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My breath comes in short bursts while my smile threatens to slip from my face, though I manage to hold it in place through sheer force.
He grasps my quivering hands in his free left one, rubbing his thumb soothingly along my skin.
“I know this is new between us, Rey. I know that you could dosomuch better than me, with your smiles that light up a room and eyes that truly see therealme.”
His pupils have widened enough that the unique irises of his eyes are almost entirely covered, and butterflies burst to life in the depths of my stomach at the intensity held within them. “But I’m asking you topleaseconsider this.”
He looks down as he cracks open the box to display a large square-cut diamond ring, that takes my breath away, before turning those big, wide eyes back to mine. “I can’t promise things will always be easy, but Icanpromise to have your back forever and a day. Please, Reyna Marquez, be my wife, and let me take care of you for all of our days.”
As he swallows roughly, so do I. Time seems to stop as my mind races to catch up with his words, with his true intentions.
My eyes fall closed, holding back the tears that threaten to blind me, and it’s at that moment, my stomach drops as I realize it’s a ruse. It’s part oftheruse, the one I’m here to play, and I curse myself for forgetting—if only for this afternoon—that none of this is real.
You stupid girl.
But I gave him my word to help sell this relationship to his brother. To always have his back. And so, it’s with that singular thought that I open my eyes with a bright smile and launch myself into his waiting arms.
“Yes, Alex. Of course, I’ll be your wife.”
CHAPTER13
ALEX
Once Livand Henry left with two cranky little boys, I’d turned to find Rey had disappeared upstairs, and didn’t re-emerge for the rest of the evening.
I’d tidied up the mess downstairs and decided to call it a night, lingering for long moments outside her bedroom door with my hand poised to knock,needingto clear the air between us.
But I’d given her the space she clearly desired, slinking off to my own room to aimlessly flick through endless TV stations and streaming services, settling on rewatching Grey’s Anatomy from season one.
Liv and I had a long-standing weekly Grey’s Anatomy night until I’d been shipped off to the States. I’d continued to watch every week, clearly too far gone in my Grey’s era to quit, so leaving it on in the background whilst debating my feelings and actions is like the presence of a long-used comfort blanket.
Despite my churning stomach, I can’t help but close my eyes to remember the vibrancy of Rey’s smile when I walked into the dining room as Maverick. The pure, unfettered joy that had filled her face, the mirth that had rolled off of her entire body…I’m pretty sure I could live off of the memory for years to come.
It had beeneverything.
Seeing her smile start to drop as realization took hold made me wish I’d opted for another place and time to ask her to marry me.
When I’d come up with the idea to sell this relationship to Henry, I hadn’t known how real it would feel in the run up to it. How connected I would be to Reyna. How right things felt between us.
Be my wife.
The damn words had fallen from my mouth as easily as breathing, much to my inherent disgust.
I’d wanted nothing more than to rid our home of my brother, my best friend, and my beloved nephews so that I could iron things out. So that I could make things right because, in the immediate aftermath, I knew without a doubt that I’d fucked up.
I’m neck-deep in self-loathing as episode two of season one starts, when there’s a loud bang on my door that makes me sit forward in shameless anticipation.
“Come in.”
The knob twists open quickly, the door slamming open to admit a blatantly irate Rey, and I welcome it.
“Okay, pretty boy. First thing’s first.” She strides closer, clad in that far too sexy silky pajama set that does things to my damn brain, not to mention my cock. I blink heavily to dispel the visions of bending her over my bed and ripping those tantalizing shorts to bits with my motherfucking teeth.
Get a grip, DeMarco!
“The ground rules need to be expanded.Now.”
Her eyes skim across my exposed chest and my grey lounge pants so quickly I’d have missed it if I wasn’t fully intent on watching her every little move.
