Haven’t even taken me to the altar yet and you’re already planning to ditch me.”

“It’s a fair question! We both need to be free to do what we want when it’s done. The more we agree on now, the less likely we are to fight about it later.”

Becca is quiet, writing “Tuesday” at the top of her notepad and underlining it a bunch of times. I almost think she’s totally tuned me out when she speaks. “It’s done when we pay off the loan.”

“That could be years,” I point out.

She flops the pen down again and narrows her eyes at me. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did you think the bank would believe us suddenly dating, getting married, getting a loan, and splitting up two weeks later? I don’t think so. I know this is a sacrifice. It is for both of us. We’ll just have to suck it up and make the best of it.”

I laugh but there’s certainly no humor to be had here. “The best of it. The best of it would be not having my back against a wall in the first place.”

She huffs. “Last I checked, we don’t live in Fantasyland. We are where we are. The best we can do is work the system to our advantage. Now, when are you proposing to me? Let’s get our story straight.”

Her chest is flushed and she won’t meet my eyes. I’m not trying to hurt her, but I am trying to make sense of it all.