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"Okay."
Okay? "It's not okay. Look, this marriage thing is going to be our secret, right? I mean, we're not going to go telling people we screwed up on such an epic level," she lowered her voice to a raw whisper, "and actually got married by accident. Right?"
"That would bother you?"
"Considering my family already thinks I'm a failure in the most general terms, yeah, it would." She ran a hand through her hair to get it off her hot neck. "I don't need to give them more proof that I have done some really stupid things. I'd never live it down."
He seemed to ponder her words and finally nodded.
"I'll keep our secret…for now."
A rush of air left her chest and she nodded. She'd figure out a way to keep him quiet later if it came to that, but at least he wouldn't spill their embarrassing tale for the moment. "Good. Okay, so now we have to make sure Michael hasn't told anyone. I don't think he has or my mother and the Babes would've said something to me already," she said. "So all we have to do is tell Michael to keep the prank to himself, and if he has already told anyone, we can go along with the prank story while we wait for the test results and work on getting adiscreetdivorce."
"If you're not pregnant."
She blinked at him, at the tone he'd used. "Either way."
One thick dark eyebrow lifted at her words.
"I don’t agree to that."
"What? Everett, pregnant or not, we can't stay married. I don't even know you."
Muffled laughter filtered through the closed windows and door once more, and she turned a wary eye that way.
"One step at a time, Isabel."
She liked the sound of her name on his lips. The way his deep voice—Stop it."Nu-uh. Our first step is a pregnancy test and adivorce."
"People have married with less in common than we have."
She stared up at him with wide eyes. He couldn't mean that.
“Is this about control? I wouldn’t keep a child from their father.”
His gaze suddenly narrowed, and she watched as Everett abruptly stretched out a hand and gently grasped her nape, lowered his head, and pressed his lips over hers, silencing her before she had a chance to utter a complaint or—
"Ahem," Tessa said from the yard behind them. "Don’t mind me. Just heading home. Good night, y'all. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Everett released her and Isabel pulled away, gasping at the sudden kiss yet thankful that Everett had undoubtedly heard Tessa and taken matters into his own hands—lips—to keep her from saying something they'd then have to explain.
Out of all the Babes, Tessa was considered the wildest, only because she'd been married three times and had babies by each man.
But in that moment?
Izzy couldn't help but wonder if Tessa's words weren't a warning of things to come. Or a statement of the past?
Once Tessa had walked down the driveway and over to the boardwalk out of hearing range, Izzy exhaled. "Everett, be reasonable. You can't be serious about staying married regardless of whether or not I'm pregnant, are you?"
"Mmm. I should go as well." He dipped his head in a nod and murmured a good night.
She watched him go, gaping after him and following him to the edge of the porch steps. "That's it? You’re leaving? Everett?Are you?"
