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I would let him decide, even though I kind of wanted to be the one to spill everything.
It had been months since I’d met Hayden in Lana’s apartment on Halloween night. In that time, Camille had started an online group that she was calling a book club. Both Kaitlynn and I were a part of it. We all communicated on the group almost every day, and yet I hadn’t told any of them that I even knew Kaitlynn’s stepbrother.
And now—now, he was my husband.
I was still trying to wrap my brain around that fact.
I’d moved in with him a couple weeks ago because Papá and Miguel had been doing great. Papá had gotten the board operator position at the power plant, and we’d found a new place to live in a better building. I still watched my brother almost daily after work, where I was now a receptionist at a dentist’s office, but they were both doing so well on their own that I actually said yes when Hayden asked me to move in with him.
Since then, life had been a whirlwind of arguing, making up, and always going to bed with a smile on my face, tucked in the arms of my exasperating lover.
Until yesterday. Yesterday, I’d woken up to him gazing at me adoringly and tracing my face with his fingers as if I were the most important thing in his world. I’d sucked in a huge, satisfied breath and smiled back, wishing him a good morning, only for him to reply, “Marry me. Right now.”
And what was the only logical thing I could reply to such a crazy, spur-of-the-moment, idiotic suggestion?
I said, “Okay,” of course.
So, we had hurried from bed and gotten married.
Best day of my life.
We’d picked out rings this morning from the jewelry store, and now Hayden was planning a honeymoon to Acapulco for us later this month.
Aca-freaking-pulco!
I know, right.
But today, I was supposed to see his stepsister face-to-face, and she knew none of my relationship with Hayden. So, I was freaking out a little.
Truth be told, I’d been waiting for Hayden to tell her everything. Except he hadn’t, so this was getting weird and uncomfortable. I knew I wouldn’t make it through our get-together today without saying something. Which was why, here I was, asking for his permission to finally let the cat out of the bag.
“Why would I mind if you told her?” Hayden asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.
I scowled at him. “What do you mean, why would you mind?” Slugging him hard on the arm, I railed, “If you didn’t mind, why the hell haven’t you told her yourself already?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Kaity and I aren’t exactly the talking type. I thought you’d tell her.”
“Jesus.” I slapped a hand to my forehead. “Well, if I’d known you didn’t care if she knew, I would’ve freaking told her from the beginning.”
“Well, you certainly could have, because once again,” he said, lifting his eyebrows. “Why would I care if she knew about us?”
“Oh my God,” I cried, glaring. “You are truly the most aggravating pain in the ass I have ever met. I don’t know why I put up with you.”
“Probably because you secretly like it when I piss you off,” he countered with his typical, knowing smirk. “Just li
ke ol’ Daffodils, you enjoy a good challenge.”
“Lord help me, I must,” I muttered, “because otherwise—”
“I’d bore you to tears,” he cut in, leaning in to kiss me. “And we can’t have that, can we?”
No, we most certainly could not. Grabbing the front of his shirt, I said, “You better be worth all this hassle, that’s all I’m saying.”
He winked. “Oh, I am.”
“Well, in that case…” I tugged him back to me for a longer, deeper kiss.
Three hours later, I was back to being pissed at Hayden, because there I sat in Camille’s front parlor across the room from Kaitlynn, and I couldn’t seem to her tell anything. I just wasn’t sure how. I mean, hey, how’s it going; by the way, we’re stepsisters-in-law now, just seemed so random and out there.
